West End of London: Difference between revisions

{{EngvarB|date=June 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}

 

The '''West End of London''' (commonly referred to as '''the West End''') is a district of [[Central London]], London, England, west of the [[City of London]] and north of the [[River Thames]], in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings and entertainment venues, including [[West End theatre]]s, are concentrated.

 

==History==

[[Medieval]] [[London]] comprised two adjacent cities – the [[City of London]] in the east, and the [[City of Westminster]] in the west.

 

[[File:Temple-bar-griffin.jpg|thumb|left|175px|Dragon statue on the [[Temple Bar, London|Temple Bar]] monument, which marks the boundary between the City of Westminster and [[City of London]]]]

Over time they came to form the centre of modern London, although each kept its own distinct character and its separate legal identity (for example, the City of London has its own police force and is a distinct [[county]]). The City of London became a centre for the banking, financial, legal and professional sectors, while Westminster became associated with the leisure, shopping, commerce, and entertainment sectors, the government, and home to [[university|universities]] and [[embassy|embassies]]. The modern West End is closely associated with this area of central London.

 

Lying to the west of the historic [[Londinium|Roman]] and medieval City of London, the West End was long favoured by the rich elite as a place of residence because it was usually upwind of the smoke drifting from the crowded City.<ref>Robert O. Bucholz and Joseph P. Ward: ''London: A Social and Cultural History, 1550–1750''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2012, p. 333</ref> It was close to the royal seat of power at the [[Palace of Westminster]] (now home to [[parliament]]), and is largely contained within the City of Westminster (one of the 32 [[London borough]]s).

 

{{See also|Cities of London and Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)}}

 

As the West End is a term used colloquially by Londoners and is not an official geographical or municipal definition, its exact constituent parts are up for debate. [[Westminster City Council]]'s 2005 report ''Vision for the West End'' included the following areas in its definition: [[Covent Garden]], [[Soho]], [[Chinatown, London|Chinatown]], [[Leicester Square]], the shopping streets of [[Oxford Street]], [[Regent Street]] and [[Bond Street]], the area encompassing [[Trafalgar Square]], the [[Strand, London|Strand]] and [[Aldwych]], and the district known as [[West End theatre#Theatreland|Theatreland]]. The [[Edgware Road]] to the north-west and the [[Victoria Embankment]] to the south-east were also covered by the document but were treated as "adjacent areas" to the West End.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/CSU/Cabinet%20Member%20Decisions/Economic_Development_and_Transport%202003-08/2005/49%20-%20Vision%20for%20the%20West%20End/West%20End%20Vision%20final%20report%20Oct05.pdf|title=Vision for the West End|date=October 2005|publisher=Westminster City Council|access-date=14 December 2016|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220103651/http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/CSU/Cabinet%20Member%20Decisions/Economic_Development_and_Transport%202003-08/2005/49%20-%20Vision%20for%20the%20West%20End/West%20End%20Vision%20final%20report%20Oct05.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

 

 

One of the [[City of Westminster]] [[Wards of the United Kingdom|wards]] is called "[[West End (Westminster ward)|West End]]". This electoral unit includes some of the most prosperous areas of the borough, including [[Soho]], [[Mayfair]] and parts of southern [[Marylebone]].<ref>[http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/2559_West%20End%20Ward_A4_NTonkin.pdf Westminster City Council ward boundary information]</ref> The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 10,575.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13689156&c=West+End&d=14&e=62&g=6340682&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1476554268317&enc=1|title=City of Westminstee ward population 2011|access-date=15 October 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics |work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}</ref>

*[[High Holborn]]

*[[Jermyn Street]]

*[[Kingsway (London)|Kingsway]]

*[[Old Compton Street]]

 

==Notable squares and circuses==

The West End is laid out with many notable [[Squares in London|public squares]] and circuses.

*[[Berkeley Square]]