Covent Garden, London

Covent Garden is a district in London on the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwest corner of the Borough of Camden. This is a major shopping district of London. It is also where one can watch street performers and visit entertainment facilities. The entrance to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, often simply called "Covent Garden", is also here.

Covent Garden is bordered by High Holborn to the north, Kingsway to the east, the Strand to the south and Charing Cross Road to the west. At the very centre is the Covent Garden Piazza, which was where a flower, fruit and vegetable market was located from the 1500s until 1974 when it moved to New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms. Nearby areas include Soho, St James's, Bloomsbury and Holborn.

The name Covent Garden was originally "Convent Garden". It came about during the reign of King John (1199–1216), and referred to a 40-acre area in the county of Middlesex, bordered west and east by what is now St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane, and north and south by Floral Street. The name referred to a quadrangle within the Convent of St Peter in Westminster. The monk's large kitchen garden was a source of fruit and vegetables during the Middle Ages for the people of London, and was managed by leaseholders by grant from the Abbot. This kitchen garden, or convent garden, was how Covent Garden got its name.

In 1540, King Henry VII dissolved the monasteries and appropriated their land. In so doing, he granted part of the land of Covent Garden to Baron Russell, Lord High Admiral and, later, Earl of Bedford. King Edward VI bestowed the remainder of the garden land in 1547 to his maternal uncle, Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, who began building Somerset House on the south side of Strand the next year. After Seymour was beheaded for treason in 1552, the land was awarded four months later to the person who contributed to Seymour's downfall, the Earl of Bedford.

Covent Garden as we know it today was developed in the early 17th century by Francis Russel, the 4th Earl of Bedford. Designed by famous English Renaissance architect Inigo Jones, Covent Garden was planned to be a market centre. At the centre is an arcaded piazza. To the west of the piazza is the church of St Paul's, Covent Garden, better known as Actors' Church.

Covent Garden became the most important market place for traders, especially after the Great Fire of London of 1666, which burned down other "rival" markets on the eastern part of the city. The first mention of a Punch and July show in Britain was recorded at being performed at Covent Garden in May 1662. The grand building that look like Roman baths used as a permanent trading centre was built in 1830.

In 1913, the Duke of Bedford, feeling pressured to diversify his portfolio, sold Covent Garden to Harry Mallaby-Deeley for £2 million. Mallaby-Deeley sold his option to buy to Sir Joseph Beecham. However, Sir Joseph died the following year, and his sons Sir Thomas and Henry finalised the purchase.

By the end of the 1960s, traffic congestion was making development of Covent Garden as a market place unsustainable. Eventually the market moved to New Covent Garden Market three miles southwest in 1974. The deserted square was only reopened as a shopping centre in 1980.

Today, Covent Garden is well known for its shops, and for street performers - it is the only part of London licensed for such performances. The performers have to audition and the performer's union draws up a performance timetable. UK's first food Night Market was launched here in August 2007, in an attempt to bring back Covent Garden's position as the "Larder of London". Among the stalls at the Night Market include Neal's Yard's specialist cheeses, Spore Boys' mushroom sandwiches, Gourmet Candy Company, Ginger Pig sausages and Burnt Sugar fudge.

Covent Garden Market
by C Ford (GFDL)

Inside Covent Garden Market
by Diliff (GFDL)

Covent Garden Market
by Fingalo Christian Bickel (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0)

Street performers at Covent Garden
by Josep Renalias (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

Covent Garden stalls
by Arpingstone (public domain)

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