Holborn

Holborn is an area of Central London, England. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running from St Giles's High Street as High Holborn to Gray's Inn Road to Holborn Viaduct, crossing the borders of the City of Westminster, L

Holborn is an area of Central London, England. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running from St Giles's High Street as High Holborn to Gray's Inn Road to Holborn Viaduct, crossing the borders of the City of Westminster, London Borough of Camden and the City of London.

To find a flat or house to rent in Holborn, London contact the Black Katz Islington office. Black Katz have flats and houses to rent in Holborn and across London. If you are a landlord wishing to rent out your property contact Black Katz.

History

The name Holborn is derived from the Old Bourne ("old brook"), a small stream which ran from near Temple Bar to the River Fleet below the present day Holborn Viaduct. However at this point the Fleet itself ran in a small valley and the Middle English "hol" for hollow, with bourne as before, has been considered as the origin.

Charles Dickens took up residence in Furnivall's Inn, now covered by the old Prudential building now named as 'Holborn Bars' designed by Alfred Waterhouse. The Bars were the boundary of the City of London until 1994 but only the area of the south-side of Holborn was under its jurisdiction. Dickens also put his character 'Pip', in Great Expectations, in residence at Barnard's Inn opposite, the current home of Gresham College, and Staple Inn notable for being used as the promotional image for "Old Holborn" tobacco. The three of these were Inns of Chancery. The most northerly of the Inns of Court, Gray's Inn, is in Holborn as is Lincoln's Inn. This demonstrates the area's connection with the legal professions since mediaeval times.

Over the coming years the area began to diversify and become recognisable as the modern street. A plaque stands at number 120 commemorating Thomas Earnshaw's invention of the Marine chronometer, one of the catalysts which facilitated long-distance travel.

In the modern era High Holborn has become a centre for entertainment venues. Twenty two inns or taverns are recorded in the 1860s. Originally Weston's Music Hall, the Holborn Empire stood between 1857 and 1960 when it was pulled down after structural damage sustained in the Blitz. The theatre premièred the first full-length feature film in 1914, The World, the Flesh and the Devil, a 50-minute melodrama filmed in Kinemacolour. At the corner of Hatton Garden was the old family department store of Gamages. Until 1992, the London Weather Centre was located in the street.

In the eighteenth century, Holborn was the location of the infamous Mother Clap's molly house.

The Prudential insurance company relocated in 2002. The Daily Mirror offices used to be directly opposite it, but the site is now occupied by the J Sainsbury head office. Further east in the gated avenue of Ely Place is the oldest Roman Catholic Church in London, St Etheldreda's Church. Ely Place is on the site of what was from 1300 until 1772, the site of the Bishop of Ely’s London palace. This ecclesiastic connection allowed the street to remain part of the county of Cambridgeshire until the mid-1930s. Hatton Garden, the centre of the Diamond trade was leased to a favourite of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Christopher Hatton at the insistence of the Queen to provide him with an income. Behind the Prudential Building lies the Anglo Catholic church of St Alban the Martyr. Originally built in 1863 by architect William Butterfield it was destroyed in 1941 and a new church was built in the Victorian Gothic style. On the southern side lie Chancery Lane and Fetter Lane.

On Holborn Circus lies the Church of St Andrew, an ancient Guild Church, that survived the Great Fire of London. However, the parochial authority decided, nevertheless, to commission Sir Christopher Wren to rebuild it. Although the nave was destroyed in the Blitz, the reconstruction was faithful to Wren's original. In the middle of the circus there is a large equestrian statue of Prince Albert by Charles Bacon (1874) the City's official monument to him. It was presented by Charles Oppenheim, of the Diamond Trading Company De Beers, whose headquarters building is on nearby Charterhouse Street.

In the early twenty-first century, Holborn has been the site of new offices and hotels, which have exploited its excellent public transport links (Holborn underground station is the junction of the Central and Piccadilly lines), and its strategic location between the City of London and the West End.

The Metropolitan Borough of Holborn was created in 1899. It was abolished in 1965 and its area formed part of the London Borough of Camden.

Transport and locale

Nearest places

To find a flat or house to rent in Holborn, London contact the Black Katz Islington office. Black Katz have flats and houses to rent in Holborn and across London. If you are a landlord wishing to rent out your property contact Black Katz.

Nearest underground stations

  • Chancery Lane
  • Covent Garden
  • Holborn
  • St. Paul's

Notable people

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

  • Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912), composer, born at 15 Theobalds Road. Won international acclaim for his works especially the Song of Hiawatha Trilogy.
  • Charles Dickens lived in Doughty Street where there is a museum
  • Sir John Barbirolli conductor, was born in Southampton Row (Blue Plaque above pub)
  • Sheila Gallagher MBE - born October 20, 1924 in Holborn, Gallagher is a long serving lollipop lady who now monitors the crossing on Queen Victoria Street.
  • John Shaw Jr - (1803–1870); born in Holborn, Shaw was an English architect of the 19th century who was complimented as a designer in the "Manner of Wren".
  • Barry Sheene MBE - (11 September 1950 10 March 2003); spent his early years in Holborn, Sheene was a British former World Champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.
  • Thomas Chatterton (1752-1770), English poet born in Bristol died in a garret in Holborn at the age of 17. A posthumous darling of the Romantics, he is now remembered as 'the marvellous Boy' (Wordsworth). The Victorian Henry Wallis returned to Chatterton's Brooke Street room to paint George Meredith, the novelist, in a now frequently copied pose of the dead poet (Tate Britain).
  • Eric Morley, founder of Miss World was born in Holborn.
  • Former European boxing champion Errol Christie trains City executives to engage in White Collar Boxing at Gymbox on High Holborn including TV entertainer Dermot O'Leary

To join these notable people, find a house or flat to rent in Holborn with Black Katz. Black Katz are London's largest lettings only agency and have flats and houses to rent in Holborn and across London.