Wych Street was in London where King, Melbourne and Australia Houses now stand on Aldwych. It ran west from the church of St Clement Danes on the Strand to meet the southern end of Drury Lane. It was demolished by the London County Council in around 1901, as part of redevelopment bisected by new street Aldwych, the east of which mimics its course, in a curved way so taking up land buildings stood on, and these works created Kingsway. [1]
The area around Drury Lane was not affected by the Great Fire of London, and contained decrepit Elizabethan houses, with projecting wooden jetties. The Angel Inn public house was at the bottom of the street, by the Strand. Further west, about halfway along on the north side, was the New Inn, an Inn of Chancery where Sir Thomas More received his early legal education, and, to the south, Lyon's Inn, another Inn of Chancery where Sir Edward Coke was a reader in 1578, [2] which was replaced by a Globe Theatre and the Opera Comique c. 1863. [2] The Shakespeare's Head was the meeting place of the Club of Owls, named because of the late hours kept by its members. [3] Mark Lemon, editor of Punch , lived there for a year [3] and "a club of literati used to meet on the first floor". [3]
In Literary Anecdotes John Nichols listed members of the monthly dining club that met at the Shakespeare's Head tavern: [4] James Robson, Alderman Cadell, James Dodsley, Lockyer Davis, Thomas Longman, Peter Elmsly, honest Tom Payne of the Mews-gate, Thomas Evans of the Strand and Thomas Davies. [4]
South of the western end was Drury House, the house of Sir Robert Drury, from which Drury Lane took its name, later rebuilt as Craven House by the first Lord Craven (died 1697), and finally turned into a public house, the "Queen of Bohemia", named after his unrequited love, Elizabeth of Bohemia, the daughter of James I. This building was demolished – replaced by the first Olympic Theatre. [2] The artist Louise Rayner 1832-1924 painted the corner of Wych Street showing Symond's Coffee House circa 1880. Jack Sheppard, the infamous thief, was apprenticed to a carpenter, Mr. Wood, on this street; one of his haunts, the White Lion tavern, was here. The music hall performer Arthur Lloyd lived at № 39 in 1892. [2]
Around 1780, the brothers George and John Jacob Astor, who became America's first multimillionaire, ran an instrument store in № 26. [2]
Where Was Wych Street? is one of the best loved short stories by Stacy Aumonier (1877–1928).
In Patrick O'Brian's novel Post Captain (1972), the character Dr. Stephen Maturin is in London in late September 1804, reporting to the Admiralty in his capacity as a naval intelligence agent. Having left the Admiralty building on Whitehall, he intends to "wander[] among the bookstalls of Wych Street," but because of the rain he decides instead to return to his inn. [5]
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.
Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Drury Lane is part of London's West End Theatreland.
Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary of the Cities of London and Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was named.
Strand is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster, Central London. The street, which is part of London's West End theatreland, runs just over 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) from Trafalgar Square eastwards to Temple Bar, where the road becomes Fleet Street in the City of London, and is part of the A4, a main road running west from inner London.
Aldwych is a street and the name of the area immediately surrounding it, in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, and is part of the West End Theatreland. The 450 metres (1,480 ft) street starts 600 metres (2,000 ft) east-northeast of Charing Cross, the conventional map centre-point of the capital city.
High Holborn is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and Southampton Row, becoming Holborn at its eastern junction with Gray's Inn Road. The western stretch, as far as Drury Lane, was formerly known as Broad Street. On High Holborn, traffic flows one-way westbound from its junction with Drake Street to its western end, and flows both ways for the remainder.
The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, located between Wych Street, Holywell Street and the Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway.
The WC postcode area, also known as the London WC postcode area, is a group of postcode districts in central London, England. The area covered is of high density development, and includes parts of the City of Westminster and the London Boroughs of Camden and Islington, plus a very small part of the City of London.
The Cockpit was a theatre in London, operating from 1616 to around 1665. It was the first theatre to be located near Drury Lane. After damage in 1617, it was named The Phoenix.
Adelphi is a district of the City of Westminster in London. The small district includes the streets of Adelphi Terrace, Robert Street and John Adam Street. Of rare use colloquially, Adelphi is grouped with Aldwych as the greater Strand district which for many decades formed a parliamentary constituency and civil registration district.
Clare Market is a historic area in central London located within the parish of St Clement Danes to the west of Lincoln's Inn Fields, between the Strand and Drury Lane, with Vere Street adjoining its western side. It was named after the food market which had been established in Clement's Inn Fields, by John Holles, 2nd Earl of Clare. Much of the area and its landmarks were immortalised by Charles Dickens in The Old Curiosity Shop, The Pickwick Papers, Barnaby Rudge and Sketches by Boz.
The Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th-century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout much of its existence. Along with three other Victorian theatres, the Olympic was eventually demolished in 1904 to make way for the development of the Aldwych. Newcastle and Wych streets also vanished.
The Globe was a Victorian theatre built in 1868 and demolished in 1902. It was the third of five London theatres to bear the name, following Shakespeare’s Bankside house, which closed in 1642, and the former Rotunda Theatre in Blackfriars Road, which for a few years from 1833 was renamed the Globe. The new theatre was also known at various times as the Royal Globe Theatre or Globe Theatre Royal. Its repertoire consisted mainly of comedies and musical shows.
Drury House was a historic building on Wych Street, London. It was the house of Sir Robert Drury, after whom Drury Lane was named. It was a meeting place for Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex and his accomplices in 1601, when they were plotting against Elizabeth I.
The Spanish Galleon is a public house at 1 College Approach, Greenwich, London, that was built in 1836 as part of Joseph Kay's redevelopment of central Greenwich in the Regency style. It has been grade II listed since 1973 and is managed by the brewers Shepherd Neame.
The Society for Photographing Relics of Old London was founded in 1875 in London, England, initially with the purpose of recording the Oxford Arms, a traditional galleried public house on Warwick Lane that was to be demolished as part of the redevelopment of the Old Bailey.
This is a list of the etymology of street names in the London district of Holborn. Holborn has no formally defined boundaries - those utilised here are: Theobald’s Road to the north, Gray's Inn Road and the City of London boundary to the east, Victoria Embankment/the Thames to the south, and Lancaster Place, the north-west curve of the Aldwych semi-circle, Kingsway/Southampton Row to the west.
Blossom's Inn was a tavern which stood in Lawrence Lane in the City of London from the 14th century until 1855. It became a substantial coaching inn and was used as a staging post by carriers of goods. In the 19th century, the lease was bought and it became the parcel depot of the Great Eastern Railway. Its name was used for a major property development at the end of the 20th century and the site is now part of the large complex of 30 Gresham Street.
Catherine Street, originally known as Brydges Street, is a street in the City of Westminster, London. It runs from Russell Street in the north to Aldwych in the south. It is crossed midway by Tavistock Street and joined on the western side near Aldwych by the eastern end of Exeter Street.
The New Inn was one of the Inns of Chancery or Hospida Cancellarie. It existed from the late 15th century until 1902 and was located near Aldwych in London.