Drury Lane
Encyclopedia
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
area of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, running between Aldwych
Aldwych
Aldwych is a place and road in the City of Westminster in London, England.-Description:Aldwych, the road, is a crescent, connected to the Strand at both ends. At its centre, it meets the Kingsway...
and High Holborn
High Holborn
High Holborn is a road in Holborn in central London, England. It starts in the west near St Giles Circus, then goes east, past the Kingsway and Southampton Row, and continues east. The road becomes Holborn at the junction with Gray's Inn Road....
. The northern part is in the borough of Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
and the southern part in the City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
.
It took its start from the west end of Wych Street, redeveloped in the later 19th century as Aldwych
Aldwych
Aldwych is a place and road in the City of Westminster in London, England.-Description:Aldwych, the road, is a crescent, connected to the Strand at both ends. At its centre, it meets the Kingsway...
. The lane led to the house built by Sir William Drury
William Drury
Sir William Drury, Knt., was an English statesman and soldier,He was a son of Sir Robert Drury of Hedgerley in Buckinghamshire, and grandson of another Sir Robert Drury , who was speaker of the House of Commons in 1495. He was a brother of Dru Drury.He was born at Hawstead in Suffolk, and was...
, Knight of the Garter in Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
's reign. Drury House
Drury House
Drury House was a historic building on Wych Street, London. It was the house of Sir Robert Drury, who Drury Lane was named after. It was a meeting place for Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex and his accomplices in 1601, when they were plotting against Elizabeth I.It was later rebuilt as Craven...
, with a coachyard in front and a garden in back, was a scene of the intrigues that led to the ill-fated rebellion of the Queen's favourite
Favourite
A favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
, the Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
. In the 17th century it was the London house of the Earl of Craven
William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven (1608-1697)
William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven, PC was an English nobleman and soldier.His father William Craven was born in a poor family in Appletreewick in North Yorkshire but moved to London, became wealthy, and was Lord Mayor of London in 1610.Craven fought for Frederick V on the Continent and fell in...
, then a public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
under the sign of his reputed mistress, the Queen of Bohemia
Elizabeth of Bohemia
Elizabeth of Bohemia was the eldest daughter of King James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, Ireland, and Anne of Denmark. As the wife of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, she was Electress Palatine and briefly Queen of Bohemia...
, but by the 18th century Drury Lane had become one of the worst slums in London, dominated by prostitution and gin palace
Gin palace
A gin palace is an English name originally for a lavish bar selling gin, later transferred by association to late Victorian pubs designed in a similar style....
s.
The area was eventually cleared to make way for the developments of Kingsway
Kingsway (London)
Kingsway is a major road in central London in the United Kingdom, designated as part of the A4200. It runs from High Holborn, at its north end in the London Borough of Camden, and meets Aldwych in the south in the City of Westminster at Bush House. It was built in the 1900s...
and Aldwych
Aldwych
Aldwych is a place and road in the City of Westminster in London, England.-Description:Aldwych, the road, is a crescent, connected to the Strand at both ends. At its centre, it meets the Kingsway...
.
The name of the street is often used to refer to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
, which has in different incarnations been located in Drury Lane since the 17th century. Also in Drury Lane is the New London Theatre
New London Theatre
The New London Theatre is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden...
.
The street Drury Lane is also where The Muffin Man
The Muffin Man
"The Muffin Man" is a traditional nursery rhyme or children's song of English origin. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7922.-Lyrics:The most widely known lyrics are as follows:Do [or "Oh, do"] you know the muffin man,...
lives as mentioned in the popular children's song:
"Do you know the Muffin Man?
The Muffin Man, the Muffin Man.
Do you know the Muffin Man,
Who lives in Drury Lane?"
173 Drury Lane was the location of the first J Sainsbury store, now one of the UK's largest retailers. The store was opened in 1869.
See also
- Colley CibberColley CibberColley Cibber was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling style...
- Covent GardenCovent GardenCovent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
- List of eponymous roads in London
- Restoration comedyRestoration comedyRestoration comedy refers to English comedies written and performed in the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710. After public stage performances had been banned for 18 years by the Puritan regime, the re-opening of the theatres in 1660 signalled a renaissance of English drama...
External links
- 'The Strand (northern tributaries): Drury Lane and Clare Market', Old and New London Volume 3 (1878), pp. 36-44. Date accessed: 18 March 2007.