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Holborn

For other uses, seeHolborn (disambiguation).

Holborn(/ˈhoʊbərn/ⓘHOH-bərnor/ˈhoʊlbərn/[a]), an area incentral London,covers the south-eastern part of theLondon Borough of Camdenand a part (St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of theWardofFarringdon Withoutin theCity of London.

Holborn
Holborn is located in Greater London
Holborn
Holborn
Location withinGreater London
Population13,023 (2011 Census. Holborn and Covent Garden Ward)[1]
OS grid referenceTQ310818
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLONDON
Postcode districtWC1, WC2
Postcode districtEC1
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly
List of places
UK
England
London
51°31′13″N0°06′49″W/ 51.5204°N 0.1136°W/51.5204; -0.1136

The area has its roots in theancient parishof Holborn, which lay on the west bank of the now buriedRiver Fleet;[2]the district takes its name from an alternative name for the river: the Holbourne (or Oldbourne). The area is sometimes described as part of theWest End of London[3][4]or of the widerWest Londonarea.

The River Fleet also gave its name to the streetsHolbornandHigh Holbornwhich extend west from the site of the formerNewgatein theLondon Wall,over the Fleet, through Holborn and towardsWestminster.

The district benefits from a central location which helps provide a strong mixed economy. The area is particularly noted for its links to the legal profession, for the diamond centre atHatton Gardenand forGreat Ormond Street Hospital.

Origins and administration

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Holborn emerged from theancient parishof St Andrew Holborn and its later sub-divisions. Theparish churchis first mentioned, and described asold,in a charter of 959, but this is before the parish or the landholdings on which it was based took on anything like their settled form.[5]

Toponymy

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See also:Street names of Holborn

The earliest surviving written record of the area occurs in a charter of AD 959, in whichKing Edgar the PeacefulgrantedWestminster Abbeyan area of land (much larger than the later parish of Holborn) stretching from the Abbey, onThorney Island,to theRiver Fleet.The charter mentions "the old wooden church of St Andrew" (St Andrew, Holborn).[6][7]The name Holborn is used in the charter, but it refers to the River Fleet rather than the district.

The name "Holborn" may derive from theMiddle Englishholfor "hollow", andbourne,a "brook", referring to theRiver Fleetas it ran through a steep valley (hollow) in places.[6][8]

However, the 16th-century historianJohn Stowattributes the name to a different watercourse: theOld Bourne( "old brook" ), a small stream which he believed ran into the Fleet at Holborn Bridge. This structure was lost when the river wasculvertedin 1732. The exact course of the stream is uncertain, but according to Stow it started in one of the many small springs near Holborn Bar, the oldCitytoll gate on the summit of Holborn Hill.[8][9]Other historians, however, find the theory implausible, in view of the slope of the land.[10]

Administration: Parish and Ward

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TheParish of St Andrew, Holborn,was divided by a civil boundary, with part within the Farringdon Without ward of the City of London (later known asSt Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) – which includes the parish church and the part within theOssulstone Hundredof Middlesex (later known asSt Andrew Above the Bars). It is not known when the parish of Holborn took on its settled form, but it is likely to have been by the time of the introduction of Canon Law around 1180,[11]with records from the time thehospital of St Gileswas established in 1120 indicating that the parish extended further west at that time, presumably to encompass what would become the combined parish ofSt GilesandBloomsbury.

A charter of around 1000 shows the boundaries of the city being pushed west to their settled historic extent in around 1000, though this extramural area would have been very sparsely settled. The city's wards take shape in the 11th century, before the Norman Conquest.[12]The civil division of the parish is very ancient and predates the establishment of the parish in its settled form. In 1394 theWardof Farringdon was subdivided intoFarringdon WithinandFarringdon Without,with south-east Holborn part of the latter.

TheCity Barsmark the boundary of the City of London within Holborn. In 1994 the City boundary shifted slightly to the junction of Chancery Lane and the Bars were moved accordingly.

Many Civil Parishes

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Passage North side of Holborn, 1897 byPhilip Norman

It has been described how the two parts of the parish came under separate civil governance (though without any civil governance at parish level) according to whether the part was in the city or outside. From the Tudor period onwards new local government were introduced in England, and parish areas were obliged to take on civil as well as ecclesiastical responsibilities for the first time, this started withrelief of the poor.

The two parts became, for civil but not ecclesiastical purposes, two separate parishes known asSt Andrew Holborn Below the BarsandSt Andrew Holborn Above the Bars,theBarsbeing the City boundary markers. The area "above Bars" (outside the city's jurisdiction) was organised by thevestryboard of the parish ofSt Andrew.[13]

St Andrew Holborn, Below the Bars, in the west of the City of London

As well as Holborn's two main civil parishes, there were a number of extra-parochial areas, parts of the ecclesiastical parish of Holborn but formed their own (usually tiny) civil parish areas:

Response to urbanisation

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The St George the Martyr Queen Square area became a separate parish, for both civil and ecclesiastical matters, in 1723; but for civil matters was reunited with the part of St Andrew outside the city (Above the Bars) of London in 1767, to formSt Andrew Holborn Above the Bars with St George the Martyr.

TheHolborn Districtwas created in 1855, consisting of the civil parishes and extra-parochial places of Holborn outside the city; St Andrew Holborn Above the Bars with St George the Martyr,Saffron Hill, Hatton Garden, Ely Rents and Ely Place,as well as two tiny units that were added from theFinsbury Division:Glasshouse YardandSt Sepulchre, Middlesex.

The Holborn District (in green, but excluding St Sepulchre Middlesex and Glasshouse Yard which had been attached to it) merged with the combined parishes of St Giles and Bloomsbury (in red), in 1900, to form the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn.
The parts of Holborn outside the City formed the eastern part of theMetropolitan Borough of Holborn.The former combined parish ofBloomsburyandSt Giles(including most of the Lincoln's Inn Ward).

TheMetropolitan Borough of Holbornwas created in 1900, consisting of the former area of the Holborn District and theSt Giles District,but the small units previously part of theFinsbury Divisionwere instead included in theMetropolitan Borough of Finsbury.The Metropolitan Borough of Holborn was abolished in 1965 and its area now forms part of theLondon Borough of Camden.

Latter history

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Urban growth

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The westward growth of London beyond theCity Wall,and towards the seat of government inWestminster,took place along the banks of theRiver Thamesand along the roads leading fromLudgate(Fleet StreetandThe Strand) andNewgate(HolbornandHigh Holborn). This growth, initially limited toFarringdon Without(which includes a part of Holborn) was well underway in the 12th century, leading to the Ward being retrospectively described as the capital's originalWest End.[12]

In the 12th century St Andrew's was noted in local title deeds as lying on "Holburnestrate" —Holborn Street,[14]but as the street leads from RomanNewgate,and the church was sited on it by the 10th century, it is probably considerably older. In 1394 the population had grown so large that the Ward of Farringdon had grown too large for effective governance and was formally divided into the separate Wards, (rather than separate named areas within the same Ward) in 1394.

The westward growth towards Westminster accelerated in the Tudor period. The westerly ribbon development through the parish was complete before theGreat Fireof 1666, with the displacement of people accelerating the development of the rest of the area. The northern fringe the last area to be developed, with this process finalised in the 18th century.[15][16]

Medieval

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St Etheldreda's Church,in gatedEly Place,was originally the chapel of theBishop of Ely's London palace. This ecclesiastical connection allowed the street to remain part of the county ofCambridgeshireuntil the mid-1930s. This meant thatYe Olde Mitre,a pub located in a court hidden behind the buildings of the Place and the Garden, was licensed by the Cambridgeshire Magistrates.[17][18]

St Etheldreda's is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Britain, and one of two extant buildings in London dating back to the era ofEdwardI.[19][20][21]

Tudor and Stuart periods

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Henry VIIpaid for the road to be paved in 1494 because the thoroughfare "was so deep and miry that many perils and hazards were thereby occasioned, as well to the king's carriages passing that way, as to those of his subjects". Criminals from theTowerandNewgatepassed up Holborn on their way to be hanged atTyburnorSt Giles.[22]

Hatton Garden,the centre of the diamond trade, was leased to a favourite of QueenElizabeth I,Sir Christopher Hatton, at the insistence of the Queen to provide him with an income.

The Great Fire died as it reached Holborn's boundary.
Rocque map of 1746. Holborn is developed, but the built-up area stopped atthe brook which formed the parish boundary with St Pancras(modern King's Cross) to the north.

The area was not damaged by theGreat Fire of Londonin 1666, though the area of destruction reached its south-eastern boundary.

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Charles Dickenstook up residence inFurnival's Inn(later the site of "Holborn Bars",the formerPrudentialbuilding designed byAlfred Waterhouse). Dickens put his character "Pip", inGreat Expectations,in residence atBarnard's Innopposite, now occupied byGresham College.[23]Staple Inn,notable as the promotional image forOld Holborntobacco,[24]is nearby. The three of these wereInns of Chancery.The most northerly of theInns of Court,Gray's Inn,is off Holborn, as isLincoln's Inn:the area has been associated with the legal professions since mediaeval times, and the name of the local militia (nowTerritorial Armyunit, theInns of Court & City Yeomanry) still reflects that. The unit is nicknamed theDevil's Own,a name given byGeorge III,not due to ferocity in battle, but rather to his dislike of lawyers.[25]

Historic points of interest

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In the 18th century, Holborn was the location of the infamousMother Clap'smolly house(meeting place for homosexual men). There were 22 inns or taverns recorded in the 1860s. TheHolborn Empire,originallyWeston's Music Hall,stood between 1857 and 1960, when it was pulled down after structural damage sustained inthe Blitz.The theatre premièred one of the first full-length feature films in 1914,The World, the Flesh and the Devil,a 50-minutemelodramafilmed inKinemacolor.[26][27]

Subsequently, the area diversified and become recognisable as the modern street. A plaque stands at number 120 commemoratingThomas Earnshaw's invention of theMarine chronometer,which facilitated long-distance travel. At the corner of Hatton Garden was the old family department store ofGamages.Until 1992, the London Weather Centre was located in the street. The Prudential insurance company relocated in 2002. TheDaily Mirroroffices used to be directly opposite it, but the site is now occupied bySainsbury'shead office.

Peter Pan statue atGreat Ormond Street Hospital

Behind the Prudential Building lies the Anglo-Catholic church of St Alban the Martyr.[28]Originally built in 1863 by architectWilliam Butterfield,it was gutted during the Blitz but later reconstructed, retaining Butterfield's west front.

OnHolborn Circuslies the Church ofSt Andrew,an ancientGuildChurch that survived theGreat Fire of London.However, the parochial authority decided to commissionSir Christopher Wrento rebuild it. Although the nave was destroyed in the Blitz, the reconstruction was faithful to Wren's original. Just to the west of the circus, but originally sited in the middle, is a large equestrian statue ofPrince Albertby Charles Bacon, erected in 1874 as the city's official monument to him. It was presented by Charles Oppenheim, of the diamond trading companyDe Beers,whose headquarters is in nearby Charterhouse Street.

FormerPearl Assurance Companybuilding, now theRosewood London

Geography

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The district can best be described in reference to the ancient parish and the sub-divisions that succeeded it, however the area is not an administrative unit so contemporary perceptions of its extent can be vague and highly variable. In particular there are overlapping perceptions of the extent of the districts of Holborn,BloomsburyandSt Giles.One of the many factors in this, is a tendency to conflate theHolbornandHigh Holbornroads with the district.

The now buriedRiver Fleetformed the historic eastern boundary of the ancient parish of Holborn, a course now marked byFarringdon Street,Farringdon Roadand other streets.[2]The northern boundary withSt Pancraswas formed by a tributary of the Fleet later known asLamb's Conduit.The curving alignment of Roger Street follows part of the course of that lost brook, and marked the northern boundary of the parish and later borough.[29]

The area extends west from Farringdon Street, for three-quarters of a mile, roughly as far as Southampton Row andHolborn tube station.The station was originally namedHolborn (Kingsway)[30]as it was on the junction of those two roads. Most of the area lies north of the eponymous road, rather than to the south.

Transport

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The nearestLondon Undergroundstations areChancery LaneandHolborn.The closest mainline railway station isCity Thameslink.

Holborn is served by bus routes 1, 8, 19, 25, 38, 55, 59, 68, 76, 91, 98, 133, 168, 171, 188, 243, 341, X68 and night routes N1, N8, N19, N38, N41, N55, N68 and N171.

Nearby areas

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Economy

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In the early 21st century, Holborn has become the site of new offices and hotels. For example, the old neoclassical Pearl Assurance building near the junction withKingswaywas converted into a hotel in 1999.

Holborn Bars,built 1879–1901, headquarters of thePrudential Assurance Company,at 138–142 Holborn

There has been attempts by some commercial organisations to rebrand the southern parts of theLondon Borough of Camden(Holborn,BloomsburyandSt Giles;the formerMetropolitan Borough of Holborn) as "Midtown".[31]This area, is notionally in the very middle of London, being situated between theWestminsterandthe City,[32]but this Americanisation has been widely criticised[by whom?]and not accepted or used by Londoners.[citation needed]

Representation

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The formerHolborn Town Hall,completed 1894

The MPs for the area are:

The three wardcouncillorsforHolborn and Covent Garden,representing theLondon Borough of Camdenpart of the district are:

  • Cllr Julian Fulbrook, Cllr Sue Vincent and Cllr Awale Olad of the Labour Party.

Holborn is represented in theLondon Assemblyas part ofBarnet and Camdenby:

Notable people

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The following is a list of notable people who were born in or are significantly connected with Holborn.

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See also

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Notes

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  • a.^Pronunciation: The authoritative BBC pronunciation unit recommends "ˈhəʊbə(r)n"but allows" sometimes alsohohl-buhrn ". The organisation's less formalPronouncing British Placenamesnotes, "You'll occasionally find towns where nobody can agree.... Holborn in central London has for many years been pronounced 'hoe-bun', but having so few local residents to preserve this, it's rapidly changing to a more natural 'hol-burn'".[33][34]However,Modern British and American English pronunciation(2008) cites "Holborn" as one of its examples of a common word where the "l" is silent.[35]The popular tourist guideThe Rough Guide to Britainsticks to the traditional form, with neither "l" nor "r":/ˈhoʊbən/HOH-bən.[36]

References

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  1. ^"Camden Ward population 2011".Neighbourhood Statistics.Office for National Statistics.Retrieved20 October2016.
  2. ^abTemple, Philip (2008)."'West of Farringdon Road', in Survey of London: Volume 47, Northern Clerkenwell and Pentonville ".London: British History Online. pp. 22–51.Retrieved31 July2020.
  3. ^"West End Project Overview"(PDF).London Borough of Camden.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2 September 2018.
  4. ^"Case Study"(PDF).London Borough of Camden.Archived(PDF)from the original on 18 June 2021.
  5. ^detail of the perambulation of the landholding described in 'Citadel of the Saxons' by Rory Naismith, p130
  6. ^abLethaby, William(1902).London before the conquest.London: Macmillan. p.60.
  7. ^Citadel of the Saxons, Rory Naismith, p130
  8. ^abBesant, Walter;Mitton, Geraldine (1903).Holborn and Bloomsbury.The Fascination of London (Project Gutenberg, 2007 ed.). London:Adam and Charles Black.Retrieved13 August2008.
  9. ^Strype, John(1720). "Rivers and other Waters serving this City".Survey of London.The Stuart London Project. Online edition: University of Sheffield 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 12 August 2014.Retrieved2 November2008.
  10. ^Lethaby (1902:48)
  11. ^History of the Countryside by Oliver Rackham, 1986 p19 After the development of Canon Law, changes after this time became legally onerous and rare
  12. ^abProcess, terms and sources described in detail in "London, 800-1216". Brooke and Keir, Chapter 7
  13. ^The Parish of St Andrew Holbornpp. 11–12 Caroline Barron London 1979
  14. ^Harben, Henry (1918).A Dictionary of London.London: Herbert Jenkins.
  15. ^"Strype map of 1720".
  16. ^"Horwood map of 1799".
  17. ^Vitaliev, Vitali(3 January 2003)."Things that go bump on the map".The Daily Telegraph.London.Archivedfrom the original on 12 January 2022.Retrieved12 August2008.
  18. ^Hammond, Derek (28 June 2006)."Secret London: Ye Olde Mitre Tavern".Time Out.Archived fromthe originalon 26 July 2008.Retrieved12 August2008.
  19. ^"History of the Church".stetheldreda.Archived fromthe originalon 15 July 2013.Retrieved29 September2017.It is the oldest Catholic church in England and one of only two remaining buildings in London from the reign of Edward I.
  20. ^Sarah Kettler; Carole Trimble (2001).The Amateur Historian's Guide to Medieval and Tudor London, 1066–1600.Capital Books. p.103.ISBN978-1-892123-32-9.This is Britain's oldest Roman Catholic church, dating from the 13th century.
  21. ^Andrew Davies (1988).Literary London.Pan Macmillan. p. 112.ISBN978-0-333-45708-5.In 1874 when the church was bought back by the Roman Catholics it was found to be full of 'inconceivable filth, living and dead'. St Etheldreda's is the oldest Catholic church building in Britain.
  22. ^Timbs, John(1855).Curiosities of London: Exhibiting the Most Rare and Remarkable Objects of Interest in the Metropolis.D. Bogue. p. 428.
  23. ^Chap. 20
  24. ^Hibbert, Christopher;et al. (1983).The London Encyclopedia(2010 ed.). London: MacMillan. p. 397.ISBN1-4050-4925-1.
  25. ^"The Inns of Court and City Yeomanry".
  26. ^The World, the Flesh and the DevilatIMDb
  27. ^The full-length documentaryWith Our King and Queen Through India,also in Kinemacolor, premièred in February 1912, and the stencil-colouredThe Miracleopened at theRoyal Opera House, Covent Gardenin December 1912.
  28. ^St Alban the Martyraccessed 14 December 2013
  29. ^The History of the River Fleet, UCL Fleet Restoration Team, 2009
  30. ^"Article on the history and future of Holborn tube station".30 November 2017.
  31. ^Barrett, Helen (22 April 2023)."The London districts nobody knows: where are NoHo, Midtown and Brain Yard?".ft.Archivedfrom the original on 24 April 2023.
  32. ^Colvile, Robert (27 June 2012)."A Midtown in London? There's NoHo chance".The Telegraph.Archived fromthe originalon 28 June 2012.
  33. ^Olausson, Lena (2006). "Holborn".Oxford BBC Guide to Pronunciation, The Essential Handbook of the Spoken Word(3rd ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 173.ISBN0-19-280710-2.
  34. ^"Pronouncing British Placenames".BBC. 7 March 2007.Retrieved21 November2009.
  35. ^Dretzke, Burkhard (2008).Modern British and American English pronunciation.Paderborn, Germany: Ferdinand Schöningh. p.63.ISBN978-3-8252-2053-2.
  36. ^Roberts, Andrew; Matthew Teller (2004).The Rough Guide to Britain.London: Rough Guides Ltd. p. 109.ISBN1-84353-301-4.
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