Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between theCovent Garden andHolborn areas ofLondon, running betweenAldwych andHigh Holborn. The northern part is in the borough ofCamden and the southern part in theCity of Westminster. Drury Lane is part of London'sWest EndTheatreland.
The street originated as an early medieval lane referred to in Latin as theVia de Aldwych, which probably connected St. Giles Leper Hospital with the fields of Aldwych Close, owned by the hospital but traditionally said to have been granted to the Danes as part of a peace treaty with KingAlfred the Great in Saxon times. It acquired its name from theSuffolk barrister SirRobert Drury, who built a mansion calledDrury House on the lane around 1500. After the death in 1615 of his great-great-grandson, another Robert Drury, the property passed out of the family. It became the London house of theEarl of Craven, then apublic house under the sign of his reputed mistress, theQueen of Bohemia. Subsequently, the gardens and courtyards of the house were built over with rows of small houses. The remains of the house itself, which had been progressively demolished, were finally cleared in 1809. By this time, Drury Lane had become one of the worst slums in London, dominated by prostitution[1] andgin palaces. The area was eventually cleared to make way for the developments ofKingsway andAldwych.[2]
The Muffin Man resided on Drury Lane, according to the famousnursery rhyme.[3]
The term "Drury Lane" is often used to refer to theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane, which has in different incarnations been located in the street since the 17th century, even though today the main entrance is on Catherine Street. Also in Drury Lane is theGillian Lynne Theatre.[4]173 Drury Lane was the location of the firstJ Sainsbury store. The store was opened in 1869 and the company is now one of the UK's largestsupermarket chains.[5]
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