West End of London

The two main focusses of development and activity in medieval London were the walled City of London, the capital's ancient core, and Westminster to the west. The modern West End is very closely associated with Westminster, and largely contained within it.

Lying to the west of the historic Roman and medieval City of London, Westminster and neighbouring areas were long favoured by the rich elite as a place of residence, because it was close to the seat of royal power at the Palace of Westminster (now home to parliament) and usually upwind of the smoke drifting from the crowded City.^[2]

In 1585, during the reign of Elizabeth I, Westminster gained city status as the City and Liberty of Westminster. ^[3] The City and Liberty of Westminster was an extensive area south of Oxford Street, which originated as a Roman Road. In 1965 the City of Westminster was created, (one of the 32 London boroughs), and expanded to include not just Westminster (south of Oxford Street), but also Marylebone and Paddington to the north of it.

The Cities of London and Westminster kept their own distinct character and separate legal identity (for example, the City of London has its own police force and is a distinct county). The City of London became a centre for the banking, financial, legal and professional sectors, while Westminster became associated with the leisure, shopping, commerce, and entertainment sectors, the government, and home to universities, museums and embassies.

Elizabeth 1 and James I tried hard to limit the growth of London, but James was short of funds and in 1609 granted the Earl of Salisbury permission to develop his land around St Martin's Lane, in exchange for contribution to the exchequer. ^[4]

In 1630, his son Charles I was also short of money and granted the Earl of Bedford permission to develop the site of a former female monastery at Covent Garden in Westminster. Charles sought to balance the interests of the developer with the community. In exchange for permission to develop the land, Bedford was required to pave and maintain nearby Long Acre, and donate £2000 to the exchequer. The permission came with the condition that the development included a square and church and be designed by Inigo Jones.^[5]

In 1638 the builder William Newton bought land west of Lincoln's Inn with the intention, much to dismay of local people angry at the loss their open spaces for Newton's private gain. King Charles allowed development on condition that a portion of the fields be retained to "frustrate the covetous and greedy endeavours of such persons as persons as daily seek to fill that small remainder of air in those parts with unnecessary and unprofitable buildings". The selection of Inigo Jones also assured a high quality development.^[6]

The Great Fire of London did not directly affect the West End a great deal, but the huge loss of housing in the City of London led to a building boom in the west.^[7] This began with an initial development by Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans in the 1660s. Then, during the late 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, it was built as a series of palaces, expensive town houses, fashionable shops and places of entertainment. The areas closest to the City around Holborn, Seven Dials, and Covent Garden contained poorer communities that were cleared and redeveloped in the 19th century.

As the West End is a term used colloquially by Londoners and is not an official geographical or municipal definition, its exact constituent parts are debatable. Westminster City Council's 2005 report Vision for the West End included the following areas in its definition: Covent Garden, Soho, Chinatown, Leicester Square, the shopping streets of Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street, the area encompassing Trafalgar Square, the Strand and Aldwych, and the district known as Theatreland. The Edgware Road to the north-west and the Victoria Embankment to the south-east were also covered by the document but were treated as "adjacent areas" to the West End.^[8]

According to Ed Glinert's West End Chronicles (2006) the districts falling within the West End are Mayfair, Soho, Covent Garden, Fitzrovia and Marylebone.^[9] By this definition, the West End borders Temple, Holborn and Bloomsbury to the east, Regent's Park to the north, Paddington, Hyde Park and Knightsbridge to the west, and Victoria and Westminster to the south. Other definitions include Bloomsbury within the West End.^[10]

One of the City of Westminster wards is called "West End". This electoral unit includes some of the most prosperous areas of the borough, including Soho, Mayfair and parts of southern Marylebone.^[11] The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 10,575.^[12]

As part of the London Government Act 1963, the West End covers parts of the boroughs of Westminster and Camden.^[13]

The West End is laid out with many notable public squares and circuses.

• Berkeley Square
• Cambridge Circus
• Cavendish Square
• Grosvenor Square
• Hanover Square
• Hyde Park Corner
• Leicester Square
• Manchester Square
• Marble Arch
• Oxford Circus
• Parliament Square
• Piccadilly Circus
• Portman Square
• Russell Square
• Soho Square
• St James's Square
• St Giles Circus
• Trafalgar Square

London Underground stations in the West End include: