Covent Garden
Posted in Piccadilly Line on Apr 7th, 2010
Covent Garden is a vibrant mix of shops, restaurants, theatres and street performers, all centred around an Italian-style piazza. It is also home to a world class opera venue and the London Transport Museum. The area’s former life as a fruit and vegetable market and disreputable centre of vice are now a distant memory.
Opened: 1907
Line served: Piccadilly
The distance between Covent Garden station and Leicester Square station is the shortest distance between any two adjacent tube stations on the network. It is quicker to walk.
The emergency exit staircase at Covent Garden station has 193 steps.
Haunted
Covent Garden Underground station is thought to be haunted by the ghost of actor William Terriss who was stabbed to death on the Strand in 1897. The actor is said to have regularly visited a bakery which stood on the site where the station is now.
Underground staff have been reporting sightings of a ghostly male figure at the station as far back as the 1950s. He also reportedly appeared in the staff room which prompted many workers to request a transfer.
Roman burials, Ludenwic and Aldwych
Much of the early history of Covent Garden has only been revealed in recent years through archaeological excavations. There is evidence of Roman settlement despite the area being on the outskirts of Londinium. The most significant comes from a Roman grave discovered during excavations at St Martin-in-the-Fields church in 2006.
The area was later a central part of the Saxon settlement of Ludenwic. Evidence suggests that the Saxons deliberately chose to avoid the ruins of Londinium, preferring instead to set up a new settlement further west. Ludenwic is well-documented as a thriving Saxon trading port. Animal bones and shells discovered during excavations suggest that the area was a market centre even then.
Down under the London Transport Museum
Excavations under the London Transport Museum in 2004 (carried out when the basement was extended) uncovered a Saxon cemetery. Artefacts found in the graves indicated that Ludenwic was relatively wealthy from the early stages of settlement. They also suggested that the settlement was 100 years older than previously thought (dating back to 550).
A Convent Garden
The Covent Garden area was originally a walled kitchen garden owned by the monks of Westminster Abbey. The name derives from the middle-English form of the word ‘convent’. The monks used the garden to grow food for their daily meals but over time it became a popular source of fruit and vegetables for the rest of the city. Ownership of the area changed hands several times before its significant redevelopment in the seventeenth century.
La Bella Piazza
In the early seventeenth century, the Earl of Bedford (the owner of the area at the time) commissioned respected architect Inigo Jones to design a redevelopment of the area. Jones was inspired by the Italian piazzas he had seen during his grand tour of Europe and created an elegant arcaded market place with the modest St. Paul’s church on the west side of the piazza.
Initially the redevelopment attracted an aristocratic crowd but the area quickly fell into disrepute as taverns and brothels sprang up around the fruit and vegetable market. It became a well known centre for prostitution and gambling; a playground for ‘gentlemen of pleasure’. But, although the nobility left, the area was still popular and the market in particular enjoyed increased trade after the Great Fire of London destroyed many of the markets in the City.
By the 1960’s traffic congestion around the market was at an unsustainable level. Plans to flatten the piazza and use the space for office developments were considered but met with passionate public opposition. Eventually Robert Carr, the Home Secretary at the time, stepped in and gave many of the surrounding buildings listed status, thus preventing significant redevelopment.
In 1974 the fruit and vegetable market was moved to Vauxhall where it continues to operate as the New Covent Garden Market. The original piazza was left to languish since noone seemed to know what to do with it. Eventually, in 1980, it was re-opened as an arts-and-crafts orientated shopping centre and tourist attraction.
The Actors Church
On designing St Paul’s Church, Inigo Jones was instructed to make it ‘no fancier than a barn’ which accounts for its elegant simplicity. It’s known as ‘the actor’s church’ because of the number of theatres close by. Several actors, well known in their day, are buried in the church. There are also memorials to Charlie Chaplin, Noel Coward and Gracie Fields.
In 1662, Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary about an Italian puppet play performed under the portico of the church. It was to be the first recorded ‘Punch and Judy Show’ which is commemorated by an annual Punch and Judy festival held in the churchyard each May.
The area in front of the church featured in the opening scene of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion (later adapted to become My Fair Lady) and is now the main venue for modern street performers.
Ghosts, Girls and Treason: The Theatre Royal Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal on Drury Lane was the first place to permit women to perform on stage in England. Prior to this, women were considered incapable of adequately portraying their own gender. The original theatre, built in 1663, was the first of four incarnations that have occupied the site. That, and the following three were all destroyed by fire. The present theatre, owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, is currently staging Oliver!
In 1716 an assassination attempt was made on the future King George II in the theatre. This was followed in 1800 by a similar attempt on his grandson, George III. Two shots were fired, both of which missed. The would-be assassin was carted off and the King, unfazed, ordered the performance to continue.
The theatre is also haunted by the ‘Man in Grey’, a ghost that appears in the Circle wearing a long grey cloak with the hilt of a dagger visible in his chest. He appears mostly in the daytime to rehearsing actors and is thought to be the ghost of a man whose bones were found behind one of the theatre walls in 1840, a knife embedded in the ribcage.
Seven Dials
Seven streets converge at this little junction just west of Neal Street. In the centre of the roundabout is a pillar with six blue sundials – it could be six (rather than seven) because the original plan for the area had been for six streets or because the pillar itself was intended as the seventh dial. It was erected in 1693 but torn down in 1773, allegedly due to a rumour that there was treasure hidden underneath. In 1820, the remains of the original pillar were bought and resurrected in Weybridge, Surrey, as a memorial to Princess Frederica, Duchess of York. A replica was restored on the seven dials roundabout in 1989.
The Royal Opera House
The site of the Royal Opera House was originally home to the Covent Garden Theatre which opened in 1732. Ballet was performed here as well as several of Handel’s operas. The theatre burned down in 1808 and a second version was built and opened in 1809. Ticket price increases caused ongoing riots until management finally gave in. 1837 also saw the first use of limelight during a pantomime. The limelight form of stage lighting, discovered by Goldsworthy Gurney, exploited a chemical reaction to create an intensely bright light used to highlight actors.
After a dispute, the company at Her Majesty’s Theatre in the Haymarket moved to Covent Garden and the theatre was reopened as the Royal Italian Opera. Another fire destroyed the building in 1856 and the third incarnation eventually became The Royal Opera House. Extensive refurbishments in the 1990’s added improvements and an extension that make the building what it is today – a world class opera venue.
Bow Street Runners
A magistrates’ court was established on Bow Street in 1748. The second magistrate there was Henry Fielding who, as well as being a novelist, had a practical day job as a barrister. He helped to establish the Bow Street Runners, the first paid police force in Britain. They were tasked with cleaning up the Covent Garden area although they never numbered more than 12 men.
They continued to operate for about ten years after the establishment of the Metropolitan Police in 1829. The new policemen were nicknamed ‘Bobbies’ after their founder, Robert Peel.
A Juggling Act
The market association has to pay a hefty fee to the government for the license which allows the Covent Garden performers to strut their stuff. Because of this they exercise the right to choose who performs and who doesn’t. X-factor-style auditions are held every couple of months where the performers have just three minutes to dazzle the judges, showing not only skill in performance but also the ability to build a rapport with their audience. All decisions are final.
Photos
Attractions
London Transport Museum
Covent Garden Piazza
http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk
Watch the street performers
The acts do vary in quality but some are fantastic. The biggest pitch is in front of St Paul’s church where the entertainers can draw a large crowd.
It doesn’t cost you anything to watch but you are encouraged to make a donation afterwards.
http://www.coventgardenlondonuk.com/events-entertainment-culture/street-performers/page/1
Shopping!
Shop your socks off in the market, the surrounding shops and on Neal Street to the north of the piazza and station.
http://www.sevendials.co.uk/
http://www.coventgardenlife.com/shopping/shopping.asp
St. Paul’s Church
Bedford Street, WC2
See website for opening times.
The Actors Church. Pop in and have a look at the memorials. You can also catch a service if you fancy it.
http://www.actorschurch.org/
Royal Opera House
Covent Garden, WC1E 9DD
World class music and dance performances.
See website for latest events, tickets and prices.
http://www.roh.org.uk/
Theatre Royal
Currently showing Oliver!
See the website for performance times and ticket prices.
http://www.theatreroyaldrurylane.co.uk/
great post as usual!