Tour Overview
Focus: Theatrical London. The area between the Inns of Court on the east and Westminster on the west, including the Strand, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, and Piccadilly Circus
Historical Context
- Medieval Times: Originally this land was owned largely by the church and in that sense is an extension of Westminster. It is comprised largely of pasture land with homes of bishops along the Thames.
- Tudor Times: Henry VIII dissolves the monasteries, seizes the property of the church, and gives it to his favorites or offers it for sale to raise money for the state coffers.
- Stuart Times: Soho and Leicester Square are developed. Leicester Square becomes a scandalous center of entertainment. Theatre gains greater respectability on Drury Lane. Inigo Jones lays out the piazza that begins Covent Garden.
- Georgian Times: Leicester Square becomes a gathering place for artists in London. John Nash hired by the Regent to build a road from Cumberland Terrace to Regent’s Park. Trafalgar Square created as part of this project, to honor the memory of Lord Nelson. St. Martin’s-in-the-Field created by James Gibbs, a pupil of Christopher Wren.
- Victorian Times: Victoria Embankment constructed and much of the statuary in this area erected to honor events and people of this time. The home of the Royal Academy of Arts moved from Somerset House to the National Gallery and then to Burlington House, off Trafalgar. Almost all the existing buildings now standing were built at Covent Garden. Three major music halls created in Leicester Square.
- Modern Times: Cinemas replace the Victorian music halls in Leicester Square in the early 1900s. The produce wholesalers move from Covent Garden to Nine Elms in 1974. In the early 1980s, Covent Garden renovated with restored buildings and a new emphasis. The Chinese move into the Soho area and create Chinatown.
Places to Visit in This Area When You Have More Time
Somerset House, Courtaulds Institute Gallery, Gilbert Collection, Theatre Museum, London Transport Museum, Covent Garden, London Coliseum, Royal Opera House, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, St. Martin’s-in-the-Field.
Stops
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Introduction
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#1 Start: Temple Tube Station
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#2 Lancaster Place
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#3 Cleopatra's Needle
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#4 Savoy Street to Victoria Embankment Gardens
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#5 Villiers Street
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#6 Villiers Street to Charing Cross Railway Station
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#7 The Strand
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#8 The Strand to Somerset House and Courtauld
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#9 Cross the Strand
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#10 The Strand to the statue of William Gladstone
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#11 Aldwych Crescent
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#12 Drury Lane
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#13 Drury Lane to Russell Street
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#14 Covent Garden
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#15 Henrietta Street
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#16 King Street to James Street
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#17 James Street to Long Acre
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#18 Long Acre to Cranbourne Street to Leicester Square
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#19 Irving Street to Trafalgar Square
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#20 Trafalgar Square and St. Martin's in-the-Field
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#21 Pall Mall
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#22 Pall Mall to Piccadilly Circus
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#23 Shaftesbury Avenue to Gerrard Street
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#24 Gerrard Street to Shaftesbury Avenue to Charing Cross Road
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#25 The End: Return to the BYU Centre
Map
