Seven Dials was built on the site of the Cock-and-Pie Fields, named for a nearby inn.
Thomas Neale undertook the task of making a great junction, and he erected a pillar with seven dials, one for each of the streets at the junction.
The estate formally belonged to the Worshipful Company of Mercers which allowed building licences on what was open farmland to maximise their income. The original plan saw six roads converging, although this was later increased to seven. This layout was chosen to produce triangular plots, in order to maximise the frontage of houses to be built on the site - rentals were charged per foot of frontage.
Neale hoped that Seven Dials would be popular with wealthy residents. This was not to be and by the 19th century, Seven Dials was among the most notorious slums in London, as part of the slum of St Giles.
In 1733 the pillar was taken down as there was believed to be a fortune lodged at the base, but no money was found. The pillar was taken to Weybridge, Surrey but recently restored to its original location.
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence
| CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LOCALITY |
 
The Underground Map Added: 8 Dec 2020 00:24 GMT |
Othello takes a bow
On 1 November 1604, William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello was presented for the first time, at The Palace of Whitehall. The palace was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698. Seven years to the day, Shakespeare’s romantic comedy The Tempest was also presented for the first time, and also at the Palace of Whitehall.
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Linda Webb Added: 27 Sep 2021 05:51 GMT |
Hungerford Stairs
In 1794 my ancestor, George Webb, Clay Pipe Maker, lived in Hungerford Stairs, Strand. Source: Wakefields Merchant & Tradesmens General Directory London Westminster 1794
Source: Hungerford Stairs
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TUM Added: 27 Aug 2022 10:22 GMT |
The Underground Map
Michael Faraday successfully demonstrated the first electrical transformer at the Royal Institute, London.
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Roy Batham Added: 7 Jan 2022 07:17 GMT |
Smithy in Longacre
John Burris 1802-1848 Listed 1841 census as Burroughs was a blacksmith, address just given as Longacre.
Source: Batham/Wiseman - Family Tree
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Reg Carr Added: 10 Feb 2021 12:11 GMT |
Campbellite Meeting
In 1848 the Campbellites (Disciples of Christ) met in Elstree Street, where their congregation was presided over by a pastor named John Black. Their appointed evangelist at the time was called David King, who later became the Editor of the British Millennial Harbinger. The meeting room was visited in July 1848 by Dr John Thomas, who spoke there twice on his two-year ’mission’ to Britain.
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Scott Hatton Added: 11 Sep 2020 19:47 GMT |
Millions Of Rats In Busy London
The Daily Mail on 14 April 1903 reported "MILLIONS OF RATS IN BUSY LONDON"
A rat plague, unprecedented in the annals of London, has broken out on the north side of the Strand. The streets principally infested are Catherine street, Drury lane, Blackmore street, Clare Market and Russell street. Something akin to a reign of terror prevails among the inhabitants after nightfall. Women refuse to pass along Blackmore street and the lower parts of Stanhope street after dusk, for droves of rats perambulate the roadways and pavements, and may be seen running along the window ledges of the empty houses awaiting demolition by the County Council in the Strand to Holborn improvement scheme.
The rats, indeed, have appeared in almost-incredible numbers. "There are millions of them," said one shopkeeper, and his statement was supported by other residents. The unwelcome visitors have been evicted from their old haunts by the County Council housebreakers, and are now busily in search of new homes. The Gaiety Restaurant has been the greatest sufferer. Rats have invaded the premises in such force that the managers have had to close the large dining room on the first floor and the grill rooms on the ground floor and in the basement. Those three spacious halls which have witnessed many as semblages of theatre-goers are now qui:e deserted. Behind the wainscot of the bandstand in the grillroom is a large mound of linen shreds. This represents 1728 serviettes carried theee by the rats.
In the bar the removal of a panel disclosed the astonishing fact that the rats have dragged for a distance of seven or eight yards some thirty or forty beer and wine bottles and stacked them in such a fashion as to make comfortable sleeping places. Mr Williams. the manager of the restaurant, estimates that the rats have destroyed L200 worth of linen. Formerly the Gaiety Restaurant dined 2000 persons daily; no business whatever is now done in this direction.
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Bruce McTavish Added: 11 Mar 2021 11:37 GMT |
Kennington Road
Lambeth North station was opened as Kennington Road and then Westminster Bridge Road before settling on its final name. It has a wonderful Leslie Green design.
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Julian Added: 23 Mar 2021 10:11 GMT |
Dennis Potter
Author Dennis Potter lived in Collingwood House in the 1970’s
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Jessie Doring Added: 22 Feb 2021 04:33 GMT |
Tisbury Court Jazz Bar
Jazz Bar opened in Tisbury Court by 2 Australians. Situated in underground basement. Can not remember how long it opened for.
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Richard Roques Added: 21 Jan 2021 16:53 GMT |
Buckingham Street residents
Here in Buckingham Street lived Samuel Pepys the diarist, Charles Dickens and Rudyard Kipling
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Jude Allen Added: 29 Jul 2021 07:53 GMT |
Bra top
I jave a jewelled item of clothong worn by a revie girl.
It is red with diamante straps. Inside it jas a label Bermans Revue 16 Orange Street but I cannot find any info online about the revue only that 16 Orange Street used to be a theatre. Does any one know about the revue. I would be intesrested to imagine the wearer of the article and her London life.
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sam Added: 31 Dec 2021 00:54 GMT |
Burdett Street, SE1
I was on 2nd July 1952, in Burdett chambers (which is also known as Burdett buildings)on Burdett street
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| LATEST LONDON-WIDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROJECT |
danny currie Added: 30 Nov 2022 18:39 GMT |
dads yard
ron currie had a car breaking yard in millers yard back in the 60s good old days
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Lynette beardwood Added: 29 Nov 2022 20:53 GMT |
Spy’s Club
Topham’s Hotel at 24-28 Ebury Street was called the Ebury Court Hotel. Its first proprietor was a Mrs Topham. In WW2 it was a favourite watering hole for the various intelligence organisations based in the Pimlico area. The first woman infiltrated into France in 1942, FANY Yvonne Rudellat, was recruited by the Special Operations Executive while working there. She died in Bergen Belsen in April 1945.
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Added: 16 Nov 2022 12:39 GMT |
The Pearce family lived in Gardnor Road
The Pearce family moved into Gardnor Road around 1900 after living in Fairfax walk, my Great grandfather, wife and there children are recorded living in number 4 Gardnor road in the 1911 census, yet I have been told my grand father was born in number 4 in 1902, generations of the Pearce continue living in number 4 as well other houses in the road up until the 1980’s
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Phil Stubbington Added: 14 Nov 2022 16:28 GMT |
Numbers 60 to 70 (1901 - 1939)
A builder, Robert Maeers (1842-1919), applied to build six houses on plots 134 to 139 on the Lincoln House Estate on 5 October 1901. He received approval on 8 October 1901. These would become numbers 60 to 70 Rodenhurst Road (60 is plot 139). Robert Maeers was born in Northleigh, Devon. In 1901 he was living in 118 Elms Road with his wife Georgina, nee Bagwell. They had four children, Allan, Edwin, Alice, and Harriet, born between 1863 and 1873.
Alice Maeers was married to John Rawlins. Harriet Maeers was married to William Street.
Three of the six houses first appear on the electoral register in 1904:
Daniel Mescal “Ferncroft”
William Francis Street “Hillsboro”
Henry Elkin “Montrose”
By the 1905 electoral register all six are occupied:
Daniel Mescal “St Senans”
Henry Robert Honeywood “Grasmere”
John Rawlins “Iveydene”
William Francis Street “Hillsboro”
Walter Ernest Manning “St Hilda”
Henry Elkin “Montrose”
By 1906 house numbers replace names:
Daniel Mescal 70
Henry Robert Honeywood 68
John Rawlins 66
William Francis Street 64
Walter Ernest Manning 62
Henry Elkin 60
It’s not clear whether number 70 changed from “Ferncroft” to “St Senans” or possibly Daniel Mescal moved houses.
In any event, it can be seen that Robert Maeers’ two daughters are living in numbers 64 and 66, with, according to local information, an interconnecting door. In the 1911 census William Street is shown as a banker’s clerk. John Rawlins is a chartering clerk in shipping. Robert Maeers and his wife are also living at this address, Robert being shown as a retired builder.
By 1939 all the houses are in different ownership except number 60, where the Elkins are still in residence.
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stephen garraway Added: 13 Nov 2022 13:56 GMT |
Martin Street, Latimer Road
I was born at St Charlottes and lived at 14, Martin Street, Latimer Road W10 until I was 4 years old when we moved to the east end. It was my Nan Grant’s House and she was the widow of George Frederick Grant. She had two sons, George and Frederick, and one daughter, my mother Margaret Patricia.
The downstairs flat where we lived had two floors, the basement and the ground floor. The upper two floors were rented to a Scot and his family, the Smiths. He had red hair. The lights and cooker were gas and there was one cold tap over a Belfast sink. A tin bath hung on the wall. The toilet was outside in the yard. This was concreted over and faced the the rear of the opposite terraces. All the yards were segregated by high brick walls. The basement had the a "best" room with a large , dark fireplace with two painted metal Alsation ornaments and it was very dark, cold and little used.
The street lights were gas and a man came round twice daily to turn them on and off using a large pole with a hook and a lighted torch on the end. I remember men coming round the streets with carts selling hot chestnuts and muffins and also the hurdy gurdy man with his instrument and a monkey in a red jacket. I also remember the first time I saw a black man and my mother pulling me away from him. He had a Trilby and pale Mackintosh so he must of been one of the first of the Windrush people. I seem to recall he had a thin moustache.
Uncle George had a small delivery lorry but mum lost touch with him and his family. Uncle Fred went to Peabody Buildings near ST.Pauls.
My Nan was moved to a maisonette in White City around 1966, and couldn’t cope with electric lights, cookers and heating and she lost all of her neighbourhood friends. Within six months she had extreme dementia and died in a horrible ward in Tooting Bec hospital a year or so later. An awful way to end her life, being moved out of her lifelong neighbourhood even though it was slums.
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Added: 31 Oct 2022 18:47 GMT |
Memories
I lived at 7 Conder Street in a prefab from roughly 1965 to 1971 approx - happy memories- sad to see it is no more ?
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Eve Glover Added: 22 Oct 2022 09:28 GMT |
Shenley Road
Shenley Road is the main street in Borehamwood where the Job Centre and Blue Arrow were located
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Richard Lake Added: 28 Sep 2022 09:37 GMT |
Trade Union Official
John William Lake snr moved with his family to 22 De Laune Street in 1936. He was the London Branch Secretary for the Street Masons, Paviours and Road Makers Union. He had previously lived in Orange St now Copperfield St Southwark but had been forced to move because the landlord didn’t like him working from home and said it broke his lease.
John William snr died in 1940. His son John William Lake jnr also became a stone mason and at the end of World War two he was responsible for the engraving of the dates of WW2 onto the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
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101 Strand, WC2R This shop was one of the first in London to have gas lighting fitted. Ackermann’s Rudolph Ackermann (20 April 1764 in Stollberg, Saxony – 30 March 1834 in Finchley) was an Anglo-German bookseller, inventor, lithographer, publisher and businessman. Admiral Duncan The Admiral Duncan is well-known as one of Soho’s oldest gay pubs. British Museum British Museum was a station on the Central line, located in Holborn and taking its name from the nearby British Museum in Great Russell Street. De Hems De Hems has become a base for London’s Dutch community, serving bitterballen and frikandellen. Garrick Yard Garrick Yard, together with the more familiar Garrick Street to the northeast of here, both took their names from the Garrick Club which commemorates the famous 18th century actor, David Garrick. Leicester Square Leicester Square, while indeed a square, is also the name for a tube station. L’Escargot L’Escargot is one of London’s oldest restaurants. Piccadilly Circus Piccadilly Circus was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly. Queen’s Theatre The Queen’s Theatre is located in Shaftesbury Avenue on the corner of Wardour Street. St Giles St Giles is a district of central London, at the southern tip of the London Borough of Camden. Trident Studios Trident Studios was located at 17 St Anne’s Court between 1968 and 1981. Wyld’s Great Globe Wyld’s Great Globe was an attraction situated in Leicester Square between 1851 and 1862. Agar Street, WC2N Agar Street is named after George Agar, who built the street in the 1830s with John Ponsonby, Earl of Bessborough Andrew Borde Street, W1D Andrew Borde Street was situated opposite the end of Sutton Row and under the Centre Point development. Archer Street, W1D Archer Street was Arch Street in 1675, Orchard Street in 1720 and Archer Street by 1746. Arne Street, WC2E Arne Street was named after the 18th century composer Thomas Arne, who was born near here. Bainbridge Street, WC2H Bainbridge Street takes its name from Henry Bainbridge, a local resident in the 17th century. Banbury Court, WC2E Banbury Court is named for Nicholas Knollys, 3rd Earl of Banbury, who owned a house here called Banbury House. Bateman Street, W1D Bateman Street was named for Sir James Bateman, local landowner and Lord Mayor of London in the 1670s. Bedfordbury, WC2N Bedfordbury is one of the streets of London in the WC2N postal area. Bloomsbury Street, WC1A Bloomsbury Street runs from Gower Street in the north to the junction of New Oxford Street and Shaftesbury Avenue in the south. Bow Street, WC2B Bow Street was built in the shape of a bow between 1633 and 1677. Bow Street, WC2E Bow Street was first developed by Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford in 1633. Brewer Street, W1D Brewer Street runs west to east from Glasshouse Street to Wardour Street. Broad Court, WC2B Broad Court is one of the streets of London in the WC2B postal area. Brydges Place, WC2N Brydges Place replaced Taylor’s Buildings in 1904 when the Colloseum was built. Carting Lane, WC2R Carting Lane is thought to be named after the carts that brought goods to and from the wharf formerly located here. Charing Cross Road, WC2H Charing Cross Road is a street running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus. Ching Court, WC2H Ching Court is one of the streets of London in the WC2H postal area. Covent Garden, WC2E Covent Garden, is the name of a district, but also the name of the central square which formerly hosted a fruit-and-vegetable market. Coventry Street, W1D Coventry Street is a short street connecting Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square. On the London Monopoly board, it was named after the politician Henry Coventry, secretary of state to Charles II. Cranbourn Street, WC2H Cranbourne Street was named after local landowner the Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranbourn (Cranbourne) after the town in Dorset. Crown Court, WC2E Crown Court is one of the streets of London in the WC2B postal area. Dansey Place, W1D Dansey Place is one of the streets of London in the W1D postal area. Dean Street, W1D Dean Street is one of the streets of London in the W1D postal area. Drury Lane, WC2B Named from Sir William Drury, Knight of the Garter in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, who owned land on its site. Duck Lane, W1F Duck Lane is one of the streets of London in the W1F postal area. East Street, W1T East Street is one of the streets in the Twickenham postal district. Endell Street, WC2H Endell Street, originally known as Belton Street, is a street that runs from High Holborn in the north to Long Acre and Bow Street in the south. Excel Court, WC2H Excel Court is one of the streets of London in the WC2H postal area. Great Windmill Street, W1F Great Windmill Street has had a long association with music and entertainment, most notably the Windmill Theatre. Greens Court, W1D Greens Court is one of the streets of London in the W1F postal area. Ham Yard, W1D Ham Yard is one of the streets of London in the W1D postal area. Hanway Place, W1T Hanway Place is one of the streets of London in the W1T postal area. High Holborn, WC2B High Holborn is a road which is the highest point in the City of London - 22 metres above sea level. Hog Lane, WC2H Hog Lane was a lane that went from St Giles’ leper hospital (set up in the 12th century) to the monument to Eleanor at Charing Cross. Hop Gardens, WC2N Hop Gardens is one of the streets of London in the WC2N postal area. King Street, WC2E King Street is one of the streets of London in the WC2E postal area. Long Acre, WC2E Long Acre is one of the streets of London in the WC2E postal area. Maiden Lane, WC2E Maiden Lane runs from Bedford Street in the west to Southampton Street in the east. Manette Street, W1D Manette Street in Soho is named after the character from Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. Meard Street, W1D John Meard, the younger was a carpenter, later a landowner, who developed the street. Moor Street, W1D Moor Street is one of the streets of London in the W1D postal area. Museum Street, WC1A Museum Street is so-named since it approaches the main entrance of the British Museum. Neal Street, WC2H Neal Street is one of the streets of London in the WC2H postal area. Neals Yard, WC2H Neals Yard is one of the streets of London in the WC2H postal area. New Row, WC2E New Row is one of the streets of London in the WC2N postal area. Newport Court, WC2H Newport Court was laid out approximately on the site of the courtyard of Newport House. Newport Place, W1D Newport Place was named after Mountjoy Blount, Earl of Newport (Isle of Wight), who owned a house on Newport Street in the 17th century. Odhams Walk, WC2H Odhams Walk is one of the streets of London in the WC2H postal area. Parker Mews, WC2B Parker Mews is one of the streets of London in the WC2B postal area. Peter Street, W1F Peter Street is one of the streets of London in the W1F postal area. Rathbone Place, W1T Rathbone Place honours Captain Rathbone who was the builder of the road and properties thereon from 1718 onwards. Romilly Street, W1D Romilly Street is a small street that runs behind Shaftesbury Avenue and takes its name from lawyer Samuel Romilly. Rose Street, WC2N Rose Street is one of the streets of London in the WC2E postal area. Royalty Mews, W1D Royalty Mews is one of the streets of London in the W1D postal area. Rupert Court, W1D Rupert Court was named for Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the First Lord of the Admiralty when the court was built in 1676. Rupert Street, W1D Rupert Street – after Prince Rupert of the Rhine, noted 17th century general and son of Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James I. Savoy Court, WC2R Savoy Court is one of the streets of London in the WC2R postal area. Savoy Way, WC2R Savoy Way is located on the former site of the Savoy Palace, built for Peter II, Count of Savoy in 1245.
Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D Shaftesbury Avenue is a major street in the West End of London, named after Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2H Shaftesbury Avenue was named after Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, Victorian politician and philanthropist. Smiths Court, W1D Smiths Court is one of the streets of London in the W1D postal area. Soho Square, W1D In its early years, Soho Square was one of the most fashionable places to live in London. Soho Street, W1D Soho Street is one of the streets of London in the W1D postal area. The Arcade, WC2B The Arcade is one of the streets of London in the WC2B postal area. The Market, WC2E The Market is one of the streets of London in the WC2E postal area. The Piazza, WC2E The Piazza is one of the streets of London in the WC2E postal area. Tower Court, WC2H Tower Court is one of the streets of London in the WC2H postal area. Walker’s Court, W1D Walker’s Court is one of the many passageways which in past years was known as ’Paved Alley’. Wardour Street, W1D The W1D part of Wardour Street south of Shaftesbury Avenue runs through London’s Chinatown. Wardour Street, W1F Wardour Street is a street that runs north from Leicester Square, through Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street. West Street, WC2H West Street is one of the streets of London in the WC2H postal area. Wild Street, WC2B Wild Street is one of the streets of London in the WC2B postal area. Admiral Duncan The Admiral Duncan is well-known as one of Soho’s oldest gay pubs. Clock House The Coach & Horses is a pub on the corner of Romilly Street and Greek Street. De Hems De Hems has become a base for London’s Dutch community, serving bitterballen and frikandellen. Dog and Duck The Dog and Duck is on the corner of Frith Street and Bateman Street.
From fruit and veg to Froo Tan VetchCovent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin’s Lane and
Drury Lane.
It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as
Covent Garden. The district is divided by the main thoroughfare of
Long Acre, north of which is given over to independent shops centred on Neal’s Yard and Seven Dials, while the south contains the central square with its street performers and most of the elegant buildings, theatres and entertainment facilities, including the Theatre Royal,
Drury Lane, and the London Transport Museum.
Though mainly fields until the 16th century, the area was briefly settled when it became the heart of the Anglo-Saxon trading town of
Lundenwic. After the town was abandoned, part of the area was walled off by 1200 for use as arable land and orchards by Westminster Abbey, and was referred to as ’the garden of the Abbey and Convent’. The land, now called the
Covent Garden, was seized by Henry VIII, and granted to the Earls of Bedford in 1552. The 4th Earl commissioned Inigo Jones to build some fine houses to attract wealthy tenants. Jones designed the Italianate 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 the laying-out of new estates as London grew.
A small open-air fruit and vegetable market had developed on the south side of the fashionable square by 1654. Gradually, both the market and the surrounding area fell into disrepute, as taverns, theatres, coffee-houses and brothels opened up; the gentry moved away, and rakes, wits and playwrights moved in.
By the 18th century it had become a well-known red-light district, attracting notable prostitutes. An Act of Parliament was drawn up to control the area, and Charles Fowler’s neo-classical building was erected in 1830 to cover and help organise the market. The area declined as a pleasure-ground as the market grew and further buildings were added: the Floral Hall, Charter Market, and in 1904 the
Jubilee Market. By the end of the 1960s traffic congestion was causing problems, and in 1974 the market relocated to the New
Covent Garden Market about three miles (5 km) south-west at Nine Elms. 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 tube station is a Grade II listed building and was opened by Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway on 11 April 1907, four months after services on the rest of the line began operating on 15 December 1906.
Like the rest of the original GNP&BR stations, the street level station building and platform tiling was designed by Leslie Green. The station building is a classic red ’Oxblood’ building which has two elevations fronting onto the end of
James Street and
Long Acre. The platform wall was tiled with two shades of yellow and white tiling which formed geometric shapes along with three blank spaces to incorporate the station name. As part of TFL’s investment programme, the ageing tiling dating back from the station’s opening was replaced in 2010 in a like-for-like basis, retaining the look and feel of the platforms.
Covent Garden station is one of the few stations in Central London for which platform access is only by lift or stairs and often becomes congested due to the
Covent Garden area’s popularity with tourists. To control congestion on Saturday afternoons, when the surrounding shopping areas are at their busiest, the station was previously exit only to avoid the risk of dangerous overcrowding of the platforms, but following replacement of the lifts, this restriction has been lifted. There are four lifts which give access to street level, although a final flight of stairs from the lifts to the platforms means that the station is wheelchair inaccessible. Alternatively, there is an emergency spiral staircase of 193 steps (The equivalent to a 15 storey building). During the lift journey a recorded announcement is played asking passengers to have their tickets/passes ready as they exit the lifts and advising where to turn for
Covent Garden’s market.
Image: Chris Ross
