London Walks - Stroll Around Historic Bloomsbury
See Dickens House, Garden Squares,British Museum, St.Pancras Station
Apr 19, 2009
Bloomsbury is mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book which records it as an area of vineyards. Five hundred years later the wealthy began to build elegant manor houses here and by the 19th-century there were numerous hospitals and universities. Today it is home to the University of London .
The Bloomsbury Group
Wander around Bloomsbury and you will see many houses with blue plaques on their walls with the names of famous people painted on them. Many of these were members of the “Bloomsbury Set”, a group of writers that included Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster as well as artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. Writers are still drawn to Bloomsbury and the area is still a centre for the book trade.
Bloomsbury - Charles Dickens’ House and Museum
Dickens lived in a number of different London houses but this is the only one left standing. Although he lived here for only two years with his wife and children, it was here that he wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby and here that he entered a period of prosperity. The house and museum is on four floors and looks exactly as it would have when Dickens and his family lived there.
Dickens was a fine speaker and he gave public readings of his books. These were so popular that tickets were sold as soon as they appeared. Rare editions of some of his books are on display at the museum.
Bloomsbury’s Garden Squares
London is often described as the greenest city in the world. There are well over a hundred of these leafy squares in Bloomsbury (remember that Bloomsbury is quite a big area) and many, especially the large ones, are open to everyone.
Built in the 1640’s, Bloomsbury Square was the first. It was laid out by the Earl of Southampton and was not formally open to the public until 1950. These garden squares were created as places for the well-off people who owned the surrounding houses, Even today there are a few squares that are closed off to the public by traditional black iron railings, accessible only by the key-holders. Bedford Square is the only remaining complete Georgian square.
Bloomsbury - British Museum
The world-renowned British Museum opened in January 1759, in Montague House. There were some strict rules: entry by written application, only ten tickets per hour. and only open for three hours a day. The neo-classical building we see today was built around Montague House between 1823-1838.The Museum celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2003 and today admission is free for everyone.
Bloomsbury - St. Pancras Station
The Bloomsbury area is one of contrasts. St. Pancras Station is a long way from the literary ambiance of the Bloomsbury Group - the legendary intellectual circle. What could be more different from the quiet tree-lined streets of Bloomsbury than a boisterous, bustling railway station like St. Pancras? The huge railway terminus opened in 1876 and was considered an outstanding feat of Victorian engineering and when completed it was the largest enclosed space in the world. Recently renovated and restored it is the most beautiful railway station in London.
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