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 A4200 Kingsway from the south in 2009 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Length | 2.0 mi (3.2 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | A4 Aldwych | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| East end | A400 Camden High Street, next toMornington Crescent tube station | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Constituent country | England | |||
| Administrative areas | Greater London | |||
| Primary destinations | Aldwych Holborn Bloomsbury Euston Somerstown Camden Town | |||
| Road network | ||||
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TheA4200 is a major thoroughfare incentral London. It runs between theA4 atAldwych, to theA400Hampstead Road/Camden High Street, atMornington Crescent tube station, viaHolborn,Bloomsbury,Euston andSomers Town.
Kingsway is a major road incentral London, designated as part of theA4200. It runs fromHigh Holborn, at its north end in theLondon Borough of Camden, and meetsAldwych in the south in theCity of Westminster atBush House. It was opened by King Edward VII in 1905.[1] Together Kingsway and Aldwych form one of the major north–south routes through central London linking the ancient east–west routes ofHigh Holborn andStrand. The name "King's Way" originally applied to what is nowTheobalds Road, as it was the route thatKing James I took when travelling from London to his residenceTheobalds Palace in Hertfordshire.
The road was purpose-built as part of a major redevelopment of the area in the 1900s. Its route cleared away the maze of small streets in Holborn such as Little Queen Street and the surrounding slum dwellings. However, Holy Trinity Church in Little Queen Street was spared, whereas theSardinian Embassy Chapel, an importantRoman Catholic church attached to the Embassy of theKingdom of Sardinia, was demolished to make way for the new street.
Plans were published byLondon County Council in 1898, authorised by theLondon County Council (Improvements) Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. cclxvi) and the road was formally opened in 1905. It is one of the broadest streets in central London at 100 feet (30 m) wide. There were several proposed names for the new street, includingKing Edward VII Street,Empire Avenue,Imperial Avenue andConnecticut Avenue. The name "Kingsway" was in honour of KingEdward VII, who opened the street.[2]
It was unique in containing below it a tunnel for atramway, which started just north of Southampton Row, passed beneath Aldwych and continued to the Thames Embankment; thisKingsway tramway subway joined the North and South London tram systems. In 1958 the disused tunnel was reopened at the southern end to make a new connection, the Strand Underpass, for light traffic between Waterloo Bridge and Kingsway in order to reduce congestion. Also beneath Kingsway was a branch of thePiccadilly tube line from Holborn toAldwych station on the Strand; this was closed in 1994. Aldwych station is still used for television and film sets that require underground scenes. During theSecond World War the branch was used to store art treasures from theBritish Museum, including theElgin Marbles.[3]
On 1 April 2015, electrical cables under the pavement in Kingsway caught fire, leading to serious disruption in central London. The fire continued for the next two days, with flames shooting out of a manhole cover from a burst gas main,[4] before being extinguished.[5] Several thousand people were evacuated from nearby offices, and several theatres cancelled performances.[6][4][7] There was also substantial disruption to telecoms infrastructure.[8] On 8 April, press reports emerged stating that the fire may have been started as part of the2015 Hatton Garden burglary;[9] however, the investigation into how the fire started stated on 9 April that it came from an electrical fault.[10]
The original buildings were built between 1903 and 1905. They were mostly mid-rises in stone, and in various styles including neoclassical and neo-Baroque. Many survive but some have been replaced. Notable buildings include:
The closest tube stations areHolborn, which is at the top of the road, at the junction with High Holborn, as well asTemple, and formerlyAldwych, which closed in 1994.
As part of the redevelopment atram tunnel was built underneath the road.[19][20][21] The trams ceased to run in the 1950s and, since 1961, the southern end of the tunnel has been used by cars under the name of theStrand Underpass.[22][23] The northern entrance to the tunnel still exists[24] (with its tram lines stillin situ, see image right)[25] and can be found at the junction of Southampton Row and Vernon Place.
On 27 December 1909, a song by the English composerEdward Elgar, named The King's Way, celebrates the opening of Kingsway. The words are written by his wife,Caroline Alice Elgar. The song was first performed at anAlexandra Palace concert on 15 January 1910, sung byClara Butt.[26][27][28]
Southampton Row is a major thoroughfare running northwest–southeast inBloomsbury,Camden,central London, England.
The street was named afterThomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton.[29] It was previously known asKing Street
In 1822, theChartistHenry Hetherington registered a printing press at 13 Kingsgate Street (a smaller street parallel to King street, but demolished during the 1903-05 Kingsway development). This was an eight-roomed house, including shop and printing premises—at an annual rent of £55.[30] His first published book was in January 1823, and was named Mudie's journal, thePolitical Economist and Universal Philanthropist.[31]
The first studio of the sculptorRobert William Sievier (1794–1865) was in Southampton Row until 1837, where he relocated to Henrietta Street, nearCavendish Square, and he also had a separate residence inUpper Holloway.[32]
TheCentral School of Art and Design, formerly theCentral School of Arts and Crafts, was established by theLondon County Council in 1896 in Southampton Row[33][34] to provide specialist art teaching for workers in the craft industries. The architectWilliam Lethaby (1857–1931)[35] was the firstPrincipal, as recorded by ablue plaque on Southampton Row.[36]
Sir John Barbirolli, the conductor and cellist, was born in Southampton Row on 2 December 1899. A commemorative blue plaque was placed on the wall of the Bloomsbury Park Hotel in May 1993 to mark his birthplace.[37]
In 1907, theInstitute of Education moved to its first purpose-built building on Southampton Row.[38] In 1938, the Institute moved to theSenate House complex of theUniversity of London onMalet Street, not far away to the northwest.[39][40]
On 12 September 1933, the Hungarian physicistLeó Szilárd, an exile from Nazi Germany, was crossing Southampton Row at the junction with Russell Square when he conceived the idea of anuclear chain reaction, which led directly to the development ofnuclear weapons andnuclear power.[41]
TheSue Ryder Care charity, established in 1953, is registered at 114–118 Southampton Row.
Also in 1953, John Cass opened a bookshop on Southampton Row, where he began publishing books and journals which were acquired byTaylor & Francis in 2003.[42]
In 1966, theIndica Bookshop was separated from theIndica Gallery, a counterculture art gallery supported byPaul McCartney, and moved to 102 Southampton Row in the summer of that year.
As of 2022[update] a major route for buses, the street once formed part of atram route that includeda tunnel for trams.
Woburn Place is a street in centralLondon, England, named afterWoburn Abbey, home to the Dukes of Bedford who developed much of Bloomsbury. It is located in theBloomsbury area ofCamden.[43][44]
To the north isTavistock Square and to the south-east isRussell Square. Past Tavistock Square the road becomesUpper Woburn Place until the junction withEuston Road. TheRoyal National Hotel building is located in the south-west side of Woburn Place north of Russell Square, with 1,630 rooms on eight floors, is the largest hotel in the UK.[45] TheBritish Medical Association building[46] is at the junction of Upper Woburn Place with Tavistock Square.
Property values are high in this area. For example, in 2005 a freehold office building at 19–29 Woburn Place (9,400 m2, 101,000 sq ft) was sold for £22.6 million.[47]
On 7 July 2005, asuicide bomb planted by 18-year-oldHasib Hussain detonated aboard adouble decker bus passing Tavistock Square as it was travelling fromMarble Arch to Oxford Circus onroute 30, killing 13 passengers, plus Hussain himself. The bus had been diverted to Woburn Place due to road closures resulting from the earlier bombings.[48]
Eversholt Street is a street in theLondon Borough of Camden inLondon, England. It lies inSomers Town, London: stretching a kilometre fromEuston railway station in the south toCamden Town in the north.
Eversholt Street starts atEuston Road, betweenEuston Square Gardens andEuston Fire Station.[49] It travels north, includingEuston House, the grade-II listedRoyal George,[50] the grade-II listed64 Eversholt Street,[51] the grade-II listedChurch of St Mary the Virgin,[52] the grade-II listedEversholt House,[53] and Camden Council's The Crowndale Centre which includesCamden Town Library. It joins Camden High Street atMornington Crescent station. It also includes a controversial strip bar that is the subject of many articles in local newspapers.[54][55][56][57]
The road was laid out in the 1810s as part of theBedford Estate.[58] It was called "Seymour Street", as shown in the map to the right, until 1938 when it was renamed.[59] It took its new name fromEversholt which is a village in Bedfordshire (which comes fromAnglo-Saxon meaning "wood of the wild boar") nearAmpthill, which gave its name toAmpthill Square nearby, and follows a theme of names related to theDuke of Bedford. It in turn gives its name toEversholt Rail Group.
