The birthplace of British skateboarding has finally secured Grade II listing after decades of uncertainty.
Beneath the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall sits the Undercroft, the world’s longest continually used skate spot.
Built in the 1960s by Brutalist architects, the concrete space was deliberately left open and undefined so the public could decide what it became. For years, it was largely empty. Then, in the mid-1970s, skateboarding arrived from the US and Londoners began building a subculture of their own.
Nick Robertson and his skateboard [Credit: Nick Robertson]Nick Robertson was part of the first wave of skateboarders who transformed the space in the 1970s. He started hanging around there at about eleven, and fifty years later he is still working around the Southbank. “There was nowhere to buy boards because it hadn’t taken off here yet,” he recalls. “I used to make boards out of wood and sand them down.”
At the time, skateboarding in Britain was still in its infancy. There were no skate shops and no established scene. Everything was improvised. The Undercroft was different too: an open stretch of concrete with no railings, no barriers, and, beyond the arts centre above, very little else lining the South Bank.
A group of young skaters in 1979 [Credit: Tim Leighton Boyce and Russell Howell]This was long before the London Eye was built and the Southbank became a tourist hotspot, teeming with visitors filming tricks on their phones. Back then, it was a newly claimed space where young people were creating a culture of their own.
But the spot has faced serious threats almost from the start. In 2004, two-thirds of it was fenced off and destroyed without warning.
Marcos Baines began skating after moving to London from Brazil in 2009. Today, he teaches skateboarding at Southbank. When I arrived to meet him, he was teaching a young girl how to kickflip.
Marcos Baines and his skateboard at Southbank [Credit: Maya Wolsey]He tells me that when he first arrived in London, he was depressed, and felt like he was constantly working . But one day, he stumbled across Southbank, and sat on the ledge watching people skate.
“It reminded me of skating with my friends in Brazil – how much I loved it,” he says. The next day, he bought a skateboard and hasn’t stopped since.
‘’Most people are like me, and they come from different countries away from their families, so this becomes like a family for them which I think is very important. It’s a place people can meet and feel safe.’’
Marcos was also there during one of the space’s most uncertain periods. Despite losing the majority of the space already, in 2014 the remaining area faced complete redevelopment.
“They wanted to close this place down,” he says. “But we created a group called Long Live Southbank and we managed to save it.”
‘Long Live Southbank’ supporter [Credit: Nick Robertson]The grassroots campaign Long Live Southbank, was formed by skaters and the local community against the redevelopment, eventually succeeded. And then, after years of fundraising and negotiations, the entire space was restored and reopened in 2019, which was when Charlie started skating here.
Charlie Xavier Tucker at Southbank [Credit: Maya Wolsey]“There’s a huge sense of community. I come here to meet people. Most of my friends I know from skating.” Charlie Xavier Tucker, who’s now sixteen, started coming to Southbank when he was nine. He tells me that since then, he’s seen the same people get older and grow with him.
Now, after decades of uncertainty, the Undercroft Skate Space has just been granted listed II status, giving it a crucial level of protection it’s never had before. And when I ask Charlie what he sees for the next fifty years at Southbank, he says: “I think it’s going to stay this big place for skaters for centuries’’.
Southbank skater in 1978 [Credit: Tim Leighton Boyce and Jim Slater]The Undercroft Skate Space will celebrate its 50th anniversary with Skate 50, an art exhibition that will take place in the Undercroft from 30 April to June 21 this year.
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HeadlineSouthbank skatepark secures protected status after decades of uncertainty
Short HeadlineSouthbank skatepark wins protection
StandfirstWith the iconic London skate spot now listed, City News traces three generations of skateboarders who have made the space their own.
The birthplace of British skateboarding has finally secured Grade II listing after decades of uncertainty.
Beneath the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall sits the Undercroft, the world’s longest continually used skate spot.
Built in the 1960s by Brutalist architects, the concrete space was deliberately left open and undefined so the public could decide what it became. For years, it was largely empty. Then, in the mid-1970s, skateboarding arrived from the US and Londoners began building a subculture of their own.
Nick Robertson and his skateboard [Credit: Nick Robertson]Nick Robertson was part of the first wave of skateboarders who transformed the space in the 1970s. He started hanging around there at about eleven, and fifty years later he is still working around the Southbank. “There was nowhere to buy boards because it hadn’t taken off here yet,” he recalls. “I used to make boards out of wood and sand them down.”
At the time, skateboarding in Britain was still in its infancy. There were no skate shops and no established scene. Everything was improvised. The Undercroft was different too: an open stretch of concrete with no railings, no barriers, and, beyond the arts centre above, very little else lining the South Bank.
A group of young skaters in 1979 [Credit: Tim Leighton Boyce and Russell Howell]This was long before the London Eye was built and the Southbank became a tourist hotspot, teeming with visitors filming tricks on their phones. Back then, it was a newly claimed space where young people were creating a culture of their own.
But the spot has faced serious threats almost from the start. In 2004, two-thirds of it was fenced off and destroyed without warning.
Marcos Baines began skating after moving to London from Brazil in 2009. Today, he teaches skateboarding at Southbank. When I arrived to meet him, he was teaching a young girl how to kickflip.
Marcos Baines and his skateboard at Southbank [Credit: Maya Wolsey]He tells me that when he first arrived in London, he was depressed, and felt like he was constantly working . But one day, he stumbled across Southbank, and sat on the ledge watching people skate.
“It reminded me of skating with my friends in Brazil – how much I loved it,” he says. The next day, he bought a skateboard and hasn’t stopped since.
‘’Most people are like me, and they come from different countries away from their families, so this becomes like a family for them which I think is very important. It’s a place people can meet and feel safe.’’
Marcos was also there during one of the space’s most uncertain periods. Despite losing the majority of the space already, in 2014 the remaining area faced complete redevelopment.
“They wanted to close this place down,” he says. “But we created a group called Long Live Southbank and we managed to save it.”
‘Long Live Southbank’ supporter [Credit: Nick Robertson]The grassroots campaign Long Live Southbank, was formed by skaters and the local community against the redevelopment, eventually succeeded. And then, after years of fundraising and negotiations, the entire space was restored and reopened in 2019, which was when Charlie started skating here.
Charlie Xavier Tucker at Southbank [Credit: Maya Wolsey]“There’s a huge sense of community. I come here to meet people. Most of my friends I know from skating.” Charlie Xavier Tucker, who’s now sixteen, started coming to Southbank when he was nine. He tells me that since then, he’s seen the same people get older and grow with him.
Now, after decades of uncertainty, the Undercroft Skate Space has just been granted listed II status, giving it a crucial level of protection it’s never had before. And when I ask Charlie what he sees for the next fifty years at Southbank, he says: “I think it’s going to stay this big place for skaters for centuries’’.
Southbank skater in 1978 [Credit: Tim Leighton Boyce and Jim Slater]The Undercroft Skate Space will celebrate its 50th anniversary with Skate 50, an art exhibition that will take place in the Undercroft from 30 April to June 21 this year.
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