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, London, Mo ...

and

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

. 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 a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

, 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_(carriage), co ...

, 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, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam bought offi ...

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 (LTM) is a transport museum based in Covent Garden, London. The museum predominantly hosts exhibits relating to the heritage of Transport in London, London's transport, as well as conserving and explaining the histo ...

and the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

. 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 Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon period of the history of London dates from the end of the Londinium, Roman period in the 5th century to the beginning of the Norman and medieval London, Norman period in 1066. Romano-British ''Londinium'' ...

, 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 Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

for use as

arable land Arable land (from the , "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 the purposes of a ...

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 King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford ( 1485 – 14 March 1555) was an English royal minister in the Tudor era. He served variously as Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom, Lord High Admiral and Lord Privy Seal. Among the lands and property he ...

(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 known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. The 4th Earl commissioned

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...

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 combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

arcaded square along with the church of

St Paul's St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

. 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, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

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, Cullompton, Devon. He is especially noted for his design of market buildings, including Covent Garden Market in London. Life Educati ...

'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 of ...

. 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 f ...

about three miles (5 km) southwest at

Nine Elms Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth, with some parts (including the Nine Elms tube station, tube station) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. It lies on the River Thame ...

. 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 the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

and Camden and the parliamentary constituencies of

Cities of London and Westminster Cities of London and Westminster could refer to: *Cities of London and Westminster (UK Parliament constituency) Cities of London and Westminster (known as City of London and Westminster South from 1974 to 1997) is a List of United Kingdom Parli ...

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 Prime Minister sinc ...

. The area has been served by the

Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a Deep level underground, deep-level London Underground line running between the west and the north of London. It has two western branches which split at Acton Town tube station, Acton Town and serves 53 stations. The li ...

at Covent Garden tube station since 1907; the journey from

Leicester Square tube station Leicester Square () is a London Underground station in the West End of London, within walking distance of Theatreland and Chinatown, as well as the southern reaches of Soho. It is located on Charing Cross Road, a short distance to the east of L ...

is the shortest in London. The side of Covent Garden that lies in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

is a district of

History

Early history

Covent Garden from the Ralph Agas 1572 map of London - marked

During the

Roman period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, what is now the

Strand Strand or The 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 * ...

– 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 (, "Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is an , a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly in part from a survey carried out under Augustus, it describes t ...

. 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. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...

revealed a group of late Roman graves, suggesting the site had been sacred since at least 350 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 teache ...

and

Martin Biddle Martin Biddle, (born 4 June 1937) is a British archaeologist and academic. He is an emeritus fellow of Hertford College, Oxford. His work was important in the development of medieval and post-medieval archaeology in Great Britain. Early life ...

that there had been an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

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. Most twenty-first century historians think that it was originally a settlement established shortly after the Roman conquest of Brit ...

were borne out by excavations in 1985 and 2005. These revealed that a trading town, called

, developed around 600 AD, stretching from

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...

Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it, in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, and is part of the West End of London, West End West End Theatre, Theatreland. T ...

, with Covent Garden at the centre.

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 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 both died when Alfr ...

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, , detailing land owned by the

Benedictine monks The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, the ...

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

and

, 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 (fashion designer), Paul Smith. The Upper School of the R ...

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

granted it to

, 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 Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

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 creation came in 1414 for Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of Fran ...

, 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 Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford PC (1587 – 9 May 1641) was an English nobleman and politician. He built the square of Covent Garden, with the piazza and St Paul's Church, employing Inigo Jones as his architect. He is also known for ...

commissioned the architect

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 Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth, KB (15 January 1596 – 13 June 1661) was an English nobleman and translator. Life He was born in Denham, Buckinghamshire, to Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth, and Elizabeth Trevannion. He appears to ha ...

. 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". 1690 bedford house

The houses initially attracted the wealthy, although 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, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

to the immediate north of Covent Garden following the marriage of

William Russell, Lord Russell William Russell, Lord Russell (29 September 163921 July 1683) was an English Country Party politician and nobleman. He was a leading member of the Country Party, forerunners of the Whigs, who during the reign of Charles II of England laid th ...

(1639–1683) (third son of

William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford (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 the House o ...

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, ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

) to Rachel Wriothesley, 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 ...

(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 L ...

(1680–1711). By the 18th century, Covent Garden had become a well-known red-light district, attracting notable prostitutes such as

Betty Careless Betty Careless or Betsy Careless (–1739, or potentially d. 1752) was a notorious English prostitute and bagnio-owner. Probably born Elizabeth Carless (though she later used the name Mrs. Elizabeth Biddulph), she adapted her name to better suit ...

and Jane Douglas. 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 1760 to 1794, was an annual directory of prostitutes then working in Georgian era, Georgian London. A small pocketbook, it was printed and published in Covent Garden, and sold ...

'', 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 Sack ...

agreed to sell the Covent Garden Estate for £2 million to the MP and land speculator Harry Mallaby-Deeley, 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 southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...

and

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...

in southwest 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 ...

. 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

, the market and central square, and most of the elegant buildings, theatres and entertainment facilities, including the

, 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 Odhams Press was a British publishing company, operating from 1920 to 1968. Originally a magazine publisher, Odhams later expanded into book publishing and then children's comics. The company was acquired by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and the ...

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 n ...

''.

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 Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

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 Margaret ...

. 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. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...

, and then in 1645 a new parish was created, splitting governance of the estate between the parishes of

St Paul Covent Garden St Paul Covent Garden was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. The former area of the parish now corresponds to the Covent Garden market and surrounding streets in the City of Westminster. History It was created in 1645 ...

and St Martin, both still within the

Liberty of Westminster The City and Liberty of Westminster was a unit of local government in the county of Middlesex, England. It was located immediately to the west of the City of London. Originally under the control of Westminster Abbey, the local authority for the ...

. 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. The parish stands within the London Borough of Camden and forms part of the Diocese of London. The church, named for St Giles the Hermit, began as the c ...

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 The Metropolitan Borough of Holborn was a metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965. The borough included most of Holborn (the parts outside the City of London) as well as Bloomsbury and St Giles. In 1965 the borough ...

. Covent Garden came within the area of responsibility of the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the upper tier of local government for London between 1856 and 1889, primarily responsible for upgrading infrastructure. It also had a parks and open spaces committee which set aside and opened up severa ...

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

and Camden, and is in the Parliamentary constituencies of

and

. 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, retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell, service and repair various Apple products, including Macintosh, Mac desktop and MacBook laptop personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad ta ...

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 Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and new wave artists. Covent Garden Market 2011

The market halls and several other buildings in Covent Garden were bought by Capital & Counties Properties (now known as

Shaftesbury Capital Shaftesbury Capital, formerly Capital & Counties Properties plc, (Capco) is a United Kingdom-based Real estate investing, property investment and Real estate development, development company focused on sites in the West End of London, West End o ...

) in partnership with

GE Real Estate GE Capital was the financial services division of General Electric. Its various units were sold between 2013 and 2021, including the notable spin-off of the North American consumer finance division as Synchrony Financial. Ultimately, only one divi ...

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. Industrial ...

. The buildings are let to the Covent Garden Area Trust, who pay an annual peppercorn rent 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, as of 2007, 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. During the first hundred years or so of its history, the theatre was primarily a playhouse, with the

Letters Patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

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 concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

's first season of operas began. Many of his operas and

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

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 English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent G ...

since 1945, and the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

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 is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. 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 Montag ...

, by her admirer the Rev.

James Hackman James Hackman (baptized 13 December 1752, hanged 19 April 1779), briefly Rector (ecclesiastical), Rector of Wiveton in Norfolk, was the man who murdered Martha Ray, singer and mistress of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich.Rawlings, Philip, ''Ha ...

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 public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

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,

Piazza San Marco Piazza San Marco (; ), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal Town Square, public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). The Piazzetta ("little Piazza/Square") is an ext ...

in Venice,

Piazza Santissima Annunziata The (; 'Hospital of the Innocents'), also known in old Tuscan dialect as the , is a historic building in Florence, Italy. It was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, who received the commission in 1419 from the Arte della Seta. It was originally ...

in Florence, and the

Place des Vosges The Place des Vosges (), originally the 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 is the oldest ...

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 Grosvenor Group Limited is an internationally diversified property group, which traces its origins to 1677 and has its headquarters in London, England. Previously (from 1841) based at 66-68 Brook Street & 53 Davies Street, it is now based at 7 ...

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 locate ...

, the

French Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

architect, designed the individual houses under Jones's overall design. The church of

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

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 cu ...

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 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 of windmil ...

to a design by

Henry Clutton Henry Clutton (19 March 1819 – 27 June 1893)Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , was an English architect and designer. Life Henry Clutton was born on 19 March 1819, the son of Owen and Elizabeth Goodinge Clutton. He studied with Edwa ...

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 father ...

, 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 (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

. 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. The 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

. 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 Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop is a shop selling vintage and retro toys in London's Covent Garden. One of the oldest toy shops in London, it had its origins in Hoxton in 1851 before being taken over in 1877 by Benjamin Pollock, who ran it until his ...

. 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 Shaftesbury Capital, formerly Capital & Counties Properties plc, (Capco) is a United Kingdom-based property investment and development company focused on sites in the West End of London, including Covent Garden, Chinatown London and Carnaby Str ...

(CapCo) since 2006. In 1980 the

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 (also spelled Gwynn, Gwynne; 2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687) was an English people, English stage actress and celebrity figure of the Stuart Restoration, Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances ...

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 Killigre ...

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 of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir ''An Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'' (1740) describes his life in ...

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

, and

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, writer and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 to 1812, representing the constituencies of Stafford, Westminster and I ...

. 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 British Shakespearean actor, who performed, among other places, in London, Belfast, New York, Quebec, and Paris. He was known for his short stature, tumultuous personal life, and controversial div ...

, 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 known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

(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 theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

and generally stages popular musical theatre. It is a Grade I listed building.

London Transport Museum

The London Transport Museum is in a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

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 Syon Park is the garden of Syon House, the London home of the Duke of Northumberland in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. It was landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century, and it is Grade I listed by English Heritage under ...

and

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

. The first parts of the collection were brought together at the beginning of the 20th century by the

London General Omnibus Company The London General Omnibus Company or LGOC, was the principal bus operator in London between 1855 and 1933. It was also, for a short period between 1909 and 1912, a motor bus manufacturer. Overview The London General Omnibus Company was f ...

(LGOC) when it began to preserve buses being retired from service. After the LGOC was taken over by the

London Electric Railway The London Electric Railway (LER) was an underground railway company operating three lines on the London Underground. It was formed in 1910 and existed until 1933, when it was merged into the London Passenger Transport Board. History The LER ...

(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 Londo ...

in the 1930s and as the organisation passed through various successor bodies up to

TfL Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and se ...

, 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 troll ...

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, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

. 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

, was opened in 1881 to house both a

Magistrates' Court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) ...

and a

police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

. As well as dealing with local petty criminals, a number of high-profile defendants appeared in the court, including

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

Dr Crippen Hawley Harvey Crippen (11 September 1862 – 23 November 1910), colloquially known as Dr. Crippen, was an American Homeopathy, homeopath, Otolaryngology, ear and Ophthalmology, eye specialist and medicine dispenser who was hanged in HM Prison P ...

and the

Kray twins Ronald Kray (24 October 193320 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were English gangsters or organised crime figures and identical twin brothers from Haggerston who were prominent from the late 1950s until their arres ...

, and those facing

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

proceedings, such as

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

and

James Earl Ray James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive who was convicted of the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. After the assassination, Ray fled to London and ...

. 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 is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

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 building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to buil ...

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 (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

s in the London area. It is in

Great Queen Street Great Queen Street is a street in the West End of central London in England. It is a continuation of Long Acre from Drury Lane to Kingsway. It runs from 1 to 44 along the north side, east to west, and 45 to about 80 along the south side, wes ...

between

Holborn Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...

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 (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style, together with its regular use as a film and television location, have made it a tourist destination.

Historical diversity

London newspaper adverts printed in the 17th and 18th century confirm the presence of free and unfree men, women and children of African and Asian heritage living and working in the area. Like Sarah, a young enslaved woman of colour who ran away from a Mary Vernon, at Fishers Warehouse in Tavistock Street, Covent Garden in 1746.

RUN away from her Mistress on Saturday Morning last...Sarah, but is suppos’d to have been lately christen’d; she is about twenty Years of Age, short and thick, has one of her little Fingers bent inwards, and is mark’d on the Right Shoulder with the Letters IV, speaks pretty good English, and took away with her a white Linnen Gown, a blue and white Linnen Gown, and a brown Stuff Gown, of her own Apparel: Whoever will bring her to her Mistress, Mary Vernon, at Fisher’s Warehouse in Tavistock-Street, Covent-Garden, shall have Five Guineas Reward; or who yet will give Notice where she may be found, shall have Guinea for their Trouble; and if she will voluntarily return to her Mistress, she shall be kindly receiv’d, and all her Faults forgiven; but whoever shall harbour or entertain her after the Publication thereof, will be prosecuted to the Rigour of the Law.

Mary Vernon is believed to be the daughter of James Vernon Senior (whose wife was also called Mary) who was clerk to the supreme court of Jamaica. Mary was, therefore, the sister of James Vernon Junior, and

Admiral Edward Vernon Admiral Edward Vernon (12 November 1684 – 30 October 1757) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He had a long and distinguished career, rising to the rank of admiral after 46 years service. As a vice admiral during the War of Jenkins' E ...

who coined the term ‘grog’ and sailed a fleet to Jamaica in July 1739. Admiral Vernon would have been tended to by enslaved domestic servants like Sarah when in Jamaica, and it was relatively common for Royal Navy commanders to bring these individuals to Britain when they returned, often gifting unfree women and girls to their mothers, wives and daughters. The initials I and V branded on Sarah’s shoulders could indicate that she had belonged to a Vernon in Jamaica before coming to Britain. There were a number of plantation owners in Jamaica of the same name who were related to the Vernons of Westminster.

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

2005-04-09 - United Kingdom - England - London - Covent Garden Performer 4887800166

Street entertainment at Covent Garden was noted in

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

'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 the anarchic Mr Punch and one other ...

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, which promotes real ale, real cider, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. History The organisation was founde ...

National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors The National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors was a register of public houses in the United Kingdom with interiors which had been noted as being of significant historic interest, having remained largely unchanged for at least 30 years, but us ...

; 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 Fulle ...

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 traditional cas ...

, and

National Pub of the Year The National Pub of the Year is an annual competition held by CAMRA, the winner of which is announced in the February of the year following that in which the competition is run, that finds the best pub in the UK. Established in 1988, the compet ...

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 merg ...

, 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 Punch Pubs & Co is a pub and bar operator in the United Kingdom, with around 1,300 leased pubs. It is headquartered in the traditional brewing centre of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange as a consti ...

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, west London, England, was the brewing division of Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC, a family-run business from its foundation in 1845 until 2019, when it was sold to the Japanese Asahi Breweries. John Fuller's Griffin Br ...

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 of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...

in 1679 by thugs hired by

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 26 July 1680 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II of England, Charles II's Restoration (England), ...

, 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, England. 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 ...

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 "''Fin de siècle''" () is a French term meaning , 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 co ...

ensemble". The Freemasons Arms on Long Acre is linked with the founding of

the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

in 1863; however, the meetings took place at The Freemason's Tavern 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: Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule pertaining to the structure or behavior internal to a business * School rule, a rule tha ...

, 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 Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...

'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, 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 co ...

, 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 c ...

, 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, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...

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 the first novel serialised from March 1836 to November 1837 by English author Charles Dickens. Because of his success with ''Sketches by Boz'' published ...

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the great ...

, 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 (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

from Austria composed "Erinnerung an Covent Garden" (Memory of Covent Garden, op. 329).

Eliza Doolittle Eliza Doolittle is a fictional character and the protagonist in George Bernard Shaw's play '' Pygmalion'' (1913) and its 1956 musical adaptation, ''My Fair Lady''. Eliza (from Lisson Grove, London) is a Cockney flower seller, who comes to Prof ...

, the central character in

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

'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 bot ...

, ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

'', is a Covent Garden flower seller.

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. 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 featu ...

'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 is based on the 1966 novel '' Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square ...

'' 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 Free Cinema was a documentary film movement that emerged in the United Kingdom in the mid-1950s. The term referred to an absence of propagandised intent or deliberate box office appeal. Co-founded by Lindsay Anderson (but he later disdained the ' ...

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 fo ...

, ''

Every Day Except Christmas ''Every Day Except Christmas'' is a 37-minute documentary film filmed in 1957 at the Covent Garden fruit, vegetable and flower market, which at that point was still located in central London. It was directed by Lindsay Anderson and produced by K ...

'', 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 (formerly Bow Street Magistrates' court (England and Wales), Police Court) and Police Station each became one of the most famous magistrates' court (England and Wales), magistrates' courts and police stations in Eng ...

; the Covent Garden piazza; the

;

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 ...

;

Peacock Theatre The Peacock Theatre (previously the Royalty Theatre) is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Portugal Street, near Aldwych. The 999-seat house is owned by, and comprises part of the London School of Economics and Political ...

in Kingsway WC2, venues at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

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: *

's ''

Flavio ''Flavio, re de' Longobardi'' ("Flavio, King of the Lombards", Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis, 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 ''Flavi ...

'' (1994), by the (Irish)

Opera Theatre Company Irish National Opera is one of Ireland's largest arts organisations and presents opera in Dublin, on tour across Ireland and internationally. Irish National Opera was created from a merger of the Opera Theatre Company (OTC) and Wide Open Opera in ...

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), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's '' After the Ball'' (1999), at the Peacock Theatre, directed by Paul Curran

Cinemas

The Garden Cinema, which opened in March 2022, is located in Parker Street. The cinema is designed in Art Deco style, inside and out. It was founded by retired legal publisher Michael Chambers, of Orbach and Chambers, who bought the office building in 2010 and, after selling his business in 2018, had it converted by architects Burrell Foley Fischer. It was ready by 2020, but the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

delayed its opening. The cinema partners with a number of film festivals and other organisations, as well as hosting Q&As, live music, and poetry recitals.

Transport

Covent Garden tube station is situated on the corner of

and James Street. It is served by

trains, which link the area directly to important Central London destinations including

King's Cross St Pancras King's Cross St Pancras (; also known as King's Cross & St Pancras International) is a London Underground station on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden, Central London. It serves and main line stations in fare zone 1, and is served ...

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End 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 the advent of the ra ...

, and

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

(). 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.

is on the Piccadilly and

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

lines. The Northern line links Covent Garden directly to destinations such as

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

, Euston, and

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

. Other nearby tube stations include

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

, Embankment, and

is the nearest

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, a group representing passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by ...

('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

, and southbound to the

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 the ...

, via

Bow Street Bow Street is a thoroughfare in Covent Garden, City of Westminster, Westminster, London. It connects Long Acre, Russell Street and Wellington Street, and is part of a route from St Giles, London, St Giles to Waterloo Bridge. The street was ...

. The

Santander Cycles Santander Cycles (formerly Barclays Cycle Hire) is a public bicycle hire scheme in London in the United Kingdom. The scheme's bicycles have been popularly known as Boris Bikes, after Boris Johnson who was Mayor of London when the scheme began o ...

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 The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of central London and its suburbs, or the area formerly administered by the London County Council. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an A ...

: 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 ''The London Encyclopaedia'', first published in 1983, is a 1,100-page historical reference work on London, the capital city of the United Kingdom, covering the whole of the Greater London area. Development The first edition of the encyclopaedi ...

''. Pan Macmillan. .

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

History

Early history

Bedford Estate (1552–1918)

Modern changes

Geography

Governance

Economy

Landmarks

Royal Opera House

Covent Garden Piazza

Covent Garden market

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

London Transport Museum

St Paul's Church

Bow Street Magistrates' Court building

Freemasons' Hall

Historical diversity

Culture

Street performance

Pubs and bars

Restaurants

Cultural connections

Covent Garden Festival

Cinemas

Transport

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links