West End of London

:This article is about the West End of London. For other uses of the name West End, see West End (disambiguation).

Location

Located to the west of the historic Roman and Mediaeval City of London, the West End was long favoured by the rich elite as a place of residence because it was more often upwind of the smoke drifting from the crowded City. It was also located close to the royal seat of power at Westminster, and is largely contained within the City of Westminster. Developed in the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries it was originally built as a series of palaces, expensive town houses, fashionable shops and places of entertainment. The areas closest to the City around Holborn Seven Dials and Covent Garden historically contained poorer communities that were cleared and redeveloped in the nineteenth century.

Related Topics:
Roman - Mediaeval - City of London - Westminster - City of Westminster - Seventeenth - Eighteenth - Nineteenth centuries - Holborn - Seven Dials - Covent Garden

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The West End is a flexible term with different meanings in different contexts. It may refer to the entertainment district around Leicester Square and Covent Garden; to the shopping district centred on Oxford Street, Regent Street, and Bond Street (but the geographically distinct shopping district around Knightsbridge would be counted as "West End Shopping" by some); or to the whole of that part of Central London (itself an area with no generally agreed boundaries) which lies to the west of the City of London.

Related Topics:
Leicester Square - Covent Garden - Oxford Street - Regent Street - Bond Street - Knightsbridge - Central London - City of London

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One of the local government wards within the City of Westminster is called "West End". It is bounded by the City of London to the east, the Thames to the south east, Horseferry Road and Victoria Street to the south, Grosvenor Place to the west and Piccadilly and Long Acre to the north. http://www.westminster.gov.uk/gis/index.cfm?LayerID=55&LGSL=361,362,346 This is quite a narrow boundary. However in the United Kingdom ward boundaries are familiar to almost no-one apart from local councillors and some council employees, and this ward carries little weight as an "official" definition of the West End, or even as being intended to do so.

Related Topics:
Wards - City of Westminster - City of London - Thames - Victoria Street - Grosvenor Place - Piccadilly - Long Acre

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