The undercroft at London’s Southbank Centre has been a haven for skateboarders since the 1970s. Now a new exhibition is celebrating its contribution to culture – and community

Shane O’Brien first skated at London’s Southbank Centre in the summer of 1975, at the age of 10. But before he could call himself a “Southbanker”, a regular of the famous spot, he had to face a certain ritual. In 1983 he was launched into the Thames by senior skaters and could finally consider himself one of the crew. Now in his 60s, O’Brien calls the South Bank his second home.

The skate spot at the Southbank Centre was created by accident. When the centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall was built in the 1960s, the architects left a space, or undercroft, beneath the building open to the public. The space featured concrete ledges and ramps, features that were utilised by local skateboarders in the mid-1970s – the spot has been skated ever since. If you’re in the area on the south-east side of the Thames in central London, you may not see the skaters right away. You will, however, always hear them.