Julian Markham House is a King's College London hall of residence at 114 Walworth Road, Elephant and Castle, SE17 1JL. It is operated by Unite Students on behalf of KCL and is exclusive to King's students. The building has around 232 beds across en-suite rooms and studios, with all bills, Wi-Fi and contents insurance included.
The location is the standout feature of this student accommodation in London, and it's worth understanding before you accept your offer.
Where is Julian Markham House?
Walworth Road, in Elephant and Castle, south London. Elephant and Castle station is essentially opposite the building, giving you the Bakerloo and Northern lines plus National Rail.
Distances to KCL campuses:
| Campus | How long |
| Waterloo | Around 10 to 25 minutes' walk, depending which source you use |
| Guy's | Around 25 minutes' walk |
| Strand | Around 25 minutes' walk |
Reported walking times vary quite a bit between sources, which usually means the honest answer is "it depends on your pace and which building you need." Assume 20 to 25 minutes to most campuses on foot, or a few stops on the tube.
You are also a short walk from UAL's London College of Communication and close to London South Bank University, though the hall itself is KCL-only.
Who can live there?
King's College London students only. Julian Markham House is allocated through KCL Residences even though the day-to-day operation is Unite Students.
This matters more than it sounds. Unite runs a large portfolio of open-market student accommodation across the UK, and you cannot simply book this one directly as a non-KCL student the way you can with most Unite properties.
What rooms are available?
En-suite rooms and studios. The en-suite room is the standard offering: your own bathroom, a single bed, a study desk and chair, wardrobe, and storage under the bed, with a shared kitchen.
Kitchens are fitted with a cooker, microwave and fridge. Studios have their own kitchen facilities.
Historic student reporting describes the rooms as spacious for the area, which is not something you can say about a lot of central London halls. The building was substantially renovated ahead of the 2018/19 year, which raised rents considerably at the time.
On price: KCL publishes current rents on its residences pages and these change annually. Third-party listing sites quote figures for Julian Markham House that vary widely and are often out of date. Use KCL's own figures.
What facilities are there?
- Outdoor courtyard with a pool table and table tennis
- Laundry room
- Bike storage
- 24-hour security with CCTV and secure door entry
- Free unlimited Wi-Fi
- All bills included
- Contents insurance included
- On-site customer service and maintenance team
The courtyard is the unusual one. Outdoor space with actual things to do in it is rare in zone 1 and 2 student housing, and it is the feature residents mention most.
What is Elephant and Castle like?
Genuinely one of the better-connected spots in London for a student, and a fair distance from the tourist version of the city.
Elephant and Castle station puts you on the Northern line, which runs directly to London Bridge, Waterloo and the West End, and the Bakerloo line for Oxford Circus and Paddington. For a KCL student splitting time between Strand, Waterloo and Guy's, that is close to ideal.
The area itself has changed substantially over the past decade through large-scale redevelopment, and continues to. It is busy, it is a proper working part of south London rather than a student quarter, and there is a Latin American food scene along Walworth Road that is worth exploring.
There is a large student population in the immediate area given UAL's London College of Communication and LSBU are both nearby, so you will not feel isolated even though the hall is KCL-only.
The honest verdict
The location and transport are excellent. The building has been renovated, the rooms are reasonably sized, and having a courtyard with a pool table is a genuine perk.
The thing to check before you accept is management responsiveness. Published resident feedback on this hall has historically been mixed on that point specifically, with complaints about reception staffing and maintenance turnaround. That feedback is not recent, buildings and management teams change, and one review site is not a survey. But it is the question to ask.
Concretely, when you get the chance to speak to current residents or the accommodation office, ask two things: what is the typical turnaround on a maintenance request, and is reception staffed at predictable hours. Those two answers tell you more about daily life in a hall than any facilities list.
Who is it right for?
Good fit: KCL students splitting time between campuses, anyone who values transport links over being on campus, students who want an en-suite with bills included and no surprises, and people who would rather live in a real neighbourhood than a student enclave.
Poor fit: students who want to roll out of bed five minutes before a lecture, and anyone who wants a quiet residential setting. Walworth Road is a busy main road.
FAQs
Q: Where is Julian Markham House?
A: 114 Walworth Road, London SE17 1JL, in Elephant and Castle. Elephant and Castle station is directly opposite.
Q: Who can live at Julian Markham House?
A: King's College London students only. It is operated by Unite Students on behalf of KCL and allocated through KCL Residences.
Q: How many rooms does Julian Markham House have?
A: Around 232 beds, across en-suite rooms and studios.
Q: How far is Julian Markham House from KCL?
A: Roughly 20 to 25 minutes' walk to most KCL campuses including Waterloo, Guy's and the Strand, or a few stops on the Northern or Bakerloo line.
Q: Are bills included at Julian Markham House?
A: Yes. All bills, Wi-Fi and contents insurance are included in the rent, as with Unite's other London properties.
Q: Does Julian Markham House have en-suite rooms?
A: Yes. En-suite rooms with a shared kitchen are the standard option, and studios with private kitchens are also available.
Q: Can I choose my flatmates at Julian Markham House?
A: Room allocation runs through KCL Residences. Ask the accommodation office directly about flatmate requests, as policies differ from Unite's open-market properties.
