Survey of London: Volume 36, Covent Garden

Covent Garden has a special significance as the birth-place of modern town planning in London. Inigo Jones's Italianate Piazza, designed in the 1630s for the 4th Earl of Bedford, was unlike anything the capital had seen before, and provided the prototype for the laying-out of London's suburban estates for centuries to come. Based on a detailed study of the surviving fabric and the Bedford Estate's archives, this volume recounts the story of the Piazza's evolution (and eventual redevelopment), including the building of St Paul's Church, the area's principal monument. In addition to the Piazza and surrounding streets, the volume also describes the buildings of the Covent Garden Market, at the time the nation's principal market for horticultural produce, since removed to Nine Elms, Battersea.

Survey of London. Originally published by London County Council, London, 1970.

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Table of Contents

Title Page(s)
Preface vii-viii
Thanks ix
List of plates xiii-xviii
List of figures xix-xx
Plan pocket: Map of the Parish of St. Paul, Covent Garden 1
General Introduction 1-18
The Bedford Estate 19
The Bedford Estate: Covent Garden and the seven acres in Long Acre 19-21
The Bedford Estate: Friars Pyes 21-22
The Bedford Estate: The Bedford Estate from 1541 to 1627 22-25
The Bedford Estate: From 1627 to 1641 25-34
The Bedford Estate: From 1641 to 1700 34-37
The Bedford Estate: From 1700 to 1802 37-40
The Bedford Estate: From 1802 to 1893 40-48
The Bedford Estate: The Sale of the Estate 48-52
The Parish and Vestry of St. Paul 53-63
The Architecture of the Piazza and St. Paul's Church 64-76
The Piazza 77-80
The Piazza: The Architectural Decline of the Piazza 80-82
The Piazza: The Social Decline of the Piazza 82-84
The Piazza: Site of No. 43 King Street 84
The Piazza: Nos. 1-3 (consec.) Great Piazza 84-86
The Piazza: Nos. 4-10 (consec.) Great Piazza with No. 1 James Street 86-88
The Piazza: Nos. 10-12 (consec.) Great Piazza 88-89
The Piazza: Nos. 13-19 (consec.) Great Piazza with No. 13 Russell Street 89-91
The Piazza: Nos. 1-4 (consec.) Little Piazza with 11 Russell Street 91-94
The Piazza: Nos. 1-3 (consec.) Tavistock Row 94
The Piazza: Site of No. 4 Henrietta Street 95
The Piazza: Sites of No. 37 Henrietta Street and No. 1 King Street 95-96
The Piazza: Notable private residents in the Piazza 96-97
St. Paul's Church 98-128
Covent Garden Market 129-150
King Street and Floral Street Area: King Street 151-178
King Street and Floral Street Area: James Street 178-180
King Street and Floral Street Area: Floral Street 180-182
King Street and Floral Street Area: Rose Street 182-184
King Street and Floral Street Area: Mart Street 184
Bow Street and Russell Street Area: Bow Street 185-192
Bow Street and Russell Street Area: Russell Street 192-195
Bow Street and Russell Street Area: The former Charles Street 195-196
Bow Street and Russell Street Area: The former York Street 196-199
Bow Street and Russell Street Area: Catherine Street 199-204
Southampton Street and Tavistock Street Area 205
Southampton Street and Tavistock Street Area: Bedford Ground 205-207
Southampton Street and Tavistock Street Area: Southampton Street 207-218
Southampton Street and Tavistock Street Area: Tavistock Street 218-222
Southampton Street and Tavistock Street Area: Tavistock Row 222-223
Southampton Street and Tavistock Street Area: The Cecil Estate 223
Southampton Street and Tavistock Street Area: Burleigh Street 223-225
Southampton Street and Tavistock Street Area: Exeter Street 225-226
Southampton Street and Tavistock Street Area: Wellington Street 226-229
Henrietta Street and Maiden Lane Area: Henrietta Street 230-239
Henrietta Street and Maiden Lane Area: Maiden Lane 239-252
Bedford Street and Chandos Place Area: Bedford Street 253-263
Bedford Street and Chandos Place Area: Bedford Court 263
Bedford Street and Chandos Place Area: Chandos Place 263-265
The Bedford Estate outside the Parish of St. Paul 266-270
Appendix 1: Accounts of the fourth Earl of Bedford for building St. Paul's Church 271-281
Appendix 2: Accounts of the fourth Earl of Bedford for building three houses in the Piazza 282-292
Appendix 3: Leases of the Piazza and surrounding streets within the area of the brick boundary wall, 1631-7 294-321
Appendix 4: The dating of two plays set in Covent Garden 322
List of abbreviations used in the references 323
References 323-354
Index: A-J 355-370
Index: K-Z 370-388
Frontispiece ii
Plate 1 1
Plate 2 2
Plate 3 3
Plate 4 4
Plate 5 5
Plate 6 6
Plate 7 7
Plate 8 8
Plate 9 9
Plate 10 10
Plate 11 11
Plate 12 12
Plate 13 13
Plate 14 14
Plate 15 15
Plate 16 16
Plate 17 17
Plate 18 18
Plate 19 19
Plate 20 20
Plate 21 21
Plate 22 22
Plate 23 23
Plate 24 24
Plate 25 25
Plate 26 26
Plate 27 27
Plate 28 28
Plate 29 29
Plate 30 30
Plate 31 31
Plate 32 32
Plate 33 33
Plate 34 34