Neal Street
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between
St Martin's Lane St Martin's Lane is a street in the City of Westminster, which runs from the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, after which it is named, near Trafalgar Square northwards to Long Acre. At its northern end, it becomes Monmouth Street. St Marti ...
and
Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks T ...
. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and with the
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...
, itself known as "Covent Garden". The district is divided by the main thoroughfare of
Long Acre Long Acre is a street in the City of Westminster in central London. It runs from St Martin's Lane, at its western end, to Drury Lane in the east. The street was completed in the early 17th century and was once known for its coach-makers, and la ...
, north of which is given over to independent shops centred on
Neal's Yard Neal's Yard is a small alley in London's Covent Garden between Shorts Gardens and Monmouth Street which opens into a courtyard. It is named after the 17th century developer, Thomas Neale. In 1976, alternative activist and entrepreneur Nicholas ...
and Seven Dials, while the south contains the central square with its street performers and most of the historical buildings, theatres and entertainment facilities, including the
London Transport Museum The London Transport Museum (often abbreviated as the LTM) is a transport museum based in Covent Garden, London. The museum predominantly hosts exhibits relating to the heritage of London's transport, as well as conserving and explaining the h ...
and the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...
. The area was fields until briefly settled in the 7th century when it became the heart of the Anglo-Saxon trading town of
Lundenwic The history of Anglo-Saxon London relates to the history of the city of London during the Anglo-Saxon period, in the 7th to 11th centuries. Romano-British ''Londinium'' had been abandoned in the late 5th century, although the London Wall rema ...
, then abandoned at the end of the 9th century after which it returned to fields. By 1200 part of it had been walled off by the Abbot of
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
for use as
arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...
and orchards, later referred to as "the garden of the Abbey and Convent", and later "the Convent Garden". Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries it was granted in 1552 by the young King
Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...
to
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford (c. 1485 – 14 March 1555) was an English royal minister in the Tudor era. He served variously as Lord High Admiral and Lord Privy Seal. Among the lands and property he was given by Henry VIII after the D ...
(c.1485–1555), the trusted adviser to his father King
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
. The 4th Earl commissioned
Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant architect in England and Wales in the early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings. As the most notable archit ...
to build some fine houses to attract wealthy tenants. Jones designed the
Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...
arcaded square along with the church of St Paul's. The design of the square was new to London and had a significant influence on modern town planning, acting as the prototype for new estates as London grew. By 1654 a small open-air fruit-and-vegetable market had developed on the south side of the fashionable square. Gradually, both the market and the surrounding area fell into disrepute, as taverns, theatres, coffee-houses and brothels opened up. By the 18th century it had become notorious for its abundance of
brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub p ...
s. An Act of Parliament was drawn up to control the area, and
Charles Fowler Charles Fowler (17 May 1792 – 26 September 1867) was an English architect, born and baptised at Cullompton, Devon. He is especially noted for his design of market buildings, including Covent Garden Market in London. Life Education and earl ...
's neo-classical building was erected in 1830 to cover and help organise the market. The market grew and further buildings were added: the Floral Hall, Charter Market, and in 1904 the
Jubilee Market Jubilee Market is located in Jubilee Hall in Covent Garden, London. The first market in Covent Garden piazza took place in 1654, and Jubilee Market was built in 1904, covering Tavistock Street, named after the then Duke of Bedford, Marquess o ...
. By the end of the 1960s traffic congestion was causing problems, and in 1974 the market relocated to the
New Covent Garden Market New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms, London, is the largest wholesale fruit, vegetable and flower market in the United Kingdom. It covers a site of and is home to about 200 fruit, vegetable and flower companies. The market serves 40% of the ...
about three miles (5 km) south-west at
Nine Elms Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies on the River Thames, with Battersea to the west, South Lambeth to the south and Vauxhall to the east. The area was formerly mainly industrial ...
. The central building re-opened as a shopping centre in 1980 and is now a tourist location containing cafes, pubs, small shops, and a craft market called the Apple Market, along with another market held in the Jubilee Hall. Covent Garden falls within the London boroughs of
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
and Camden and the parliamentary constituencies of
Cities of London and Westminster Cities of London and Westminster (also known as City of London and Westminster South from 1974 to 1997) is a constituency returning a single Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons in the United Kingdom Parliament. It is a borough co ...
and
Holborn and St Pancras Holborn and St Pancras () is a parliamentary constituency in Greater London that was created in 1983. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Sir Keir Starmer, the current Lead ...
. The area has been served by the
Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the north to the west of London. It has two branches, which split at Acton Town, and serves 53 stations. The line serves Heathrow Airport, and some of its stations are ...
at
Covent Garden tube station Covent Garden is a London Underground station serving Covent Garden and the surrounding area in the West End of London. It is on the Piccadilly line between Leicester Square and Holborn stations and is in Travelcard Zone 1. The station is at ...
since 1907; the 300 yard journey from
Leicester Square tube station Leicester Square is a London Underground station in Theatreland and Chinatown, in the West End of London. It is located on Charing Cross Road, a short distance to the east of Leicester Square itself. The station is on the Charing Cross branch ...
is the shortest in London.


History


Early history

During the
Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
, what is now the
Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street ...
– running along the southern boundary of the area that was to become Covent Garden – was part of the route to
Silchester Silchester is a village and civil parish about north of Basingstoke in Hampshire. It is adjacent to the county boundary with Berkshire and about south-west of Reading. Silchester is most notable for the archaeological site and Roman town of ...
, known as "Iter VII" on the
Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti,  "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...
. Excavations in 2006 at
St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...
revealed a late Roman grave, suggesting the site had been sacred since at least 410 AD. The area to the north of the Strand was long thought to have remained as unsettled fields until the 16th century, but theories by
Alan Vince Alan George Vince (30 March 1952 – 23 February 2009) was a British archaeologist who studied Saxon, medieval and early modern ceramics through the application of petrological, geological and archaeological techniques. He was also a teacher ...
and Martin Biddle that there had been an
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...
settlement to the west of the old Roman town of
Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cros ...
were borne out by excavations in 1985 and 2005. These revealed that a trading town, called
Lundenwic The history of Anglo-Saxon London relates to the history of the city of London during the Anglo-Saxon period, in the 7th to 11th centuries. Romano-British ''Londinium'' had been abandoned in the late 5th century, although the London Wall rema ...
, developed around 600 AD, stretching from
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...
to
Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the area immediately surrounding it in central London, England, within the City of Westminster. The street starts east-northeast of Charing Cross, the conventional map centre-point of the city ...
, with Covent Garden at the centre.
Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bo ...
gradually shifted the settlement into the old Roman town of Londinium from around 886 AD onwards, leaving no mark of the old town, and the site returned to fields. The first mention of a walled garden comes from a document, circa 1200 AD, detailing land owned by the
Benedictine monks , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...
of the Abbey of St Peter, Westminster. A later document, dated between 1250 and 1283, refers to "the garden of the Abbot and Convent of Westminster". By the 13th century this had become a quadrangle of mixed orchard, meadow, pasture and arable land, lying between modern-day
St Martin's Lane St Martin's Lane is a street in the City of Westminster, which runs from the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, after which it is named, near Trafalgar Square northwards to Long Acre. At its northern end, it becomes Monmouth Street. St Marti ...
and
Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks T ...
, and
Floral Street Floral Street is a narrow street in the Covent Garden area of London, England. It runs east from Garrick Street to Bow Street and contains a number of fashion stores, including Paul Smith. The Upper School of the Royal Ballet School is located ...
and Maiden Lane. The use of the name "Covent"—an Anglo-French term for a religious community, equivalent to "monastery" or "convent"—appears in a document in 1515, when the Abbey, which had been letting out parcels of land along the north side of the Strand for inns and market gardens, granted a lease of the walled garden, referring to it as "a garden called Covent Garden". This is how it was recorded from then on.


Bedford Estate (1552–1918)

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540 under King Henry VIII, monastic lands in England reverted to the crown, including lands belonging to Westminster Abbey such as the Convent Garden and seven acres to the north called Long Acre. In 1552 King
Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...
granted it to
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford (c. 1485 – 14 March 1555) was an English royal minister in the Tudor era. He served variously as Lord High Admiral and Lord Privy Seal. Among the lands and property he was given by Henry VIII after the D ...
, his late father's trusted adviser. The Russell family, who in 1694 were advanced in the
peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...
from Earl to
Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 and 1433 respectively, in favour of Henry IV's third so ...
, held the land until 1918. Russell built Bedford House and garden on part of the land, with an entrance on the Strand, the large garden stretching back along the south side of the old walled-off convent garden. In 1630 Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford commissioned the architect
Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant architect in England and Wales in the early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings. As the most notable archit ...
to design and build a church and three terraces of fine houses around a large square or piazza. This had been prompted by King
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
having taken offence at the poor condition of the road and houses along Long Acre, which were the responsibility of Russell and Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth. Russell and Carey complained that under the 1625 Proclamation concerning Buildings, which restricted building in and around London, they could not build new houses. For a fee of £2,000, the King then granted Russell a licence to build as many new houses on his land as he "shall thinke fitt and convenient". The houses initially attracted the wealthy, though they moved out when a market developed on the south side of the square around 1654, and coffee houses, taverns, and prostitutes moved in. The Bedford Estate was expanded by the inheritance of the former manor of
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest ...
to the immediate north of Covent Garden following the marriage of William Russell, Lord Russell (1639–1683) (third son of
William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford KG PC (August 1616 – 7 September 1700) was an English nobleman and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he inherited his Peerage as 5th Earl of Bedford and removed to th ...
of
Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...
in
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
) to
Rachel Wriothesley Rachel, Lady Russell ( Wriothesley ; – 29 September 1723) was an English noblewoman, heiress, and author. Her second husband was William, Lord Russell, who was implicated in the Rye House Plot and later executed. A collection of the many ...
, heiress of Bloomsbury, younger of the two daughters and co-heiresses of
Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, KG ( ; 10 March 1607 – 16 May 1667), styled Lord Wriothesley before 1624, was an English statesman, a staunch supporter of King Charles II who after the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 r ...
(1607-1667). Rachel's son and heir was
Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford KG (1 November 1680 – 26 May 1711) was an English nobleman and politician. He was the son of William Russell, Lord Russell, and his wife Lady Rachel Wriothesley. From 1683 until 1694, he was styled Lor ...
(1680–1711). By the 18th century, Covent Garden had become a well-known red-light district, attracting notable prostitutes such as Betty Careless and
Jane Douglas Jane Douglas ( – 10 June 1761), commonly known as Mother Douglas, was a brothel-keeper in mid-18th century London. Known at the time as "The Empress of the Bawds", her house in Covent Garden attracted customers from the higher echelons of ...
. Descriptions of the prostitutes and where to find them were provided by ''
Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies ''Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies'', published from 1757 to 1795, was an annual directory of prostitutes then working in Georgian London. A small pocketbook, it was printed and published in Covent Garden, and sold for two s ...
'', the "essential guide and accessory for any serious gentleman of pleasure". In 1830 a market hall was built to provide a more permanent trading centre. In 1913
Herbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford Herbrand Arthur Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford, (19 February 1858 – 27 August 1940) was an English politician and peer. He was the son of Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford, and his wife Lady Elizabeth Sackville-West, daughter of George Sac ...
agreed to sell the Covent Garden Estate for £2 million to the MP and land speculator
Harry Mallaby-Deeley Sir Harry Deeley Mallaby-Deeley, 1st Baronet (27 October 1863, London – 4 February 1937, Cannes) was a British Conservative Party politician. Harry Deeley was educated at Shrewsbury School and Trinity College, Cambridge. His brother was the t ...
, who sold his option in 1918 to the Beecham family for £250,000.


Modern changes

The Covent Garden Estate was part of Beecham Estates and Pills Limited from 1924 to 1928, after which it was managed by a successor company called Covent Garden Properties, owned by the Beechams and other private investors. This new company sold some properties at Covent Garden, while becoming active in property investment in other parts of London. In 1962 the bulk of the remaining properties in the Covent Garden area, including the market, were sold to the newly established government-owned Covent Garden Authority for £3,925,000. By the end of the 1960s, traffic congestion had reached such a level that the use of the square as a modern wholesale distribution market was becoming untenable, and significant redevelopment was planned. Following a public outcry, buildings around the square were protected in 1973, preventing redevelopment. The following year the market moved to a new site in Nine Elms, between
Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batt ...
and
Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
in south-west London. The square languished until its central building re-opened as a shopping centre in 1980. After consulting with residents and local businesses, Westminster Council drew up an action plan to improve the area while retaining its historic character in 2004. The market buildings, along with several other properties in Covent Garden, were bought by a Property company in 2006.


Geography

Historically, the Bedford Estate defined the boundary of Covent Garden, with Drury Lane to the east, the Strand to the south, St Martin's Lane to the west, and Long Acre to the north. However, over time the area regarded as part of Covent Garden has expanded northwards past Long Acre to
High Holborn High Holborn ( ) is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and S ...
. Since 1971, with the creation of the Covent Garden Conservation Area which incorporated part of the area between St Martin's Lane and Charing Cross Road, Charing Cross Road has sometimes been taken as its western boundary. Long Acre is the main thoroughfare, running north-east from St Martin's Lane to Drury Lane. Shelton Street, running parallel to the north of Long Acre, marks the London borough boundary between Camden and Westminster. The area to the south of Long Acre contains the
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...
, the market and central square, and most of the elegant buildings, theatres and entertainment facilities, including the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...
, and the London Transport Museum; while the area to the north of Long Acre is largely given over to independent retail units centred on Neal Street, Neal's Yard and Seven Dials; though this area also contains residential buildings such as Odhams Walk, built in 1981 on the site of the Odhams print works, and is home to 7,000 residents. For a list of street name etymologies in Covent Garden see: ''
Street names of Covent Garden This is a list of the etymology of street names in the London district of Covent Garden. Covent Garden has no formally defined boundaries – those utilised here are: Shaftesbury Avenue to the north-west, New Oxford Street and High Holborn to the ...
''.


Governance

The Covent Garden estate was originally under the control of Westminster Abbey and lay in the
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
of
St Margaret Saint Margaret, St. Margarets, or St. Margaret's may refer to: People In chronological order: * Saint Margaret the Virgin of Antioch (died 304) * Saint Margaret of Scotland (c. 1045–1093) * Saint Margaret of England (died 1192) * Saint Margare ...
. During a reorganisation in 1542 it was transferred to
St Martin in the Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the medie ...
, and then in 1645 a new parish was created, splitting governance of the estate between the parishes of St Paul Covent Garden and St Martin, both still within the Liberty of Westminster. St Paul Covent Garden was completely surrounded by the parish of St Martin in the Fields. It was grouped into the Strand District in 1855. In 1900 it became part of the
Metropolitan Borough of Westminster The Metropolitan Borough of Westminster was a metropolitan borough in the County of London, England, from 1900 to 1965. City status By royal charter dated 29 October 1900, the borough was granted the title City of Westminster. Westminster had o ...
and was abolished as a civil parish in 1922. The northern reaches of Covent Garden were within the ancient parish of
St Giles in the Fields St Giles in the Fields is the Anglican parish church of the St Giles district of London. It stands within the London Borough of Camden and belongs to the Diocese of London. The church, named for St Giles the Hermit, began as a monastery and ...
and outside the Liberty of Westminster. They were from 1855 to 1900 part of the St Giles District and from 1900 part of the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn. Covent Garden came within the area of responsibility of the
Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London Coun ...
from 1855 and in 1889 became part of the
County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...
. Since 1965 Covent Garden falls within the London boroughs of
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
and Camden, and is in the Parliamentary constituencies of
Cities of London and Westminster Cities of London and Westminster (also known as City of London and Westminster South from 1974 to 1997) is a constituency returning a single Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons in the United Kingdom Parliament. It is a borough co ...
and
Holborn and St Pancras Holborn and St Pancras () is a parliamentary constituency in Greater London that was created in 1983. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Sir Keir Starmer, the current Lead ...
. For local council elections it falls within the St James's ward for Westminster, and the Holborn and Covent Garden ward for Camden.


Economy

Covent Garden Market reopened in 1980 as a shopping arcade with restaurants and a pub. The central hall has shops, cafes and bars alongside the Apple Market stalls selling antiques, jewellery, clothing and gifts; there are additional casual stalls in the Jubilee Hall Market on the south side of the square. In 2010, what was then the largest
Apple Store The Apple Store is a chain of retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell various Apple products, including Mac personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad tablet computers, Apple Watch smartwatches, Apple TV digital me ...
in the world opened in The Piazza. Long Acre has clothes shops and boutiques, and Neal Street is noted for its numerous shoe shops. London Transport Museum and the side entrance to the Royal Opera House box office and other facilities are also located on the square. During the late 1970s and 1980s the ''Rock Garden'' music venue was popular with up and coming punk rock and new wave artists. The market halls and several other buildings in Covent Garden were bought by CapCo in partnership with
GE Real Estate GE Capital is the financial services division of General Electric. The company currently only runs one division, GE Energy Financial Services. It had provided additional services in the past; however, those units were sold between 2013 and 201 ...
in August 2006 for £421 million, on a 150-year
head lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industria ...
. The buildings are let to the Covent Garden Area Trust, who pay an annual
peppercorn rent In legal parlance, a peppercorn is a metaphor for a very small cash payment or other nominal consideration, used to satisfy the requirements for the creation of a legal contract. It is featured in ''Chappell & Co Ltd v Nestle Co Ltd'' (960AC 87 ...
of one red apple and a posy of flowers for each head lease, and the Trust protects the property from being redeveloped. In March 2007 CapCo also acquired the shops located under the Royal Opera House. The complete Covent Garden Estate owned by CapCo consists of , and has a market value of £650 million.


Landmarks


Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House, known as "Covent Garden", was constructed as the "Theatre Royal" in 1732 to a design by
Edward Shepherd Edward Shepherd (died 1747) was a prominent London-based English architect and developer in the Georgian period. Architectural work Shepherd worked on the following projects, among others: * Cannons, a house for James Brydges, 1st Duke o ...
. During the first hundred years or so of its history, the theatre was primarily a playhouse, with the
Letters Patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...
granted by Charles II giving Covent Garden and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, exclusive rights to present spoken drama in London. In 1734, the first ballet was presented; a year later
Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
's first season of operas began. Many of his operas and
oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...
s were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premières here. It has been the home of
The Royal Opera The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Cov ...
since 1945, and the Royal Ballet since 1946. The current building is the third theatre on the site following destructive fires in 1808 and 1857. The façade, foyer and auditorium were designed by Edward Barry, and date from 1858, but almost every other element of the present complex dates from an extensive £178 million reconstruction in the 1990s. The main auditorium is a
Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. The inclusion of the adjacent old Floral Hall, previously a part of the old Covent Garden Market, created a large new public gathering place. In 1779 the pavement outside the playhouse was the scene of the murder of
Martha Ray Martha Ray (1746 – 7 April 1779) was a British singer of the Georgian era. Her father was a corsetmaker and her mother was a servant in a noble household. Good-looking, intelligent, and a talented singer, she came to the attention of many of ...
, mistress of the
Earl of Sandwich Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu. ...
, by her admirer the Rev. James Hackman.


Covent Garden Piazza

The central square in Covent Garden is simply called "Covent Garden", often marketed as "Covent Garden Piazza" to distinguish it from the eponymous surrounding area. Designed and laid out in 1630, it was the first modern square in London—originally a flat, open space or
piazza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
with low railings. From about 1635 onwards there were many private residents of note, including the nobility, living in the Great Piazza. A casual market started on the south side, and by 1830 the present market hall had been built. The space is popular with street performers, who audition with the site's owners for an allocated slot. The square was originally laid out when the 4th Earl of Bedford, Francis Russell, commissioned Inigo Jones to design and build a church and three terraces of fine houses around the site of a former walled garden belonging to Westminster Abbey. Jones's design was informed by his knowledge of modern town planning in Europe, particularly Piazza d'Arme, in
Leghorn, Tuscany Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pro ...
,
Piazza San Marco Piazza San Marco (; vec, Piasa San Marco), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). All other urban spaces in the city (exc ...
in Venice,
Piazza Santissima Annunziata The Ospedale degli Innocenti (;) 'Hospital of the Innocents', also known in old Tuscan dialect as the ''Spedale degli Innocenti'', is a historic building in Florence, Italy. It was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, who received the commission in ...
in Florence, and the
Place des Vosges The Place des Vosges (), originally Place Royale, is the oldest planned square in Paris, France. It is located in the '' Marais'' district, and it straddles the dividing-line between the 3rd and 4th arrondissements of Paris. It was a fashionabl ...
in Paris. The centrepiece of the project was the large square, the concept of which was new to London, and this had a significant influence on modern town planning as the metropolis grew, acting as the prototype for the design of new estates, such as the Ladbroke Estate and the Grosvenor Estate.
Isaac de Caus Isaac de Caus (1590–1648) was a French landscaper and architect. He arrived in England in 1612 to carry on the work that his brother Salomon de Caus had left behind. His first known work in England was a grotto that Caus designed in 1623 locat ...
, the French Huguenot architect, designed the individual houses under Jones's overall design. The church of St Paul's was the first building, and was begun in July 1631 on the western side of the square. The last house was completed in 1637. Seventeen of the houses had
arcaded An arcade is a succession of contiguous arches, with each arch supported by a colonnade of columns or piers. Exterior arcades are designed to provide a sheltered walkway for pedestrians. The walkway may be lined with retail stores. An arcade may ...
portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...
walks organised in groups of four and six either side of James Street on the north side, and three and four either side of Russell Street. These arcades, rather than the square itself, took the name Piazza; the group from James Street to Russell Street became known as the "Great Piazza" and that to the south of Russell Street as the "Little Piazza". None of Inigo Jones's houses remains, though part of the north group was reconstructed in 1877–79 as Bedford Chambers by
William Cubitt Sir William Cubitt FRS (bapt. 9 October 1785 – 13 October 1861) was an eminent English civil engineer and millwright. Born in Norfolk, England, he was employed in many of the great engineering undertakings of his time. He invented a type o ...
to a design by Henry Clutton.


Covent Garden market

The first record of a "new market in Covent Garden" is in 1654 when market traders set up stalls against the garden wall of Bedford House. The Earl of Bedford acquired a private charter from Charles II in 1670 for a fruit and vegetable market, permitting him and his heirs to hold a market every day except Sundays and Christmas Day. The original market, consisting of wooden stalls and sheds, became disorganised and disorderly, and
John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, (6 July 1766 – 20 October 1839), known as Lord John Russell until 1802, was a British Whig politician who notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Ministry of All the Talents. He was the fathe ...
, requested an Act of Parliament in 1813 to regulate it, then commissioned Charles Fowler in 1830 to design the neo-classical market building that is the heart of Covent Garden today. The "greater part of the pillars" were built from granite quarried from Cairngall in today's
Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area inclu ...
. The contractor was William Cubitt and Company. Further buildings were added—the Floral hall, Charter Market, and in 1904 the Jubilee Market for foreign flowers was built by Cubitt and Howard. By the end of the 1960s, traffic congestion was causing problems for the market, which required increasingly large lorries for deliveries and distribution. Redevelopment was considered, but protests from the Covent Garden Community Association in 1973 prompted the Home Secretary,
Robert Carr Leonard Robert Carr, Baron Carr of Hadley, (11 November 1916 – 17 February 2012) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Home Secretary from 1972 to 1974. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 26 years, and later s ...
, to give dozens of buildings around the square listed-building status, preventing redevelopment. The following year the market relocated to its new site, New Covent Garden Market, about three miles (5 km) south-west at
Nine Elms Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies on the River Thames, with Battersea to the west, South Lambeth to the south and Vauxhall to the east. The area was formerly mainly industrial ...
. The central building re-opened as a shopping centre in 1980, with cafes, pubs, small shops and a craft market called the Apple Market. Among the first shops to relocate here was Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop. Another market, the Jubilee Market, is held in the Jubilee Hall on the south side of the square. The market halls and several other buildings in Covent Garden have been owned by the property company Capital & Counties Properties (CapCo) since 2006. In 1980 the
London Transport Museum The London Transport Museum (often abbreviated as the LTM) is a transport museum based in Covent Garden, London. The museum predominantly hosts exhibits relating to the heritage of London's transport, as well as conserving and explaining the h ...
opened in part of the old flower market buildings, and these were refurbished in around 2005 to re-open in 2007.


Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

The current Theatre Royal on Drury Lane is the most recent of four incarnations, the first of which opened in 1663, making it the oldest continuously used theatre in London. For much of its first two centuries, it was, along with the Royal Opera House, a
patent theatre The patent theatres were the theatres that were licensed to perform "spoken drama" after the Restoration of Charles II as King of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1660. Other theatres were prohibited from performing such "serious" drama, but ...
granted rights in London for the production of drama, and had a claim to be one of London's leading theatres. The first theatre, known as "Theatre Royal, Bridges Street", saw performances by
Nell Gwyn Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stag ...
and Charles Hart. After it was destroyed by fire in 1672, English dramatist and theatre manager
Thomas Killigrew Thomas Killigrew (7 February 1612 – 19 March 1683) was an English dramatist and theatre manager. He was a witty, dissolute figure at the court of King Charles II of England. Life Killigrew was one of twelve children of Sir Robert Killigrew ...
constructed a larger theatre on the same spot, which opened in 1674. Killigrew's theatre lasted nearly 120 years, under leadership including
Colley Cibber Colley Cibber (6 November 1671 – 11 December 1757) was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir ''Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'' (1740) describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling ...
,
David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1717 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Sa ...
, and
Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as '' The Rivals'', ''The ...
. In 1791, under Sheridan's management, the building was demolished to make way for a larger theatre which opened in 1794. However that survived only 15 years, burning down in 1809. The building that stands today opened in 1812. It has been home to actors as diverse as Shakespearean actor
Edmund Kean Edmund Kean (4 November 178715 May 1833) was a celebrated British Shakespearean stage actor born in England, who performed, among other places, in London, Belfast, New York, Quebec, and Paris.  He was known for his short stature, tumultuo ...
, child actress
Clara Fisher Clara Fisher (14 July 1811 – 12 November 1898) was a British prodigy who, at the age of six, began performing on the London stage in 1817. Ten years later, she made her New York debut in 1827. Her acting career lasted for 72 years and in he ...
, comedian
Dan Leno George Wild Galvin (20 December 1860 – 31 October 1904), better known by the stage name Dan Leno, was a leading English music hall comedian and musical theatre actor during the late Victorian era. He was best known, aside from his music hall a ...
, the comedy troupe
Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over fou ...
(who recorded a concert album there), and musical composer and performer
Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...
. Since November 2008 the theatre has been owned by composer
Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musical ...
and generally stages popular musical theatre. It is a Grade I listed building.


London Transport Museum

The London Transport Museum is in a Victorian iron and glass building on the east side of the market square. It was designed as a dedicated flower market by William Rogers of William Cubitt and Company in 1871, and was first occupied by the museum in 1980. Previously the transport collection had been held at Syon Park and
Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...
. The first parts of the collection were brought together at the beginning of the 20th century by the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC) when it began to preserve buses being retired from service. After the LGOC was taken over by the London Electric Railway (LER), the collection was expanded to include rail vehicles. It continued to expand after the LER became part of the
London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Lond ...
in the 1930s and as the organisation passed through various successor bodies up to TfL, London's transport authority since 2000. The Covent Garden building has on display many examples of buses, trams,
trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
es and rail vehicles from the 19th and 20th centuries as well as artefacts and exhibits related to the operation and marketing of passenger services and the impact that the developing transport network has had on the city and its population.


St Paul's Church

St Paul's, commonly known as the Actors' Church, was built in 1633, at a cost of £4,000, though was not consecrated until 1638. In 1645 Covent Garden was made a separate parish and the church was dedicated to
St Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
. How much of Jones's original building is left is unclear, as the church was damaged by fire in 1795 during restoration work by
Thomas Hardwick Thomas Hardwick (1752–1829) was an English architect and a founding member of the Architects' Club in 1791. Early life and career Hardwick was born in Brentford, Middlesex the son of a master mason turned architect also named Thomas Hard ...
; the columns are thought to be original but the rest is mostly Georgian or Victorian reconstruction.


Bow Street Magistrates' Court building

The building, opposite the
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...
, was opened in 1881 to house both a
Magistrates' Court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cou ...
and a police station. As well as dealing with local petty criminals, a number of high-profile defendants appeared in the court, including
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
, Dr Crippen and the
Kray twins Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Engl ...
, and those facing
extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...
proceedings, such as
Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
and
James Earl Ray James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive convicted for assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. After this Ray was on the run and was cap ...
. The police station closed in 1992, with its work moving to the more modern Charing Cross police station. The court building's
Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
status meant it was not economic to update it to modern standards and the court closed in July 2006. Sold to developers,
planning permission Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building per ...
was obtained to convert the building into a hotel and museum. A 91-room hotel and a public restaurant, run by the New York based NoMad chain, opened in May 2021, as did a museum of local police history in the former police station.


Freemasons' Hall

Freemasons' Hall is the headquarters of the
United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic grand lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...
and the Supreme Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of England, as well as a meeting place for many
Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
s in the London area. It is in Great Queen Street between
Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its ro ...
and Covent Garden and has been a Masonic meeting place since 1775. Parts of the building are open to the public daily, and its preserved classic
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
style, together with its regular use as a film and television location, have made it a tourist destination.


Culture

The Covent Garden area has long been associated with entertainment and shopping. Covent Garden has 13 theatres, and over 60 pubs and bars, with most south of Long Acre, around the main shopping area of the old market. The Seven Dials area in the north of Covent Garden was home to the punk rock club The Roxy in 1977, and the area remains focused on young people with its trendy mid-market retail outlets.


Street performance

Street entertainment at Covent Garden was noted in
Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...
's diary in May 1662, when he recorded the first mention of a
Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character ...
show in Britain. Impromptu performances of song and swimming were given by local celebrity William Cussans in the eighteenth century. Covent Garden is licensed for street entertainment, and performers audition for timetabled slots in a number of venues around the market, including the North Hall, West Piazza, and South Hall Courtyard. The courtyard space is dedicated to classical music only. There are street performances at Covent Garden Market every day of the year, except Christmas Day. Shows run throughout the day and are about 30 minutes in length. In March 2008, the market owner, CapCo, proposed to reduce street performances to one 30-minute show each hour.


Pubs and bars

The Covent Garden area has over 60 pubs and bars; several of them are listed buildings, with some also on
CAMRA The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 155,000 members, it is ...
's
National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors The National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors is a register of public houses in the United Kingdom with interiors which have been noted as being of significant historic interest, having remained largely unchanged for at least 30 years, but usu ...
; some, such as
The Harp The Harp is a public house at 47 Chandos Place, Covent Garden, London, WC2N 4HS. It was The Welsh Harp until 1995, when it was taken over by an Irish woman Binnie Walsh, who subsequently bought the pub. The pub was subsequently sold to Ful ...
in Chandos Place, have received consumer awards. The Harp's awards include London Pub of the Year in 2008 by the
Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood __NOTOC__ The Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood (SPBW), founded in 1963, is the oldest consumer-based group interested in stimulating the brewing of, increasing the awareness of, and encouraging the drinking of Cask ale, traditi ...
, and National Pub of the Year by CAMRA in 2010. It was at one time owned by the
Charrington Brewery Charrington Brewery was founded in Bethnal Green, London, in the early 18th century by Robert Westfield. In 1766, John Charrington joined the company, which then traded as Westfield, Moss & Charrington from the Anchor Brewery in Stepney. It merge ...
, when it was known as The Welsh Harp; in 1995 the name was abbreviated to just The Harp, before Charrington sold it to Punch Taverns in 1997. It was eventually purchased by the landlady Binnie Walsh around 2010 then subsequently sold by her to
Fuller's Brewery Fuller's Brewery in Chiswick in the west of London was a family-run business from its foundation in 1845 until 2019. In that year, the brewing division of Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC was sold to the Japanese international beverage giant Asahi. ...
in 2014. It continues to win regular CAMRA pub awards under its new owners. The Lamb and Flag in Rose Street is possibly the oldest pub in the area. The first mention of a pub on the site is 1772 (when it was called the Cooper's Arms – the name changing to Lamb & Flag in 1833); the 1958 brick exterior conceals what may be an early 18th-century frame of a house replacing the original one built in 1638. The pub acquired a reputation for staging bare-knuckle prize fights during the early 19th century when it earned the nickname "Bucket of Blood". The alleyway beside the pub was the scene of an attack on
John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the p ...
in 1679 by thugs hired by
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647 – 26 July 1680) was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II's Restoration court. The Restoration reacted against the "spiritual authoritarianism" of the Puritan era. Rochester embodie ...
, with whom he had a long-standing conflict.
The Salisbury The Salisbury is a Grade II* listed pub on Grand Parade in Harringay, North London. History The Salisbury was designed and built by John Cathles Hill, founder of The London Brick Company. The pub was opened in 1899 with W. A. Cathles, a cou ...
in St Martin's Lane was built as part of a six-storey block around 1899 on the site of an earlier pub that had been known under several names, including the Coach & Horses and Ben Caunt's Head; it is both Grade II listed, and on CAMRA's National Inventory, due to the quality of the etched and polished glass and the carved woodwork, summed up as "good
fin de siècle () is a French term meaning "end of century,” a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom "turn of the century" and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without context, ...
ensemble". The Freemasons Arms on Long Acre is linked with the founding of
the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
in 1863; however, the meetings took place at The
Freemason's Tavern The Freemasons' Tavern was established in 1775 at 61-65 Great Queen Street in the West End of London. It served as a meeting place for a variety of notable organisations from the 18th century until it was demolished in 1909 to make way for the ...
on Great Queen Street, which was replaced in 1909 by the Connaught Rooms. Other Grade II listed pubs include three 19th century rebuilds of 17th century/18th century houses, the Nell Gwynne Tavern in Bull Inn Court, the Nag's Head on James Street, and the White Swan on New Row; a Victorian pub built by lessees of the Marquis of Exeter, the Old Bell on the corner of Exeter Street and Wellington Street; and a late 18th or early 19th century pub the Angel and Crown on St Martin's Lane.


Restaurants

There is a wide range of restaurants, mainly in Covent Garden's central area around the piazza, and in the St Martin's Lane area bordering the West End; some of these with international reputations. Among the restaurants are the historic theatrical eating places, the oldest of which is
Rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule pert ...
, which was founded in 1798, making it the oldest restaurant in London, followed by J. Sheekey, an oyster bar and fish restaurant founded in 1893 by market-stall holder Josef Sheekey in Lord Salisbury's St Martin's Court, and The Ivy, which was founded as an unlicensed Italian cafe by Abel Giandellini in 1917. Other restaurants include
Gaby's Deli Gaby's Deli was a family Jewish restaurant in London's Charing Cross Road. It was named after the founder, Gaby Elyahou, who ran it with his family. It served fresh salads and homely hot meals such as goulash. It was especially noted for the ...
, a Jewish cafe and restaurant serving falafels and salt beef sandwiches since 1965, and Mon Plaisir, founded in 1943, one of the oldest French restaurants in London. Covent Garden was home to some of London's earliest coffee shops, such as
Old Slaughter's Coffee House Old Slaughter's Coffee House was a coffee house in St Martin's Lane in London. Opened in 1692 by Thomas Slaughter, it was the haunt of many of the important personages of the period. The building was demolished in 1843 when Cranbourn Street was c ...
, which ran from 1692 until 1843, and a
Beefsteak Club Beefsteak Club is the name or nickname of several 18th- and 19th-century male dining clubs in Britain and Australia that celebrated the beefsteak as a symbol of patriotic and often Whig concepts of liberty and prosperity. The first beefsteak clu ...
, the Sublime Society of Beef Steaks, which was co-founded in 1736 by
William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like ...
at the Theatre Royal (now the Royal Opera House).


Cultural connections

Covent Garden, and especially the market, have appeared in a number of works. It is the place where Job Trotter, character of the
Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with '' Sketches by Boz'' published in 1836, Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to ...
by
Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
, spends the nights. In 1867,
Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...
from Austria composed "Erinnerung an Covent Garden" (Memory of Covent Garden, op. 329). Eliza Doolittle, the central character in
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
's play, '' Pygmalion'', and the musical adaptation by
Alan Jay Lerner Alan Jay Lerner (August 31, 1918 – June 14, 1986) was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, and later Burton Lane, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre b ...
, ''
My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...
'', is a Covent Garden flower seller.
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
's 1972 film ''
Frenzy ''Frenzy'' is a 1972 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is the penultimate feature film of his extensive career. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer was based on the 1966 novel ''Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Squa ...
'' about a Covent Garden fruit vendor who becomes a serial sex killer, was set in the market where his father had been a wholesale greengrocer. The daily activity of the market was the topic of a 1957 Free Cinema documentary by
Lindsay Anderson Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading-light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered for ...
, '' Every Day Except Christmas'', which won the Grand Prix at the Venice Festival of Shorts and Documentaries.


Covent Garden Festival

The Covent Garden Festival, also known as the BOC Covent Garden Festival due to sponsorship by BOC, is or was a festival of music and musical theatre staged across various venues in early summer each year. It was run by administrator Kenneth Richardson from 1996 to 2001. Its impending closure was announced in late 2001, owing to lack of sponsorship for 2002. However, official company records show incorporation in 1989 and ongoing registration . Venues used for the festival have included the
Bow Street Magistrates Court Bow Street Magistrates' Court became one of the most famous magistrates' court in England. Over its 266-year existence it occupied various buildings on Bow Street in Central London, immediately north-east of Covent Garden. It closed in 2006 an ...
; the Covent Garden piazza; the
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...
;
Cochrane Theatre The Cochrane Theatre, previously known as the Jeanetta Cochrane Theatre, was a receiving and producing theatre situated in Holborn, London, that opened in 1964. It is now used for television filming. History The theatre opened in 1963 and was n ...
,
Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its ro ...
; Peacock Theatre in Kingsway WC2, venues at
Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincol ...
and The Temple; and the
Royal Courts of Justice The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is a court building in Westminster which houses the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The High Court also sits on circuit and in other major cities. Designed by Ge ...
on The Strand. Performances at the festival include: *
Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
's ''
Flavio ''Flavio, re de' Longobardi'' ("Flavio, King of the Lombards", HWV 16) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Matteo Noris's ''Flavio Cuniberto''. It was Han ...
'' (1994), by the (Irish)
Opera Theatre Company The Irish National Opera was created from a merger of the Opera Theatre Company (OTC) and Wide Open Opera in 2017 and launched in January 2018. The new entity continues the tradition of the former Opera Ireland (), Ireland's first permanent natio ...
*
Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
's '' After the Ball'' (1999), at the Peacock Theatre, directed by Paul Curran


Transport

Covent Garden tube station Covent Garden is a London Underground station serving Covent Garden and the surrounding area in the West End of London. It is on the Piccadilly line between Leicester Square and Holborn stations and is in Travelcard Zone 1. The station is at ...
is situated on the corner of
Long Acre Long Acre is a street in the City of Westminster in central London. It runs from St Martin's Lane, at its western end, to Drury Lane in the east. The street was completed in the early 17th century and was once known for its coach-makers, and la ...
and James Street. It is served by
Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the north to the west of London. It has two branches, which split at Acton Town, and serves 53 stations. The line serves Heathrow Airport, and some of its stations are ...
trains, which link the area directly to important Central London destinations including King's Cross St Pancras,
South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...
, and
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
(). The station opened in 1907, and is one of the few in Central London for which platform access is only by lift or stairs. The journey from Covent Garden to Leicester Square is London's shortest tube journey, at less than 300 yards.
Leicester Square tube station Leicester Square is a London Underground station in Theatreland and Chinatown, in the West End of London. It is located on Charing Cross Road, a short distance to the east of Leicester Square itself. The station is on the Charing Cross branch ...
is on the Piccadilly and
Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...
lines. The Northern line links Covent Garden directly to destinations such as Waterloo, Euston, and
Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as ...
. Other nearby tube stations include
Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City ...
,
Embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railway ...
, and
Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its ro ...
.
Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City ...
is the nearest
National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...
('mainline') station to Covent Garden. More than 30
London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...
routes run along Covent Garden's perimeters, although no routes run directly through Covent Garden following the permanent withdrawal of the RV1 route in 2019. The Quietway 1 cycle route passes through Covent Garden. The route is signposted and runs on quieter roads or contraflow cycle lanes. The route runs northbound towards the
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest ...
, and southbound to the
Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street ...
and
Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at t ...
, via Bow Street. The Santander Cycles bike sharing scheme operates in Covent Garden, with several docking points throughout the area.


References


Bibliography

* Anderson, Christy (2007). ''Inigo Jones and the Classical Tradition''. Cambridge University Press. . * Banham, Martin (1995). ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre''. Cambridge University Press. . * Boursnell, Clive; Ackroyd, Peter (2008). ''Covent Garden: The Fruit, Vegetable and Flower Markets''. Frances Lincoln Publishers. . * Burford, E. J. (1986). ''Wits, Wenchers and Wantons – London's Low Life: Covent Garden in the Eighteenth Century''. Robert Hale Ltd. . * Kilburn, Mike; Arzoz, Alberto (2002). ''London's Theatres''. New Holland Publishers. . * Porter, Roy (1998). ''London: A Social History''. Harvard University Press. . * Sheppard, F. H. W. (1970). '' Survey of London: volume 36: Covent Garden''. Institute of Historical Research. * Summerson, John (1983). ''Inigo Jones''. Penguin. . * Thorne, Robert (1980). ''Covent Garden Market: its History and Restoration''. Architectural Press. . * Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher (2008). '' The London Encyclopaedia''. Pan Macmillan. .


Further reading

* * * *


External links


Covent Garden Community AssociationCovent Garden London
{{Authority control Districts of the City of Westminster Districts of the London Borough of Camden Tourist attractions in the City of Westminster Conservation areas in London Odonyms referring to a building Odonyms referring to religion