The constituency was created for the 1885 general election and abolished for the 1918 general election, when almost all its territory was represented by the new Bermondsey West and a very small amount going into the existing Rotherhithe constituency.

The 1983 by-election was one of the most bitterly contested by-elections in the United Kingdom as it involved Bob Mellish, the retired Labour MP, running a highly personal and homophobic campaign against the Labour candidate, Peter Tatchell.

The result was the election of Simon Hughes as a Liberal in a former Labour stronghold.

1974–1983: The London Borough of Southwark wards of Abbey, Bricklayers, Browning, Cathedral, Chaucer, Dockyard, Riverside, and Rotherhithe.

[1] Note: Esmond Bevan made a mistake and inserted his occupation rather than politics in the nomination paper.