33-414: Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street ), which then merges into Tottenham Court Road . It leads from the north in the direction of Charing Cross at the south side of Trafalgar Square . It connects via St Martin's Place and the motorised east side of the square. Charing Cross road
66-524: A pedestrianisation project proved unpopular with local traders and was reversed, the street is closed to vehicular traffic for the Soho Pride festival one weekend each year, usually in late summer. The Prince Edward Theatre is located at the eastern end of the street. Until 2004 the long-running production of Mamma Mia! , a musical based upon the songs of ABBA , was showing at the theatre. When Mamma Mia! moved to larger premises in another part of
99-634: A central point at Charing Cross (in the City of Westminster ), which is marked by the statue of King Charles I at the junction of the Strand , Whitehall and Cockspur Street , just south of Trafalgar Square . The central area is distinguished, according to the Royal Commission , by the inclusion within its boundaries of Parliament and the Royal Palaces, the headquarters of Government,
132-406: A centre for modern and trad jazz . Between 1956 and 1970 the 2i's Coffee Bar was located at number 59. Many well-known 1960s pop musicians played in its cramped surroundings. Since the 1970s, the street has become a focal point for London's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community . It features several gay bars , gay-friendly restaurants , cafés and specialist gay shops. Whilst
165-451: A dozen. A neo-nazi , David Copeland , was subsequently found guilty of the bombing (intended specifically to injure members of the gay community). Previously decorated in neutral colours, Admiral Duncan was re-opened following the attack with a flamboyant pink and purple exterior with a large rainbow flag flying outside as a symbol of gay pride. Along the street are various other gay bars including Comptons of SOHO and G-A-Y . Also on
198-531: A home for artists, philosophers, bohemians and composers. In 1887, M. Siari, an Algerian, established the Algerian Coffee Stores at number 52, still known as among the world's best leading suppliers of tea and coffee, which remains up to now one of the oldest shops in the street. The street's radical and artistic traditions continued after World War II , with it being frequented by communists, proto- beatniks and existentialists , and it became
231-565: A play and a BBC radio drama. As of 2022 the building is a restaurant at street level, entered around the corner in Cambridge Circus, but its upper levels of the building remain as originally constructed. A brass plaque on the stone pilaster facing Charing Cross Road commemorates the former bookshop and Hanff's book. The music venue the Astoria was located here, as is one of the sites of St Martin's Arts College , opening in 1939. To
264-478: Is a road that runs east–west through Soho in the West End of London , named after Henry Compton who raised funds for St Anne's Church in 1686. The area, particularly this street, became home to French Protestant refugees in 1681. Known for its diverse and artistic traditions, the street housed businesses, artists, philosophers, and was frequented by communists and proto-beatniks. The Algerian Coffee Stores , one of
297-433: Is described as "a unique cluster of vitally important activities including central government offices, headquarters and embassies, the largest concentration of London's financial and business services sector and the offices of trade, professional bodies, institutions, associations, communications, publishing, advertising and the media". For strategic planning, since 2011 there has been a Central London sub-region comprising
330-596: Is the innermost part of London , in England , spanning the City of London and several boroughs . Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteristics are understood to include a high-density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally, nationally and internationally significant organisations and facilities. Road distances to London are traditionally measured from
363-564: The Harry Potter books, the Leaky Cauldron pub is located on Charing Cross Road. Author J.K. Rowling chose this road because "it is famous for its bookshops, both modern and antiquarian. This is why I wanted it to be the place where those in the know go to enter a different world." 51°30′42″N 0°07′42″W / 51.51167°N 0.12833°W / 51.51167; -0.12833 Central London Central London
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#1732771836613396-769: The Herbert Commission and the subsequent passage of the London Government Bill , three unsuccessful attempts were made to define an area that would form a central London borough . The first two were detailed in the 1959 Memorandum of Evidence of the Greater London Group of the London School of Economics . "Scheme A" envisaged a central London borough, one of 25, consisting of the City of London, Westminster, Holborn, Finsbury and
429-718: The Law Courts , the head offices of a very large number of commercial and industrial firms, as well as institutions of great influence in the intellectual life of the nation such as the British Museum , the National Gallery , the Tate Gallery , the University of London , the headquarters of the national ballet and opera, together with the headquarters of many national associations, the great professions,
462-711: The Metropolitan Board of Works under an 1877 Act of Parliament . The Act's total costs, including demolition and rebuilding of many rows of buildings across London was £778,238. The two streets and others such as the Thames Embankment , Northumberland Avenue and the Kingsway - Aldwych superstructure were built to improve traffic flow through central London. The scheme abolished some of the worst slums in London which delayed progress in construction while
495-421: The 1961 census. It consisted of the City of London, all of Westminster, Holborn and Finsbury; and the inner parts of Shoreditch, Stepney, Bermondsey, Southwark, Lambeth, Chelsea, Kensington, Paddington, St Marylebone and St Pancras. The population was estimated to be 270,000. 51°30′N 0°08′W / 51.50°N 0.13°W / 51.50; -0.13 Old Compton Street Old Compton Street
528-480: The City of London, the whole of Finsbury and Holborn, most of Westminster and Southwark, parts of St Pancras, St Marylebone, Paddington and a small part of Kensington. The area had an estimated population of 400,000 and occupied 8,000 acres (32 km ). During the passage of the London Government Bill an amendment was put forward to create a central borough corresponding to the definition used at
561-551: The Metropolis or in any provincial city, and the enormous office developments which have taken place recently constitute a totally new phenomenon. Starting in 2004, the London Plan defined a 'Central Activities Zone' policy area, which as of 2008 comprised the City of London, most of Westminster and the inner parts of Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lambeth, Kensington & Chelsea and Wandsworth. It
594-535: The West End, a production of Mary Poppins moved in, but closed in 2008. It subsequently became home to Aladdin and in 2019 a revival of Mary Poppins . London producer and director Adam Spreadbury-Maher lives at the northern end of Old Compton Street. In 1999, the Admiral Duncan pub , a well-known gay venue, was the site of a terrorist nail bomb attack which killed three people and injured over
627-470: The adjoining Cecil Court . The northern section between Cambridge Circus and Oxford Street includes more generalist bookshops such as the venerable Foyles . A long-standing correspondence between New York City -based author Helene Hanff and the staff of a bookshop on the street, Marks & Co., was the inspiration for the book 84, Charing Cross Road (1970). The book was made into a 1987 film starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins and also into
660-527: The boroughs of Camden , Islington , Kensington and Chelsea , Lambeth , Southwark , Westminster and the City of London . From 2004 to 2008, the London Plan included a sub-region called Central London comprising Camden, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Southwark, Wandsworth and Westminster. It had a 2001 population of 1,525,000. The sub-region was replaced in 2008 with a new structure which amalgamated inner and outer boroughs together. This
693-430: The end of the eighteenth century and until that renaming, the east end of the street between Greek Street and Charing Cross Road (at the time, Crown Street) was known as Little Compton Street. A street sign for Little Compton Street remains on the wall of a utility tunnel that runs beneath Charing Cross Road, and is visible through a street grate on a traffic island. By the end of the 18th century, fewer than ten of
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#1732771836613726-480: The ground floors of most of the houses were still used as shops. The number of people of overseas descent continued to grow and the street became a meeting place for exiles, particularly those from France: after the suppression of the Paris Commune , the poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine often frequented drinking haunts here. Richard Wagner also spent time living on the street: more generally it became
759-458: The houses were without shop fronts. An 1818 trade directory shows that the businesses occupying premises in the street included several watch and clock makers, a bookseller, a straw hat maker, a surgeon and accoucheur , an undertaker, a mathematical instrument maker, a bedding warehouse, several grocers and two "dealers in curiosities". In the middle of the 19th century, while there were some workshops too, as well as restaurants and public houses,
792-516: The inhabitants were rehoused. Charing Cross Road is renowned for its specialist and second-hand bookshops . The section from Leicester Square Underground station to Cambridge Circus is home to specialist bookshops, and more general second-hand and antiquarian shops such as Quinto Bookshop , Henry Pordes and Any Amount of Books. Zwemmer 's Bookshop, an arts bookshop founded in 1922, was present at 79 Charing Cross Road until 2002. Smaller second-hand and specialist antiquarian bookshops can be found on
825-507: The inner parts of St Marylebone, St Pancras, Chelsea, Southwark and Lambeth. The boundary deviated from existing lines to include all central London railway stations , the Tower of London and the museums, such that it included small parts of Kensington, Shoreditch, Stepney and Bermondsey. It had an estimated population of 350,000 and occupied 7,000 acres (28 km ). "Scheme B" delineated central London, as one of 7 boroughs, including most of
858-463: The middle of the road, a road sign reading Little Compton Street can be seen, which was a historic name for the eastern end of Old Compton Street beyond its junction with Greek Street. On the east side of the road's southern end, at the joining of St Martins Lane , is a statue of Edith Cavell . Towards the north end is the Phoenix Garden , an environmental garden run by local residents. In
891-602: The northeast of Charing Cross Road are the music shops on Denmark Street (known as Britain's Tin Pan Alley ). A number of theatres are on or near Charing Cross Road, such as the Phoenix Theatre (which has its entrance on the adjoining Phoenix Street), the Garrick Theatre and Wyndham's Theatre . Beneath the grille in the traffic island between Charing Cross Road's junction with Old Compton Street , in
924-410: The north–south axis of the inner West End almost as much as the relieved London Bridge area. Specifically a major increase in traffic occurred around Piccadilly Circus , Charing Cross and Oxford Street, much of it destined from/to Tottenham Court Road , Bloomsbury and nearby routes to all northerly directions. Charing Cross Road was therefore developed, in conjunction with Shaftesbury Avenue , by
957-501: The oldest shops on the street, was established in 1887. Post World War II, the street became a center for modern and trad jazz. Since the 1970s, Old Compton Street has been a focal point for London's gay community, with numerous gay bars, restaurants, and specialty shops. The Admiral Duncan pub, a notable gay venue, was bombed in 1999 in a hate crime attack. The street is also home to the Prince Edward Theatre. The street
990-485: The trade unions, the trade associations, social service societies, as well as shopping centres and centres of entertainment which attract people from the whole of Greater London and farther afield. In many other respects the central area differs from areas farther out in London. The rateable value of the central area is exceptionally high. Its day population is very much larger than its night population. Its traffic problems reach an intensity not encountered anywhere else in
1023-413: Was altered in 2011 when a new Central London sub-region was created, now including the City of London and excluding Wandsworth. The 1901 Census defined Central London as the City of London and the metropolitan boroughs (subdivisions that existed from 1900 to 1965) of Bermondsey , Bethnal Green , Finsbury , Holborn , Shoreditch , Southwark , Stepney , St Marylebone and Westminster . During
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1056-457: Was named after Henry Compton who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686. The area in general and this street, in particular, became the home of Huguenots , French Protestant refugees who were given asylum in England by Charles II in 1681. The street was known simply as Compton Street until being renamed to Old Compton Street in 1896. By
1089-425: Was originally two narrow streets in the West End, Crown Street and Castle Street. The development of Regent Street (parallel to the west) in the mid-18th century coincided with not only the building up of great fields west of the area but also Westminster Bridge which was built as central London and the wider estuary's second bridge after more than a century of pressure, in 1750. These pressures therefore congested
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