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{{short description|District in London, England}}{{about}}{{Use British English|date=September 2015}}{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}

factoids

| london_borough = Westminster| london_borough1 = CamdenCities of London and Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)>Cities of London and WestminsterHolborn and St Pancras (UK Parliament constituency)>Holborn and St Pancras| os_grid_reference = TQ303809| static_image_name = File:Covent Garden Interior May 2006 crop.jpg| static_image_width = 300px| static_image_caption = Interior of the former vegetable market, 2006| post_town = London| postcode_area = WC| postcode_district = WC2}}Covent 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 with the Royal Opera House, itself 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 historical buildings, theatres and entertainment facilities, including the London Transport Museum and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.The area was fields until briefly settled in the 7th century when it became the heart of the Anglo-Saxon trading town of Lundenwic, 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 for use as arable land 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 to John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford ({{circa}}1485–1555), the trusted adviser to his father King Henry VIII. 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 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 brothels. An act of Parliament{{which|date=January 2024}} 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 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) southwest 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 falls within the London boroughs of Westminster and Camden and the parliamentary constituencies of Cities of London and Westminster and Holborn and St Pancras. The area has been served by the Piccadilly line at Covent Garden tube station since 1907; the {{convert|300|yd|adj=on}} journey from Leicester Square tube station is the shortest in London.WEB,www.timeout.com/london/big-smoke/features/2816/London-s_shortest_tube_journey.html, London’s shortest tube journey, 17 April 2007, Time Out London, dead,www.timeout.com/london/big-smoke/features/2816/London-s_shortest_tube_journey.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110318155851www.timeout.com/london/big-smoke/features/2816/London-s_shortest_tube_journey.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110318155851www.timeout.com/london/big-smoke/features/2816/London-s_shortest_tube_journey.html, 18 March 2011,

History

Early history

File:Covent Garden from the Ralph Agas 1572 map of London - marked.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Covent Garden on the “Woodcut” map of the 1560s, with surrounding wall marked in green]]During the Roman period, what is now the Strand – running along the southern boundary of the area that was to become Covent Garden – was part of the route to Silchester, known as “Iter VII” on the Antonine Itinerary.WEB,www.roman-britain.co.uk/classical-references/the-antonine-itinerary/, The Antonine Itinerary, Roman Britain, 10 May 2021, 7 May 2021,www.roman-britain.co.uk/classical-references/the-antonine-itinerary/," title="web.archive.org/web/20210507170350www.roman-britain.co.uk/classical-references/the-antonine-itinerary/,">web.archive.org/web/20210507170350www.roman-britain.co.uk/classical-references/the-antonine-itinerary/, dead, BOOK,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22101, A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1, J. S. Cockburn, 1969, H. P. F. King, K. G. T. McDonnell, 64–74, Institute of Historical Research, 31 July 2010, 25 November 2010,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22101," title="web.archive.org/web/20101125234231www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22101,">web.archive.org/web/20101125234231www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22101, live, Excavations in 2006 at St Martin-in-the-Fields revealed a group of late Roman graves, suggesting the site had been sacred since at least 350 AD.NEWS,news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6196972.stm, Ancient body prompts new theories, BBC News, 31 July 2010, 1 December 2006, 11 April 2012,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6196972.stm," title="web.archive.org/web/20120411173632news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6196972.stm,">web.archive.org/web/20120411173632news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6196972.stm, live, 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 and Martin Biddle that there had been an Anglo-Saxon settlement to the west of the old Roman town of Londinium were borne out by excavations in 1985 and 2005. These revealed that a trading town, called Lundenwic, developed around 600 AD,WEB,www.pre-construct.com/Sites/Highlights/Bedford.htm, Jim Leary, Excavations at 15–16 Bedford Street, Covent Garden, London, Pre-Construct Archaeology, 13 August 2010,www.pre-construct.com/Sites/Highlights/Bedford.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20100531174328www.pre-construct.com/Sites/Highlights/Bedford.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20100531174328www.pre-construct.com/Sites/Highlights/Bedford.htm, 31 May 2010, stretching from Trafalgar Square to Aldwych, with Covent Garden at the centre.WEB,www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Past/MissingLink/Themes/TML_themes_Lundenwic.htm, The early years of Lundenwic, Museum of London, 2 May 2011, dead,www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Past/MissingLink/Themes/TML_themes_Lundenwic.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20090108035413www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Past/MissingLink/Themes/TML_themes_Lundenwic.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20090108035413www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Past/MissingLink/Themes/TML_themes_Lundenwic.htm, 8 January 2009, Alfred the Great 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.JOURNAL, John Clark, 1999, King Alfred’s London and London’s King Alfred, London Archaeologist, 9, 2, 35–38, London Archaeologist Association,ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-457-1/dissemination/pdf/vol09/vol09_02/09_02_035_038.pdf, 7 May 2011, dead,ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-457-1/dissemination/pdf/vol09/vol09_02/09_02_035_038.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20110510095059ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-457-1/dissemination/pdf/vol09/vol09_02/09_02_035_038.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20110510095059ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-457-1/dissemination/pdf/vol09/vol09_02/09_02_035_038.pdf, 10 May 2011, The first mention of a walled garden comes from a document, {{circa|1200 AD}}, detailing land owned by the Benedictine monks 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”.BOOK, Wits, Wenchers and Wantons – London’s Low Life: Covent Garden in the Eighteenth Century, E. J. Burford, Robert Hale Ltd, 1–3, 1986, 0-7090-2629-3, By the 13th century this had become a {{convert|40|acre|ha|adj=on}} quadrangle of mixed orchard, meadow, pasture and arable land, lying between modern-day St Martin’s Lane and Drury Lane, and Floral Street and Maiden Lane.BOOK,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46082, Survey of London: volume 36: Covent Garden, F. H. W. Sheppard, 19–21, Institute of Historical Research, 1 August 2010, 1970, 5 August 2011,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46082," title="web.archive.org/web/20110805130406www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46082,">web.archive.org/web/20110805130406www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46082, live, The use of the name “Covent“—an Anglo-French term for a religious community, equivalent to “monastery” or “convent“DICTIONARY,www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=convent, Convent, Online Etymology Dictionary, 31 July 2010, 30 July 2012,www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=convent," title="archive.today/20120730174651www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=convent,">archive.today/20120730174651www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=convent, live, BOOK, The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 202, Clarendon Press, 4th, 1951, H. W. Fowler, F. G. Fowler, H. W. Fowler, F. G. Fowler, —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)

{{See also|Bedford Estate}}File:John Russell, Earl of Bedford, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|thumb|The Earl of Bedford was given Covent Garden in 1552.]]After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540 under King Henry VIII, monastic lands in England reverted to the crown, including lands belonging to Westminster Abbey such as the Convent Garden and seven acres to the north called Long Acre. In 1552 King Edward VI granted it to John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, his late father’s trusted adviser. The Russell family, who in 1694 were advanced in the peerage from Earl to Duke of Bedford, held the land until 1918.BOOK, Alzina Stone Dale, Barbara Sloan-Hendershott,books.google.com/books?id=kyXfTbVxYOQC&pg=PA56, Mystery Reader’s Walking Guide: London, 56, iUniverse, 2004, 0-595-31513-5, 25 October 2015, 2 August 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200802120509/https://books.google.com/books?id=kyXfTbVxYOQC&pg=PA56, live, 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.BOOK, John Richardson,books.google.com/books?id=0wUCjfE6Lk4C&pg=PA171, The annals of London: a year-by-year record of a thousand years of history, Volume 2000, Part 2, 171, University of California Press, 2000, 0-520-22795-6, 25 October 2015, 2 August 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200802120458/https://books.google.com/books?id=0wUCjfE6Lk4C&pg=PA171, live, WEB,archivemaps.com/london/1690coventgarden.htm, Plan of Bedford House, Covent Garden, &c. Taken About 1690, MAPCO, 2 May 2011, 23 April 2012,mapco.net/london/1690coventgarden.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20120423042659mapco.net/london/1690coventgarden.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20120423042659mapco.net/london/1690coventgarden.htm, live, In 1630 Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford commissioned the architect Inigo Jones to design and build a church and three terraces of fine houses around a large square or piazza.BOOK, Wits, Wenchers and Wantons – London’s Low Life: Covent Garden in the Eighteenth Century, E. J. Burford, Hale, 6, 1986, 0-7090-2629-3, This had been prompted by King Charles I having taken offence at the poor condition of the road and houses along Long Acre, which were the responsibility of Russell and Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth. Russell and Carey complained that under the 1625 Proclamation concerning Buildings, which restricted building in and around London, they could not build new houses. For a fee of £2,000, the King then granted Russell a licence to build as many new houses on his land as he “shall thinke fitt and convenient”.BOOK,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46085, Survey of London: volume 36: Covent Garden, 25–34, F. H. W. Sheppard, 1970, Institute of Historical Research, 24 August 2010, 5 August 2011,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46085," title="web.archive.org/web/20110805130138www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46085,">web.archive.org/web/20110805130138www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46085, live, (File:1690 bedford house.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Plan of Covent Garden in 1690)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.BOOK, Roy Porter,books.google.com/books?id=DyZfYaLXsuUC&pg=PR22, London: A Social History, 5–6, Harvard University Press, 1998, 0-674-53839-0, 25 October 2015, 2 August 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200802120511/https://books.google.com/books?id=DyZfYaLXsuUC&pg=PR22, live, The Bedford Estate was expanded by the inheritance of the former manor of Bloomsbury to the immediate north of Covent Garden following the marriage of William Russell, Lord Russell (1639–1683) (third son of William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford of Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire) to Rachel Wriothesley, heiress of Bloomsbury, younger of the two daughters and co-heiresses of Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton (1607-1667). Rachel’s son and heir was Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford (1680–1711).WEB,www.bedfordestates.com/the-estate/history/, History of the Bloomsbury Estate, Bedford Estates, 15 July 2016, 20 September 2016,www.bedfordestates.com/the-estate/history/," title="web.archive.org/web/20160920034123www.bedfordestates.com/the-estate/history/,">web.archive.org/web/20160920034123www.bedfordestates.com/the-estate/history/, live, By the 18th century, Covent Garden had become a well-known red-light district, attracting notable prostitutes such as Betty Careless and Jane Douglas.BOOK, Wits, Wenchers and Wantons – London’s Low Life: Covent Garden in the Eighteenth Century, E. J. Burford, Hale, 260, 1986, 0-7090-2629-3, Descriptions of the prostitutes and where to find them were provided by Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies, the “essential guide and accessory for any serious gentleman of pleasure”.NEWS, The A to Z of Covent Garden’s prostitutes, Gerald Isaaman,www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/072805/r072805_03.htm, Camden New Journal, 29 July 2005, 19 July 2008, 22 October 2007,www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/072805/r072805_03.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20071022005337www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/072805/r072805_03.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20071022005337www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/072805/r072805_03.htm, live, In 1830 a market hall was built to provide a more permanent trading centre. In 1913 Herbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford 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.BOOK,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46089, Survey of London: volume 36: Covent Garden, 48–52, F. H. W. Sheppard, 1970, Institute of Historical Research, 27 July 2010, 29 June 2011,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46089," title="web.archive.org/web/20110629214609www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46089,">web.archive.org/web/20110629214609www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46089, live, {{Clear}}

Modern changes

File:Apple Market, Covent Garden - geograph.org.uk - 1098932.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Charles FowlerCharles FowlerThe 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 and Vauxhall 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.WEB,www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/westend/CG-action-plan.pdf, Covent Garden Action Plan, 15 July 2016, 9 August 2016,www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/westend/CG-action-plan.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20160809013613www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/westend/CG-action-plan.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20160809013613www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/westend/CG-action-plan.pdf, live, The market buildings, along with several other properties in Covent Garden, were bought by a Property company in 2006.WEB,www.coventgardenlondonuk.com/about, About Us, Covent Garden London Official Guide, 28 July 2010, 25 June 2012,www.coventgardenlondonuk.com/about," title="web.archive.org/web/20120625123101www.coventgardenlondonuk.com/about,">web.archive.org/web/20120625123101www.coventgardenlondonuk.com/about, dead,

Geography

File:Map of Covent Garden.png|thumb|OpenStreetMapOpenStreetMapHistorically, 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.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=wN_H-__MBpYC&pg=PA214, The London Encyclopaedia, Covent Garden market, 213–214, Pan Macmillan, 2008, 978-1-4050-4924-5, Christopher Hibbert, Ben Weinreb, Christopher Hibbert, Ben Weinreb, 25 October 2015, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729181348/https://books.google.com/books?id=wN_H-__MBpYC&pg=PA214, live, However, over time the area regarded as part of Covent Garden has expanded northwards past Long Acre to High Holborn.BOOK, Robert Thorne,books.google.com/books?id=ezBNAAAAYAAJ&q=+proper+boundaries, Covent Garden Market: Its History and Restoration, 2, Architectural Press, 1980, 0-85139-098-6, 25 October 2020, 3 January 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210103175430/https://books.google.com/books?id=ezBNAAAAYAAJ&q=+proper+boundaries, live, 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,WEB,www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Covent%20Garden%20Extension%20Report.pdf, westminster.gov.uk, Covent Garden Extension Report, Conservation Area Audits Team, 2007, 17 November 2015, 24 September 2020,www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Covent%20Garden%20Extension%20Report.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20200924104710www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Covent%20Garden%20Extension%20Report.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20200924104710www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Covent%20Garden%20Extension%20Report.pdf, live, Charing Cross Road has sometimes been taken as its western boundary.WEB,www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Covent_Garden_ENTS_SPG_July_2006.pdf, westminster.gov.uk, Draft Supplementary Planning Guidance for Entertainment Uses, 99, July 2006, 17 November 2015, 24 September 2020,www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Covent_Garden_ENTS_SPG_July_2006.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20200924105503www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Covent_Garden_ENTS_SPG_July_2006.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20200924105503www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Covent_Garden_ENTS_SPG_July_2006.pdf, live, WEB,www.coventgarden.org.uk/our-neighbourhood/covent-gardeners-and-their-area/, CGCA, coventgarden.org.uk, Our Neighbourhood, 16 June 2019, 28 September 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200928095217/https://www.coventgarden.org.uk/our-neighbourhood/covent-gardeners-and-their-area/, live, Long Acre is the main thoroughfare, running north-east from St Martin’s Lane to Drury Lane.WEB,www.coventgarden.uk.com/featureshistory/fh_streets.php?street=91&submit=Go&submitted=TRUE&p_id=features&c_id=street,www.coventgarden.uk.com/featureshistory/fh_streets.php?street=91&submit=Go&submitted=TRUE&p_id=features&c_id=street," title="web.archive.org/web/20110717145520www.coventgarden.uk.com/featureshistory/fh_streets.php?street=91&submit=Go&submitted=TRUE&p_id=features&c_id=street,">web.archive.org/web/20110717145520www.coventgarden.uk.com/featureshistory/fh_streets.php?street=91&submit=Go&submitted=TRUE&p_id=features&c_id=street, 17 July 2011, Street features: Long Acre, Covent Garden London: Online Magazine, 30 July 2010, Shelton Street, running parallel to the north of Long Acre, marks the London borough boundary between Camden and Westminster.WEB,gis.camden.gov.uk/geoserver/Ward.html, Ward and polling district map, Camden Council, 15 July 2016,gis.camden.gov.uk/geoserver/Ward.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20160303223757gis.camden.gov.uk/geoserver/Ward.html,">web.archive.org/web/20160303223757gis.camden.gov.uk/geoserver/Ward.html, 3 March 2016, dead, The area to the south of Long Acre contains the Royal Opera House, the market and central square, and most of the elegant buildings, theatres and entertainment facilities, including the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and the London Transport Museum; while the area to the north of Long Acre is largely given over to independent retail units centred on Neal Street, Neal’s Yard and Seven Dials; though this area also contains residential buildings such as Odhams Walk, built in 1981 on the site of the Odhams print works,WEB,asc2.futura.com/CaseStudies/Odhams/Overview/Default.aspx, Showcase: Odham’s Walk: Overview, Academy for Sustainable Communities, 8 May 2011, dead,asc2.futura.com/CaseStudies/Odhams/Overview/Default.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20081120192132asc2.futura.com/CaseStudies/Odhams/Overview/Default.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20081120192132asc2.futura.com/CaseStudies/Odhams/Overview/Default.aspx, 20 November 2008, and is home to 7,000 residents.WEB,www.coventgarden.org.uk/membership/join-cgca/, Membership of The Covent Garden Community Association, Covent Garden Community Association, 15 July 2016, 24 July 2016,www.coventgarden.org.uk/membership/join-cgca/," title="web.archive.org/web/20160724003126www.coventgarden.org.uk/membership/join-cgca/,">web.archive.org/web/20160724003126www.coventgarden.org.uk/membership/join-cgca/, live, For a list of street name etymologies in Covent Garden see: Street names of Covent Garden.{{Geographic location|title = Neighbouring areas of LondonSt Giles, London>St Giles|North = Bloomsbury|Northeast = Holborn|West = Leicester Square|Centre = Covent Garden|East = Lincoln’s Inn Fields|Southwest = Trafalgar SquareStrand, London>StrandTemple, London>Temple}}

Governance

The Covent Garden estate was originally under the control of Westminster Abbey and lay in the parish of St Margaret.BOOK,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46081, Survey of London: volume 36: Covent Garden, F. H. W. Sheppard, 19, 1970, Institute of Historical Research, 27 July 2010, 5 August 2011,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46081," title="web.archive.org/web/20110805130308www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46081,">web.archive.org/web/20110805130308www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46081, live, During a reorganisation in 1542 it was transferred to St Martin in the Fields, and then in 1645 a new parish was created, splitting governance of the estate between the parishes of St Paul Covent Garden and St Martin,BOOK,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46079, Survey of London: volume 36: Covent Garden, F. H. W. Sheppard, 1970, 1, Institute of Historical Research, 27 July 2010, 5 August 2011,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46079," title="web.archive.org/web/20110805130115www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46079,">web.archive.org/web/20110805130115www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46079, live, both still within the Liberty of Westminster. St Paul Covent Garden was completely surrounded by the parish of St Martin in the Fields.WEB,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=38869, The Commissions for building fifty new churches: The minute books, 1711–27, a calendar, 1986, Institute of Historical Research, M. H. Port, 38–39, 7 May 2011, 5 June 2011,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=38869," title="web.archive.org/web/20110605000033www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=38869,">web.archive.org/web/20110605000033www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=38869, live, It was grouped into the Strand District in 1855.WEB, Registration Districts,www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/archives/infosheet5.pdf, City of Westminster Archives Centre, 7 May 2011, 3, dead,www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/archives/infosheet5.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20110525155024www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/archives/infosheet5.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20110525155024www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/archives/infosheet5.pdf, 25 May 2011, In 1900 it became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster 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 and outside the Liberty of Westminster. They were from 1855 to 1900 part of the St Giles District and from 1900 part of the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn.Covent Garden came within the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works from 1855 and in 1889 became part of the County of London. Since 1965 Covent Garden falls within the London boroughs of Westminster and Camden, and is in the Parliamentary constituencies of Cities of London and Westminster and Holborn and St Pancras.WEB,www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/1681/schedule/made, The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007, The National Archives, 2 May 2011, 18 August 2012,www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/1681/schedule/made," title="web.archive.org/web/20120818151201www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/1681/schedule/made,">web.archive.org/web/20120818151201www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/1681/schedule/made, live, For local council elections it falls within the St James’s ward for Westminster,WEB,map.westminster.gov.uk/LocalViewPub/Sites/Wards/?extent=523789,177719,531165,183938&sr=27700, Westminster’s Wards on a map, westminster.gov.uk, dead,web.archive.org/web/20140109144825/https://map.westminster.gov.uk/LocalViewPub/Sites/Wards/?extent=523789%2C177719%2C531165%2C183938&sr=27700, 9 January 2014, and the Holborn and Covent Garden ward for Camden.WEB,www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/download/asset?asset_id=2411915, Camden ward map, camden.gov.uk, 9 January 2014, 9 January 2014,www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/download/asset/?asset_id=2411915," title="web.archive.org/web/20140109142750www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/download/asset/?asset_id=2411915,">web.archive.org/web/20140109142750www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/download/asset/?asset_id=2411915, live, (PDF)

Economy

File:Nealsyarddairy1.jpg|thumb|upright|Neal’s Yard DairyNeal’s Yard DairyCovent Garden Market reopened in 1980 as a shopping arcade with restaurants and a pub.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=s9dsBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA107, 107, Alan C. Parnell, Building Legislation and Historic Buildings, Elsevier, 30 Aug 2013, 9781483141497, 23 September 2020, 3 January 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210103175459/https://books.google.com/books?id=s9dsBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA107, live, 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.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=AYT82eXH1l0C&pg=PA215, Frommer’s England 2011, 215, Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince, Frommer’s, 2010, 978-0-470-64176-7, 25 October 2015, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729183933/https://books.google.com/books?id=AYT82eXH1l0C&pg=PA215, live, In 2010, what was then the largest Apple Store in the world opened in The Piazza.NEWS,www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/aug/05/apple-london-biggest-store, Apple chooses London to open its biggest store in the world, The Guardian, 7 August 2010, Jemima Kiss, 5 August 2010, 2 January 2014,www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/aug/05/apple-london-biggest-store," title="web.archive.org/web/20140102051953www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/aug/05/apple-london-biggest-store,">web.archive.org/web/20140102051953www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/aug/05/apple-london-biggest-store, live, Long Acre has clothes shops and boutiques, and Neal Street is noted for its numerous shoe shops. London Transport Museum and the side entrance to the Royal Opera House box office and other facilities are also located on the square. During the late 1970s and 1980s the Rock Garden music venue was popular with up-and-coming punk rock and new wave artists.BOOK,archive.org/details/peteframesrockin0000fram, registration, Pete Frame’s rockin’ around Britain: rock’n’roll landmarks of the UK and Ireland, 1999, 122, Pete Frame, Pete Frame, Omnibus, 0-7119-6973-6, (File:Covent Garden Market 2011.jpg|thumb|Covent Garden Market Hall in 2011) The market halls and several other buildings in Covent Garden were bought by Capital & Counties Properties (now known as Shaftesbury Capital) in partnership with GE Real Estate in August 2006 for £421 million, on a 150-year head lease.WEB, Laura Chesters, Covent Garden, Selfridges style, Property Week,www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?storycode=3099054, 2 November 2007, 31 March 2008, 18 April 2012,www.propertyweek.com/news/covent-garden-selfridges-style/3099054.article," title="web.archive.org/web/20120418225727www.propertyweek.com/news/covent-garden-selfridges-style/3099054.article,">web.archive.org/web/20120418225727www.propertyweek.com/news/covent-garden-selfridges-style/3099054.article, live, 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.WEB, Molly Dover,www.propertyweek.com/capital-and-counties-jv-wins-covent-garden/3071263.article, Capital & Counties JV wins Covent Garden, Property Week, 5 August 2010, 28 July 2006, 29 March 2012,www.propertyweek.com/capital-and-counties-jv-wins-covent-garden/3071263.article," title="web.archive.org/web/20120329043929www.propertyweek.com/capital-and-counties-jv-wins-covent-garden/3071263.article,">web.archive.org/web/20120329043929www.propertyweek.com/capital-and-counties-jv-wins-covent-garden/3071263.article, live, In March 2007 CapCo also acquired the shops located under the Royal Opera House.WEB, CapCo grows in Covent Garden, Shopping centre,www.shopping-centre.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/1783/CapCo_grows_in_Covent_Garden.html, 26 March 2007, 31 March 2008, dead,www.shopping-centre.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/1783/CapCo_grows_in_Covent_Garden.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20071216015647www.shopping-centre.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/1783/CapCo_grows_in_Covent_Garden.html,">web.archive.org/web/20071216015647www.shopping-centre.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/1783/CapCo_grows_in_Covent_Garden.html, 16 December 2007, The complete Covent Garden Estate owned by CapCo consists of {{convert|550000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}, and, as of 2007, has a market value of £650 million. {{update inline|date=August 2023}}

Landmarks

Royal Opera House

File:Royal Opera House-Covent Garden-London crop.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Edward Barry’s 1858 façade of the Royal Opera House]]The Royal Opera House, known as “Covent Garden”,BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=1Y1_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46, 46, A Dictionary for the Modern Singer, Matthew Hoch, Scarecrow Press, 28 Apr 2014, 9780810886568, 23 September 2020, 3 January 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210103175430/https://books.google.com/books?id=1Y1_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46, live, was constructed as the “Theatre Royal” in 1732 to a design by Edward Shepherd.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=V2d12iZkgOwC&pg=PA407, Merriam-Webster’s collegiate encyclopedia, 407, Merriam-Webster, 2000, 0-87779-017-5, 25 October 2015, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729182149/https://books.google.com/books?id=V2d12iZkgOwC&pg=PA407, live, During the first hundred years or so of its history, the theatre was primarily a playhouse, with the Letters Patent 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’s first season of operas began. Many of his operas and oratorios were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premières here.BOOK, Winton Dean,books.google.com/books?id=ekWgum0Vr0QC&pg=PA274, Handel’s operas, 1726–1741, 274–285, Boydell Press, 2006, 1-84383-268-2, 25 October 2015, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729220206/https://books.google.com/books?id=ekWgum0Vr0QC&pg=PA274, live, It has been the home of The Royal Opera since 1945, and the Royal Ballet since 1946.WEB,www.rohcollections.org.uk/CollectionPersDeValois.aspx, Ninette de Valois Bequest and Papers, Royal Opera House Collections Online, 27 July 2010, 7 April 2012,www.rohcollections.org.uk/CollectionPersDeValois.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20120407002011www.rohcollections.org.uk/CollectionPersDeValois.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20120407002011www.rohcollections.org.uk/CollectionPersDeValois.aspx, live, 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. The inclusion of the adjacent old Floral Hall, previously a part of the old Covent Garden Market, created a large new public gathering place.WEB,www.roh.org.uk/about/royal-opera-house/history, History, Royal Opera House, 17 December 2012, dead,www.roh.org.uk/about/royal-opera-house/history," title="web.archive.org/web/20140407064033www.roh.org.uk/about/royal-opera-house/history,">web.archive.org/web/20140407064033www.roh.org.uk/about/royal-opera-house/history, 7 April 2014, In 1779 the pavement outside the playhouse was the scene of the murder of Martha Ray, mistress of the Earl of Sandwich, by her admirer the Rev. James Hackman.ENCYCLOPEDIA, Philip Rawlings, Philip Rawlings, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Hackman, James (bap. 1752, d. 1779), 2004, Oxford University Press, BOOK, Walter Thornbury,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45151, Old and New London: Volume 3, Institute of Historical Research, 10 September 2010, 255–269, 1878, 25 May 2011,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45151," title="web.archive.org/web/20110525194945www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45151,">web.archive.org/web/20110525194945www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45151, live,

Covent Garden Piazza

(File:Covent Garden Piazza with London Transport Museum - geograph.org.uk - 215169.jpg|thumb|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 with low railings.BOOK,www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=362, Survey of London: volume 36: Covent Garden, F. H. W. Sheppard, 1970, Institute of Historical Research, 27 July 2010, 12 July 2010,www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=362," title="web.archive.org/web/20100712120032www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=362,">web.archive.org/web/20100712120032www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=362, live, 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.WEB,www.coventgardenlondonuk.com/events-entertainment-culture/articles/street-performer-auditions, Street performer auditions, Covent Garden London Official Guide, 1 August 2010, dead,www.coventgardenlondonuk.com/events-entertainment-culture/articles/street-performer-auditions," title="web.archive.org/web/20101224083443www.coventgardenlondonuk.com/events-entertainment-culture/articles/street-performer-auditions,">web.archive.org/web/20101224083443www.coventgardenlondonuk.com/events-entertainment-culture/articles/street-performer-auditions, 24 December 2010, 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 in Venice, Piazza Santissima Annunziata in Florence, and the Place des Vosges in Paris.BOOK,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46091, Survey of London: volume 36: Covent Garden, Institute of Historical Research, 28 July 2010, F. H. W. Sheppard, 1970, 64–76, 5 August 2011,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46091," title="web.archive.org/web/20110805130851www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46091,">web.archive.org/web/20110805130851www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46091, live, 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.NEWS,www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/property/garden-party-491936.html, Nick Lloyd Jones, Garden party, The Independent, 27 July 2010, 25 May 2005, 3 January 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210103175432/https://www.independent.co.uk/property/house-and-home/garden-party-491936.html, live, Isaac de Caus, the French Huguenot architect, designed the individual houses under Jones’s overall design.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=rXUe0vcVIM0C&pg=PA202, Inigo Jones and the Classical Tradition, 204, Christy Anderson, Cambridge University Press, 2007, 978-0-521-82027-1, The church of St Paul’s was the first building and was begun in July 1631 on the western side of the square. The last house was completed in 1637.BOOK,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46092, Survey of London: volume 36: Covent Garden, F. H. W. Sheppard, 1970, 77–80, Institute of Historical Research, 28 July 2010, 5 August 2011,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46092," title="web.archive.org/web/20110805130835www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46092,">web.archive.org/web/20110805130835www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46092, live, Seventeen of the houses had arcaded portico 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 to a design by Henry Clutton.WEB, Proposed Development at Bedford Chambers and No. 1 and Nos. 6–7 (inclusive) The Piazza,pdf.ifoman.com.s3.amazonaws.com/coventgarden_0809_design-access_statement.pdf, City of Westminster, 7 May 2011, 2 July 2008, 7, dead,pdf.ifoman.com.s3.amazonaws.com/coventgarden_0809_design-access_statement.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20110707123924pdf.ifoman.com.s3.amazonaws.com/coventgarden_0809_design-access_statement.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20110707123924pdf.ifoman.com.s3.amazonaws.com/coventgarden_0809_design-access_statement.pdf, 7 July 2011,

Covent Garden market

File:Nebot covent garden market clean.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|(Balthazar Nebot]]’s 1737 painting of the square before the 1830 market hall was constructedWEB,www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/hogarth/rooms/room5.shtm, Room Guide – Room 5: Street Life, Tate Britain, 28 July 2010, dead,www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/hogarth/rooms/room5.shtm," title="web.archive.org/web/20110209045218www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/hogarth/rooms/room5.shtm,">web.archive.org/web/20110209045218www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/hogarth/rooms/room5.shtm, 9 February 2011, )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.BOOK,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46106, Survey of London: volume 36: Covent Garden, F. H. W. Sheppard, 1970, 129–150, Institute of Historical Research, 27 July 2010, 5 August 2011,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46106," title="web.archive.org/web/20110805131619www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46106,">web.archive.org/web/20110805131619www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46106, live, 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.BOOK, Peter Ackroyd,books.google.com/books?id=ktSeoUGe_mgC&q=Covent+Garden:+The+Fruit,+Vegetable+and+Flower+Markets, Covent Garden: The Fruit, Vegetable and Flower Markets, 7, Frances Lincoln Publishers, 2008, 978-0-7112-2860-3, Clive Boursnell, Peter Ackroyd, dead,books.google.com/books?id=ktSeoUGe_mgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Covent+Garden%3A+The+Fruit%2C+Vegetable+and+Flower+Markets," title="web.archive.org/web/20140705101556books.google.com/books?id=ktSeoUGe_mgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Covent+Garden%3A+The+Fruit%2C+Vegetable+and+Flower+Markets,">web.archive.org/web/20140705101556books.google.com/books?id=ktSeoUGe_mgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Covent+Garden%3A+The+Fruit%2C+Vegetable+and+Flower+Markets, 5 July 2014, BOOK, Robert Thorne,books.google.com/books?id=ezBNAAAAYAAJ&q=1670, Covent Garden Market: Its History and Restoration, 9, Architectural Press, 1980, 0-85139-098-6, 25 October 2020, 3 January 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210103175500/https://books.google.com/books?id=ezBNAAAAYAAJ&q=1670, live, The original market, consisting of wooden stalls and sheds, became disorganised and disorderly, and John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, requested an act of Parliament{{which|date=January 2024}} 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.BOOK, McKean, Charles, Banff & Buchan: An Illustrated Architectural Guide, 1990, Mainstream Publications Ltd., 185158-231-2, 163, 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.BOOK, The London Encyclopaedia, 214–215, Pan Macmillan, 2008, 978-1-4050-4924-5, Christopher Hibbert, Ben Weinreb, Christopher Hibbert, Ben Weinreb, File:Old-Covent-Garden-Market,-1825.jpg |upright=1.35|thumb|George Johann ScharfGeorge Johann ScharfBy 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, to give dozens of buildings around the square listed-building status, preventing redevelopment.WEB,www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/OnlineResources/X20L/Themes/1337/1120/, Covent Garden, Museum of London, 2 May 2011, dead,www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/OnlineResources/X20L/Themes/1337/1120/," title="web.archive.org/web/20080516013026www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/OnlineResources/X20L/Themes/1337/1120/,">web.archive.org/web/20080516013026www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/OnlineResources/X20L/Themes/1337/1120/, 16 May 2008, The following year the market relocated to its new site, 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, with cafes, pubs, small shops and a craft market called the Apple Market.BOOK, 214, The London Encyclopaedia, Pan Macmillan, 2008, 978-1-4050-4924-5, Christopher Hibbert, Ben Weinreb, Christopher Hibbert, Ben Weinreb, Among the first shops to relocate here was Benjamin Pollock’s Toy Shop.WEB, About us,www.pollocks-coventgarden.co.uk/about-us/, 2021-01-03, Benjamin Pollock’s Toyshop, en-GB, Another market, the Jubilee Market, is held in the Jubilee Hall on the south side of the square.BOOK, Suzy Gershman, Suzy Gershman,books.google.com/books?id=9ICxQVu9WxQC&pg=PA238, Suzy Gershman’s Born to Shop London: The Ultimate Guide for People Who Love to Shop, Frommer’s, 2008, 978-0-470-14665-1, 238, 25 October 2015, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729181449/https://books.google.com/books?id=9ICxQVu9WxQC&pg=PA238, live, The market halls and several other buildings in Covent Garden have been owned by the property company Capital & Counties Properties (CapCo) since 2006. In 1980 the London Transport Museum opened in part of the old flower market buildings, and these were refurbished in around 2005 to re-open in 2007.WEB,www.ltmuseum.co.uk/aboutus/135.aspx, Brief history of the Museum, London Transport Museum, 2007-12-10, dead,www.ltmuseum.co.uk/aboutus/135.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20071211224032www.ltmuseum.co.uk/aboutus/135.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20071211224032www.ltmuseum.co.uk/aboutus/135.aspx, 11 December 2007, dmy-all,

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

File:Drury Lane Theatre - August 1808.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Interior of the Drury Lane Theatre by Pugin and Rowlandson, 1808]]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.WEB,www.victorianweb.org/mt/theaters/pva234.html, Theatres in Victorian London, Victorian Web, 9 May 2007, 20 March 2010, 15 April 2012,www.victorianweb.org/mt/theaters/pva234.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20120415043316www.victorianweb.org/mt/theaters/pva234.html,">web.archive.org/web/20120415043316www.victorianweb.org/mt/theaters/pva234.html, live, For much of its first two centuries, it was, along with the Royal Opera House, a patent theatre granted rights in London for the production of drama, and had a claim to be one of London’s leading theatres.BOOK, Martin Banham,books.google.com/books?id=_MxJbvpz_rwC&pg=PA309, The Cambridge Guide to Theatre, 309, Cambridge University Press, 1995, 0-521-43437-8, 25 October 2015, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729182040/https://books.google.com/books?id=_MxJbvpz_rwC&pg=PA309, live, The first theatre, known as “Theatre Royal, Bridges Street”, saw performances by Nell Gwyn and Charles Hart. After it was destroyed by fire in 1672, English dramatist and theatre manager Thomas Killigrew constructed a larger theatre on the same spot, which opened in 1674.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=bcN_AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA357, 357, The Annals of English Drama 975–1700, Sylvia Stoler Wagonheim, Routledge, 21 August 2013, 978-1-134-67641-5, 26 August 2017, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729180910/https://books.google.com/books?id=bcN_AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA357, live, BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=cS6JV4Z27DoC&pg=PA235, 235, The Making of Theatre History, Paul Kuritz, 1988, Paul Kuritz, 978-0-13-547861-5, 26 August 2017, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729180733/https://books.google.com/books?id=cS6JV4Z27DoC&pg=PA235, live, BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=MJ0qDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA23, Robert D. Hume, Theatre History 1660–1800: Aims, Materials, Methodology, Players, Playwrights, Playhouses: Investigating Performance, 1660–1800, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, 23, 978-0-230-28719-8, 26 August 2017, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729182117/https://books.google.com/books?id=MJ0qDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA23, live, Killigrew’s theatre lasted nearly 120 years, under leadership including Colley Cibber, David Garrick, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan. 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.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=_MxJbvpz_rwC&pg=PA309, Martin Banham, The Cambridge Guide to Theatre, 310, Cambridge University Press, 1995, 0-521-43437-8, 25 October 2015, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729182040/https://books.google.com/books?id=_MxJbvpz_rwC&pg=PA309, live, It has been home to actors as diverse as Shakespearean actor Edmund Kean, child actress Clara Fisher, comedian Dan Leno, the comedy troupe Monty Python (who recorded a concert album there), and musical composer and performer Ivor Novello. Since November 2008 the theatre has been owned by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and generally stages popular musical theatre.WEB,www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/DruryLane.htm, The Theatre Royal Drury Lane, The Music Hall and Theatre History Site, 27 July 2010, 15 June 2012,www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/DruryLane.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20120615010059www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/DruryLane.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20120615010059www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/DruryLane.htm, live, It is a Grade I listed building.BOOK, Mike Kilburn, Alberto Arzoz,books.google.com/books?id=hR2zTYj7vqMC&pg=PA41, London’s Theatres, 41, New Holland Publishers, 2002, 1-84330-069-9, 25 October 2015, 13 January 2017,web.archive.org/web/20170113044348/https://books.google.com/books?id=hR2zTYj7vqMC&pg=PA41, live,

London Transport Museum

The London Transport Museum is in a Victorian iron and glass building on the east side of the market square. It was designed as a dedicated flower market by William Rogers of William Cubitt and Company in 1871, and was first occupied by the museum in 1980. Previously the transport collection had been held at Syon Park and Clapham. The first parts of the collection were brought together at the beginning of the 20th century by the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC) when it began to preserve buses being retired from service. After the LGOC was taken over by the London Electric Railway (LER), the collection was expanded to include rail vehicles. It continued to expand after the LER became part of the London Passenger Transport Board in the 1930s and as the organisation passed through various successor bodies up to TfL, London’s transport authority since 2000.WEB,www.ltmuseum.co.uk/about-us/a-brief-history, About Us, London Transport Museum, 2 May 2011, 29 May 2012,www.ltmuseum.co.uk/about-us/a-brief-history," title="web.archive.org/web/20120529131702www.ltmuseum.co.uk/about-us/a-brief-history,">web.archive.org/web/20120529131702www.ltmuseum.co.uk/about-us/a-brief-history, live, The Covent Garden building has on display many examples of buses, trams, trolleybuses 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.WEB,www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/28.aspx, Collections, London Transport Museum, 26 July 2010, dead,www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/28.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20101006011924www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/28.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20101006011924www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/28.aspx, 6 October 2010,

St Paul’s Church

St Paul’s, commonly known as the Actors’ Church,WEB,www.actorschurch.org/, Welcome to St. Paul’s Church website, The Actor’s Church, 26 July 2010, 18 May 2012,www.actorschurch.org/," title="web.archive.org/web/20120518185718www.actorschurch.org/,">web.archive.org/web/20120518185718www.actorschurch.org/, live, 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.BOOK,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46105, Survey of London: volume 36: Covent Garden, F. H. W. Sheppard, 1970, 98–128, Institute of Historical Research, 26 July 2010, 4 June 2011,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46105," title="web.archive.org/web/20110604092333www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46105,">web.archive.org/web/20110604092333www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46105, live, 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; the columns are thought to be original but the rest is mostly Georgian or Victorian reconstruction.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=cM1PAAAAMAAJ&q=Victorian+reconstruction, Inigo Jones, 95, John Summerson, Penguin, 1966, 9780140208399, 25 October 2020, 3 January 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210103175432/https://books.google.com/books?id=cM1PAAAAMAAJ&q=Victorian+reconstruction, live,

Bow Street Magistrates’ Court building

(File:Former Magistrates Court, Bow Street (geograph 5360286).jpg|thumb|Magistrates Court building in 2013)The building, opposite the Royal Opera House, was opened in 1881 to house both a Magistrates’ Court and a police station. As well as dealing with local petty criminals, a number of high-profile defendants appeared in the court, including Oscar Wilde, Dr Crippen and the Kray twins, and those facing extradition proceedings, such as Augusto Pinochet and James Earl Ray.NEWS, Brown, Mark, 27 May 2021, Not like I remember it’: Bow Street police station reopens as museum,www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/may/27/bow-street-police-station-reopens-museum-london, 15 June 2021, The Guardian, The police station closed in 1992, with its work moving to the more modern Charing Cross police station.NEWS,www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55347268, London’s Bow Street Police Station to be turned into museum, 18 December 2020, BBC News, 15 June 2021, The court building’s Grade II listed status meant it was not economic to update it to modern standards and the court closed in July 2006.BOOK, Weinreb, Ben, Hibbert, Christopher, Keay, Julia, Keay, John, The London Encyclopedia, 86, Pan MacMillan, 2008, 978-1-4050-4924-5, Sold to developers, planning permission was obtained to convert the building into a hotel and museum.WEB,www.rise.eu.com/what-we-think/our-news/rise-build-the-bow-st-hotel, Appointment of construction manager for conversion of Bow Street Magistrates’ Court into luxury Boutique Hotel, RISE Management, Consulting news, 2015, 16 June 2021, 6 May 2015,rise.eu.com/what-we-think/our-news/rise-build-the-bow-st-hotel," title="web.archive.org/web/20150506220945rise.eu.com/what-we-think/our-news/rise-build-the-bow-st-hotel,">web.archive.org/web/20150506220945rise.eu.com/what-we-think/our-news/rise-build-the-bow-st-hotel, dead, (Access date 15 June 2021) 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.NEWS, O’Flaherty, Mark, 28 May 2021, London’s most famous courtroom is now the capital’s hottest hotel,www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/londons-famous-courtroom-now-capitals-hottest-hotel/, 15 June 2021, The Daily Telegraph,

Freemasons’ Hall

Freemasons’ Hall is the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England and the Supreme Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of England, as well as a meeting place for many Masonic Lodges in the London area. It is in Great Queen Street between Holborn and Covent Garden and has been a Masonic meeting place since 1775.WEB,www.ugle.org.uk/freemasons-hall/, Freemasons’ Hall, 2017, United Grand Lodge of England, 12 March 2017, Covent Garden, England, 22 August 2010,www.ugle.org.uk/freemasons-hall," title="web.archive.org/web/20100822092704www.ugle.org.uk/freemasons-hall,">web.archive.org/web/20100822092704www.ugle.org.uk/freemasons-hall, live, Parts of the building are open to the public daily, and its preserved classic Art Deco style, together with its regular use as a film and television location, have made it a tourist destination.

Culture

The Covent Garden area has long been associated with entertainment and shopping.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=cpf2OBfjNlgC&pg=PA330, Party Earth – Europe, 4th, 330, Party Earth LLC, 2010, 978-0-9761120-7-5, 25 October 2015, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729181351/https://books.google.com/books?id=cpf2OBfjNlgC&pg=PA330, live, Covent Garden has 13 theatres,WEB,www.covent-garden.co.uk/Theatres/index.html, Theatres Index Page, Covent Garden Street Site, 25 August 2010, 26 June 2012,www.covent-garden.co.uk/Theatres/index.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20120626095724www.covent-garden.co.uk/Theatres/index.html,">web.archive.org/web/20120626095724www.covent-garden.co.uk/Theatres/index.html, live, and over 60 pubs and bars, with most south of Long Acre, around the main shopping area of the old market.WEB,www.fancyapint.com/area/00273.php, Pubs in Covent Garden, Fancyapint?, 30 July 2010,www.fancyapint.com/Pub/az/covent-garden/222," title="web.archive.org/web/20120602013017www.fancyapint.com/Pub/az/covent-garden/222,">web.archive.org/web/20120602013017www.fancyapint.com/Pub/az/covent-garden/222, 2 June 2012, dead, The Seven Dials area in the north of Covent Garden was home to the punk rock club The Roxy in 1977,NEWS,www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2007/oct/04/roxymusic, Roxy music, The Guardian, 25 August 2010, 4 October 2007, 27 April 2014,www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2007/oct/04/roxymusic," title="web.archive.org/web/20140427212627www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2007/oct/04/roxymusic,">web.archive.org/web/20140427212627www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2007/oct/04/roxymusic, live, and the area remains focused on young people with its trendy mid-market retail outlets.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=jEAL132QYQUC&pg=PA220, Frommer’s London with Kids, Rhonda Carrier, 220, Frommer’s, 2005, 978-0-7645-4993-9, 25 October 2015, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729180917/https://books.google.com/books?id=jEAL132QYQUC&pg=PA220, live,

Street performance

(File:2005-04-09 - United Kingdom - England - London - Covent Garden Performer 4887800166.jpg|thumb|Street entertainment in Covent Garden Market, April 2005)Street entertainment at Covent Garden was noted in Samuel Pepys’s diary in May 1662, when he recorded the first mention of a Punch and Judy show in Britain.WEB, Covent Garden and the story of Punch and Judy, Glyn Edwards, Covent Garden Life,www.coventgardenlife.com/info/street_entertainers/punch_judy/punch_judy.htm, 31 March 2008, dead,www.coventgardenlife.com/info/street_entertainers/punch_judy/punch_judy.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20080417100337www.coventgardenlife.com/info/street_entertainers/punch_judy/punch_judy.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20080417100337www.coventgardenlife.com/info/street_entertainers/punch_judy/punch_judy.htm, 17 April 2008, Impromptu performances of song and swimming were given by local celebrity William Cussans in the eighteenth century.BOOK, John Thomas Smith, John Thomas Smith (engraver), Nollekens and his times, volume 2, Cussans, 1829, H. Colburn,en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nollekens_and_his_times,_volume_2/Cussans#, 285–286, 7 May 2011, 18 January 2012,en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nollekens_and_his_times,_volume_2/Cussans," title="web.archive.org/web/20120118163130en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nollekens_and_his_times,_volume_2/Cussans,">web.archive.org/web/20120118163130en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nollekens_and_his_times,_volume_2/Cussans, live, 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.NEWS, Buskers fear ‘thin end of wedge’, BBC News,news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7316214.stm, 27 March 2008, 2 May 2011, 4 June 2012,news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7316214.stm," title="archive.today/20120604175942news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7316214.stm,">archive.today/20120604175942news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7316214.stm, live,

Pubs and bars

File:Freemasons Arms - Long Acre - WC2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Freemasons Arms in Long Acre ]]The Covent Garden area has over 60 pubs and bars; several of them are listed buildings, with some also on CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors;WEB,www.camranorthlondon.org.uk/londonpubsgroup/crawls.html#017, London Pubs Group Evening Crawl of The Strand and Covent Garden, CAMRA North London, 7 May 2011, 23 March 2011,www.camranorthlondon.org.uk/londonpubsgroup/crawls.html#017," title="web.archive.org/web/20110716031236www.camranorthlondon.org.uk/londonpubsgroup/crawls.html#017,">web.archive.org/web/20110716031236www.camranorthlondon.org.uk/londonpubsgroup/crawls.html#017, 16 July 2011, some, such as The Harp 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, and National Pub of the Year by CAMRA in 2010.WEB,www.harpcoventgarden.com/reviews-awards/#, The Harp – Reviews and Awards, The Harp Bar, Covent Garden, 16 February 2011, dead,www.harpcoventgarden.com/reviews-awards/," title="web.archive.org/web/20120320124651www.harpcoventgarden.com/reviews-awards/,">web.archive.org/web/20120320124651www.harpcoventgarden.com/reviews-awards/, 20 March 2012, NEWS, Michelle Perrett,www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Running-your-pub/Training/The-Harp-in-Covent-Garden-a-national-treasure, The Harp in Covent Garden: a national treasure, Morning Advertiser, 16 February 2011, 16 February 2011, 3 January 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210103175433/https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2011/02/16/The-Harp-in-Covent-Garden-a-national-treasure, live, It was at one time owned by the Charrington Brewery, when it was known as The Welsh Harp;WEB,www.spbw.com/lpoty2008.html, Greater London Pub of the Year 2008, The Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood, 16 February 2011, dead,www.spbw.com/lpoty2008.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110716114133www.spbw.com/lpoty2008.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110716114133www.spbw.com/lpoty2008.html, 16 July 2011, in 1995 the name was abbreviated to just The Harp,WEB,deadpubs.co.uk/LondonPubs/StMartins/WelshHarp.shtml, Welsh Harp, 47 Chandos Street, St Martins in Fields, Dead Pubs, 16 February 2011,deadpubs.co.uk/LondonPubs/StMartins/WelshHarp.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20120521025610deadpubs.co.uk/LondonPubs/StMartins/WelshHarp.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20120521025610deadpubs.co.uk/LondonPubs/StMartins/WelshHarp.shtml, 21 May 2012, before Charrington sold it to Punch Taverns in 1997. It was eventually purchased by the landlady Binnie Walsh around 2010 then subsequently sold by her to Fuller’s Brewery 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.WEB,www.pubs.com/main_site/pub_details.php?pub_id=136, The Lamb and Flag, Pubs.com, 30 July 2010, 2 June 2012,www.pubs.com/main_site/pub_details.php?pub_id=136," title="web.archive.org/web/20120602211752www.pubs.com/main_site/pub_details.php?pub_id=136,">web.archive.org/web/20120602211752www.pubs.com/main_site/pub_details.php?pub_id=136, live, 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.BOOK,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46110, Survey of London: volume 36: Covent Garden, 182–184, 1970, Institute of Historical Research, F. H. W. Sheppard, 30 July 2010, 25 May 2011,www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46110," title="web.archive.org/web/20110525094344www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46110,">web.archive.org/web/20110525094344www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46110, live, The pub acquired a reputation for staging bare-knuckle prize fights during the early 19th century when it earned the nickname “Bucket of Blood”.BOOK, Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince,books.google.com/books?id=v66bMh6yqfsC&pg=PA215, Frommer’s England 2008, 215, Frommer’s, 2007, 978-0-470-13819-9, 25 October 2015, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729181427/https://books.google.com/books?id=v66bMh6yqfsC&pg=PA215, live, The alleyway beside the pub was the scene of an attack on John Dryden in 1679 by thugs hired by John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester,BOOK, John Richardson,archive.org/details/annalsoflondonye00rich, registration, The Annals of London, 156, University of California Press, 2000, 0-520-22795-6, with whom he had a long-standing conflict.EB1911, Rochester, John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of, 23, 427–428; see page 428, second para, 7 and 8 lines from end, Rochester chose to pretend that this was Dryden’s work, not Mulgrave’s, and by his orders a band of roughs set on the poet in Rose Alley, Covent Garden, The Salisbury 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 ensemble”.WEB,www.heritagepubs.org.uk/pubs/historic-pub-interior-entry.asp?pubid=47, St Martins Lane, Heritage Pubs, 16 January 2015, 8 September 2015,www.heritagepubs.org.uk/pubs/historic-pub-interior-entry.asp?pubid=47," title="web.archive.org/web/20150908150536www.heritagepubs.org.uk/pubs/historic-pub-interior-entry.asp?pubid=47,">web.archive.org/web/20150908150536www.heritagepubs.org.uk/pubs/historic-pub-interior-entry.asp?pubid=47, live, The Freemasons Arms on Long Acre is linked with the founding of the Football Association in 1863;WEB,www.shepherdneame.co.uk/pubs/covent-garden/freemasons-arms, Welcome to The Freemasons Arms, Covent Garden, shepherdneame.co.uk/pubs, dead,www.shepherdneame.co.uk/pubs/covent-garden/freemasons-arms," title="web.archive.org/web/20140107120416www.shepherdneame.co.uk/pubs/covent-garden/freemasons-arms,">web.archive.org/web/20140107120416www.shepherdneame.co.uk/pubs/covent-garden/freemasons-arms, 7 January 2014, BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=H0l2T7tLSiEC&pg=PA25, 25, Football/Soccer: History and Tactics, Jaime Orejan, McFarland, 2011, 978-0-7864-8566-6, 25 October 2015, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729182004/https://books.google.com/books?id=H0l2T7tLSiEC&pg=PA25, live, however, the meetings took place at The Freemason’s Tavern on Great Queen Street, which was replaced in 1909 by the Connaught Rooms.WEB,www.thefa.com/about-football-association/history, The History of The FA, thefa.com, 7 January 2014, 25 January 2013,www.thefa.com/about-football-association/history," title="web.archive.org/web/20130125012322www.thefa.com/about-football-association/history,">web.archive.org/web/20130125012322www.thefa.com/about-football-association/history, live, WEB,www.londonremembers.com/subjects/freemasons-tavern, Freemasons’ Tavern, londonremembers.com, 7 January 2014, 27 October 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201027120544/https://www.londonremembers.com/subjects/freemasons-tavern, live, Other Grade II listed pubs include three 19th century rebuilds of 17th century/18th century houses, the Nell Gwynne Tavern in Bull Inn Court,{{National Heritage List for England |num= 1066336|desc= The Nell Gwynne Tavern public house |access-date= 1 October 2014}} the Nag’s Head on James Street,{{National Heritage List for England |num= 1277358|desc= The Nag’s Head |access-date= 1 October 2014}} and the White Swan on New Row;{{National Heritage List for England |num= 1224986|desc=White Swan public house |access-date= 1 October 2014}} a Victorian pub built by lessees of the Marquis of Exeter, the Old Bell on the corner of Exeter Street and Wellington Street;{{National Heritage List for England |num= 1211790|desc= The Old Bell public house |access-date= 1 October 2014}}BOOK,www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol36/pp226-229, Survey of London: Volume 36, Covent Garden, Southampton Street and Tavistock Street Area: Wellington Street, F. H. W. Sheppard, London County Council, 1970, 226–229, London, British History Online, 16 January 2015, 16 January 2015,www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol36/pp226-229," title="web.archive.org/web/20150116135600www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol36/pp226-229,">web.archive.org/web/20150116135600www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol36/pp226-229, live, and a late 18th or early 19th century pub the Angel and Crown on St Martin’s Lane.{{National Heritage List for England |num= 1236047|desc= The Angel and Crown public house |access-date= 1 October 2014}}

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.WEB,www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Covent_Garden_ENTS_SPG_July_2006.pdf, westminster.gov.uk, Draft Supplementary Planning Guidance for Entertainment Uses, 120 & 127, July 2006, 17 November 2015, 24 September 2020,www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Covent_Garden_ENTS_SPG_July_2006.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20200924105503www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Covent_Garden_ENTS_SPG_July_2006.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20200924105503www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Covent_Garden_ENTS_SPG_July_2006.pdf, live, Among the restaurants are the historic theatrical eating places, the oldest of which is Rules, which was founded in 1798, making it the oldest restaurant in London,BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=sRhSED-Up1UC&pg=PA120, 120, Theatreland: A Journey Through the Heart of London’s Theatre, Paul Ibell, A&C Black, 1 July 2009, 978-1-84725-003-2, 26 August 2017, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729183925/https://books.google.com/books?id=sRhSED-Up1UC&pg=PA120, live, followed by J. Sheekey, an oyster bar and fish restaurant founded in 1893 by market-stall holder Josef Sheekey in Lord Salisbury’s St Martin’s Court,NEWS,www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/reviews/j-sheekey-oyster-bar-28-32-st-martinrsquos-court-london-wc2-020-7240-2565-1642785.html, John Walsh, 14 March 2009, J Sheekey Oyster Bar, independent.co.uk, 26 August 2017, 3 September 2017,www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/reviews/j-sheekey-oyster-bar-28-32-st-martinrsquos-court-london-wc2-020-7240-2565-1642785.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20170903123644www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/reviews/j-sheekey-oyster-bar-28-32-st-martinrsquos-court-london-wc2-020-7240-2565-1642785.html,">web.archive.org/web/20170903123644www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/reviews/j-sheekey-oyster-bar-28-32-st-martinrsquos-court-london-wc2-020-7240-2565-1642785.html, live, BOOK, Sex, Death & Oysters: A Half-shell Lover’s World Tour, 261, Robb Walsh, Counterpoint, 2009, and The Ivy, which was founded as an unlicensed Italian cafe by Abel Giandellini in 1917.WEB,www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/nov/04/ivy-restaurant-celebrity, Matthew Fort, The Ivy: dine with the stars, 4 November 2010, theguardian.com, 11 December 2016, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729000052/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/nov/04/ivy-restaurant-celebrity, live, WEB,www.the-ivy.co.uk/general-information/history/, the-ivy.co.uk, History, 23 June 2016, 6 January 2017,www.the-ivy.co.uk/general-information/history/," title="web.archive.org/web/20170106004134www.the-ivy.co.uk/general-information/history/,">web.archive.org/web/20170106004134www.the-ivy.co.uk/general-information/history/, live, Other restaurants include Gaby’s Deli, a Jewish cafe and restaurant serving falafels and salt beef sandwiches since 1965,WEB,www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/dec/11/gabys-deli-theatreland-closure, Vanessa Thorpe, Stars unite to save the falafels that fuelled theatreland, 11 December 2011, theguardian.com, 11 December 2016, 13 August 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200813205824/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/dec/11/gabys-deli-theatreland-closure, live, and Mon Plaisir, founded in 1943, one of the oldest French restaurants in London.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=3djuAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA37, 37, Behind the Doors of Notorious Covent Garden, Elizabeth Sharland, iUniverse, 16 November 2009, 978-1-4401-8499-4, 26 August 2017, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729182041/https://books.google.com/books?id=3djuAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA37, live, BOOK, 33, London, Ryan Ver Berkmoes, Lonely Planet Publications, 2000, Covent Garden was home to some of London’s earliest coffee shops, such as Old Slaughter’s Coffee House, which ran from 1692 until 1843,BOOK, The London Encyclopaedia, 602, Pan Macmillan, 2008, 978-1-4050-4924-5, Christopher Hibbert, Ben Weinreb, Christopher Hibbert, Ben Weinreb, and a Beefsteak Club, the Sublime Society of Beef Steaks, which was co-founded in 1736 by William Hogarth at the Theatre Royal (now the Royal Opera House).BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=UWukBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA60, 60, Biographies of Drink: A Case Study Approach to our Historical Relationship with Alcohol, Mark Hailwood, Deborah Toner, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 5 February 2015, 978-1-4438-7503-5, 26 August 2017, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729183100/https://books.google.com/books?id=UWukBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA60, live,

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 by Dickens, spends the nights. In 1867, Johann Strauss II from Austria composed “Erinnerung an Covent Garden” (Memory of Covent Garden, op. 329). Eliza Doolittle, the central character in George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion, and the musical adaptation by Alan Jay Lerner, My Fair Lady, is a Covent Garden flower seller.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=tkrt0rHAQl8C&pg=PA43, David S. White, Let’s Take the Kids to London: A Family Travel Guide, 43, Take the Kids to London, 2000, 0-595-13953-1, 25 October 2015, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729182057/https://books.google.com/books?id=tkrt0rHAQl8C&pg=PA43, live, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1972 film Frenzy about a Covent Garden fruit vendor who becomes a serial sex killer,BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=ktSeoUGe_mgC&pg=PA142, Covent Garden: The Fruit, Vegetable and Flower Markets, 142, Frances Lincoln Publishers, 2008, 978-0-7112-2860-3, Clive Boursnell, Peter Ackroyd, Peter Ackroyd, 25 October 2015, 4 May 2016,web.archive.org/web/20160504045846/https://books.google.com/books?id=ktSeoUGe_mgC&pg=PA142, live, was set in the market where his father had been a wholesale greengrocer.WEB, Chuck Arrington,www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/1629/alfred-hitchcock-collection-frenzy-the/, The Alfred Hitchcock Collection: Frenzy, DVD Talk, 27 July 2010, 19 February 2001, 28 January 2012,www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/1629/alfred-hitchcock-collection-frenzy-the/," title="web.archive.org/web/20120128015107www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/1629/alfred-hitchcock-collection-frenzy-the/,">web.archive.org/web/20120128015107www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/1629/alfred-hitchcock-collection-frenzy-the/, live, The daily activity of the market was the topic of a 1957 Free Cinema documentary by Lindsay Anderson, Every Day Except Christmas, which won the Grand Prix at the Venice Festival of Shorts and Documentaries.WEB, Christophe Dupin,www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/438953/, Every Day Except Christmas (1957), BFI Screenonline, 27 July 2010, 5 August 2012,www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/438953/," title="web.archive.org/web/20120805122846www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/438953/,">web.archive.org/web/20120805122846www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/438953/, live,

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.WEB,www.playbill.com/article/uks-covent-garden-festival-to-close-com-99129, Paul, Webb, 13 October 2001, Playbill, UK’s Covent Garden Festival to Close, 16 January 2022, However, official company records show incorporation in 1989 and ongoing registration {{as of|2022|lc=yes}}.WEB, Covent Garden Festival Limited: Overview, GOV.UK: Find and update company information, 5 December 1989,find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02449397, 16 January 2022, Venues used for the festival have included the Bow Street Magistrates’ Court; the Covent Garden piazza; the Royal Opera House; Cochrane Theatre, Holborn; Peacock Theatre in Kingsway WC2, venues at Lincoln’s Inn and The Temple; and the Royal Courts of Justice on The Strand.WEB, Dunnett, Roderic, The garden of earthly delights, The Independent, 11 May 2000,www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-garden-of-earthly-delights-278675.html, 16 January 2022, Performances at the festival include:

• Handel’s Flavio (1994), by the (Irish) Opera Theatre CompanyNEWS, Fine tuning, The Irish Times, 21 March 2013,www.irishtimes.com/culture/fine-tuning-1.30183, 16 January 2022,
• Noël Coward’s After the Ball (1999), at the Peacock Theatre, directed by Paul CurranWEB, After the Ball, Concord Theatricals,www.concordtheatricals.co.uk/p/2125/after-the-ball, 16 January 2022,

Cinemas

The Garden Cinema, which opened in March 2022, is located in Parker Street.WEB, About Us / The Garden Cinema, The Garden Cinema, 22 January 2024,www.thegardencinema.co.uk/about-us/, 22 January 2024, WEB, Garden Cinema in London, GB, Cinema Treasures, 15 March 2022,cinematreasures.org/theaters/66818, 22 January 2024, The cinema is designed in Art Deco style, inside and out.WEB, The Garden Cinema, Independent Cinema Office, 21 August 2023,www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/cinemas/the-garden-cinema/, 22 January 2024, 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 delayed its opening.WEB, Michael Chambers on founding London’s Garden Cinema, Financial Times, Saskia, Baron, 22 July 2023,www.ft.com/content/89564c02-1983-4957-b918-1d3d739a37c2, 22 January 2024, The cinema partners with a number of film festivals and other organisations,WEB, Partners / The Garden Cinema, The Garden Cinema, 11 January 2024,www.thegardencinema.co.uk/partners/, 22 January 2024, as well as hosting Q&As, live music, and poetry recitals.

Transport

File:Covent Garden stn building.JPG|alt=Covent Garden Underground Station|thumb|The 1907 London UndergroundLondon UndergroundCovent Garden tube station is situated on the corner of Long Acre and James Street. It is served by Piccadilly line trains, which link the area directly to important Central London destinations including King’s Cross St Pancras, South Kensington, and Heathrow Airport ({{Rint|air}}).WEB,content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf, London’s Rail and Tube Services, Transport for London, April 14, 2020, 25 January 2020,content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20200125210513content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20200125210513content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf, live, The station opened in 1907, and is one of the few in Central London for which platform access is only by lift or stairs.BOOK, Oliver Green,books.google.com/books?id=b2CHCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT132, The Tube: Station to Station on the London Underground, 20 November 2012, Bloomsbury Publishing, 978-0-7478-1287-6, 132, 26 August 2017, 29 July 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200729180935/https://books.google.com/books?id=b2CHCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT132, live, The journey from Covent Garden to Leicester Square is London’s shortest tube journey, at less than 300 yards. Leicester Square tube station is on the Piccadilly and Northern lines. The Northern line links Covent Garden directly to destinations such as Waterloo, Euston, and Camden Town.Other nearby tube stations include Charing Cross, Embankment, and Holborn. Charing Cross is the nearest National Rail (’mainline’) station to Covent Garden.More than 30 London Buses 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.WEB,www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/9898, TfL confirms RV1 will be axed in central London bus changes, London SE1, en, 2020-02-18, 7 November 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201107234959/https://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/9898, live, WEB,www.coventgarden.uk.com/getting/Covent-Garden-by-bus.html, Getting to Covent Garden by bus, Covent Garden London,www.coventgarden.uk.com/getting/Covent-Garden-by-bus.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20160502030154www.coventgarden.uk.com/getting/Covent-Garden-by-bus.html,">web.archive.org/web/20160502030154www.coventgarden.uk.com/getting/Covent-Garden-by-bus.html, 2 May 2016, 26 July 2010, The Quietway 1 cycle route passes through Covent Garden. The route is signposted and runs on quieter roads or contraflow cycle lanes. The route runs northbound towards the Bloomsbury, and southbound to the Strand and Waterloo Bridge, via Bow Street.WEB,tfl.gov.uk/maps/cycle, Cycle, Transport for London, April 14, 2020, 27 November 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201127041719/https://tfl.gov.uk/maps/cycle, live, The Santander Cycles bike sharing scheme operates in Covent Garden, with several docking points throughout the area.

References

{{Reflist}}

Bibliography

• Anderson, Christy (2007). Inigo Jones and the Classical Tradition. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-82027-8}}.
• Banham, Martin (1995). The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-43437-8}}.
• Boursnell, Clive; Ackroyd, Peter (2008). Covent Garden: The Fruit, Vegetable and Flower Markets. Frances Lincoln Publishers. {{ISBN|0-7112-2860-4}}.
• Burford, E. J. (1986). Wits, Wenchers and Wantons – London’s Low Life: Covent Garden in the Eighteenth Century. Robert Hale Ltd. {{ISBN|0-7090-2629-3}}.
• Kilburn, Mike; Arzoz, Alberto (2002). London’s Theatres. New Holland Publishers. {{ISBN|1-84330-069-9}}.
• Porter, Roy (1998). London: A Social History. Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|0-674-53839-0}}.
• Sheppard, F. H. W. (1970). Survey of London: volume 36: Covent Garden. Institute of Historical Research.
• Summerson, John (1983). Inigo Jones. Penguin. {{ISBN|0-14-020839-9}}.
• Thorne, Robert (1980). Covent Garden Market: its History and Restoration. Architectural Press. {{ISBN|0-85139-098-6}}.
• Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher (2008). The London Encyclopaedia. Pan Macmillan. {{ISBN|1-4050-4924-3}}.

Further reading

• BOOK, C. Knight & Co., London, London, Charles Knight, Charles Knight (publisher), 1843, 5, Covent Garden,archive.org/stream/londonkn05kniguoftpage/128/mode/2up, none,
• BOOK, J.C. Hotten, London, Curiosities of London, 2nd, John Timbs, John Timbs, 1867, 12878129,archive.org/stream/curiositiesoflon00timbrichpage/292/mode/2up, Covent Garden, none,
• EB1911, Covent Garden, 7, 340, 1,
• BOOK, Vic Gatrell, Vic Gatrell, (The First Bohemians: Life and Art in London’s Golden Age), 2013, Penguin UK, 978-0-7181-9582-3, Covent Garden,
• BOOK, Mary Cathcart Borer, The Story of Covent Garden, 1984, Robert Hale, London,

External links

{{Commons category}}{{Wikivoyage|London/Covent Garden}}

• Covent Garden Community Association
• Covent Garden London

{{Covent Garden}}{{London markets}}{{LB Camden}}{{LB City of Westminster}}{{London landmarks}}{{featured article}}{{Authority control}}