Catherine Street, WC2B
Back in the day when rolling tobacco was a thing your granddad did, the ’Old Holborn’ brand was top of its game.
Credit: Wiki Commons
Catherine Street runs from Russell Street in the north to Aldwych in the south.

Catherine Street was originally laid out in the 1630s by Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford. When built it was closed at its southern end near its junction with Exeter Street. The southern end was the garden wall of Exeter House and the back of the White Hart Inn in the Strand.

Until the nineteenth century it was called Brydges Street after the fourth earl’s wife.

The street is now part of the theatre district of London’s West End and includes the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the Duchess Theatre and the Novello Theatre.

The public houses in the street include Nell of Old Drury and the Opera Tavern. The Opera Tavern was built in 1879 to a design by the architect George Treacher.

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