Bloomsbury Square
Bloomsbury Square | |
---|---|
Type | Garden square |
Location | London, WC1 United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 51°31′08″N 0°7′22″W / 51.51889°N 0.12278°W |
Area | 0.5 hectares (1.24 acres)[1] |
Created | Early 1660s |
Public transit access | Holborn |
Bloomsbury Square is a garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, London. Developed in the late 17th century, it was initially known as Southampton Square and was one of the earliest London squares. By the early 19th century, Bedford House along the north of the square had been demolished and replaced with terraced housing designed by James Burton.[1]
Geography
To the north of the square is
History
The square was developed for the
On 9 April 1694 Bloomsbury Square was the setting for an infamous duel. The then 23-year-old Scottish economist and financier John Law fought Edward 'Beau' Wilson, killing him with a single pass and thrust of his sword.[4] Law would be convicted of murder and sentenced to death, but would escape his condemned cell and go on to become the founder of the Mississippi Company and the de facto prime minister of France.[4]
By the early 19th century, Bloomsbury was no longer fashionable with the upper classes. Consequently, the Duke of Bedford of the day moved out of Bedford House, which was demolished and replaced with further terraced houses. In the 19th century the square was occupied mainly by middle class professionals. The writer Isaac D'Israeli lived at No. 6 from 1817 to 1829 and for part of that time his son, the future Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli lived with him. In the 20th century most of the buildings came to be used as offices.
Bloomsbury Square's garden contains a bronze statue by Richard Westmacott of
The garden is Grade II listed on the
In culture
- The second movement of Symphony No 2 (A London Symphony) by Vaughan Williams represents "Bloomsbury Square on a November Afternoon".[6]
- In the musical Mr. Brownlow lives in Bloomsbury Square, while in Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist, on which the musical is based, he lives in Pentonville.
Current occupants
- No. 5a Pushkin House
- No. 15 Le Cordon Bleu
- No. 17 German Historical Institute
- No. 18 The History of Parliament
- No. 19 19 Bloomsbury Square Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy
Former occupants
- No. 6 Isaac D'Israeli
- No. 29 Edwin Lutyens
- William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield
- Richard Steele
- No. 38 Samuel Shepherd
- No. 40 Gertrude Stein in 1902.
See also
Other squares on the Bedford Estate in Bloomsbury included:
- Bedford Square
- Gordon Square
- Mecklenburgh Square
- Russell Square
- Tavistock Square
- Torrington Square
- Woburn Square
References
- ^ a b c England, Historic. "BLOOMSBURY SQUARE, Camden - 1000210- Historic England". Historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
- ^ Summerson, John (2003). Georgian London. New Haven: Yale. p. 24.
- ^ History Archived 2010-06-16 at the Wayback Machine, The Bedford Estates, Bloomsbury, London, UK.
- ^ a b Gavin John Adams (2012). Letters to John Law. Newton Page. pp. xiv, xxi.
- ^ Historic England, "Bloomsbury Square (1000210)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 11 April 2017
- ^ "Londonvacationsecrets.com". Londonvacationsecrets.com. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
External links
Media related to Bloomsbury Square at Wikimedia Commons