Tours | Categories (New, Hot) | Map
Alcohol - Ancient - Animal - Architecture - Art - Aviation - Boxing - Celebrity - Charity - Children - Church - Cinema - Comedy - Crime - Dance - Death - Disaster - Drugs - Fashion - Food - Gambling - Ghost - Grave - Health - Historical - Industry - Justice - LGBT - Literary - Look Up - Medical - Military - Motoring - Murder - Museum - Music - Nature - Naval - Paranormal - Pioneer - Poetry - Police - Politics - Pub - Public Amenities - Quirky - Religion - Retail - Ripper - River - Royalty - Science - Sculpture - Sex - Signs - Society - Sport - Subterranean - Technology - Theatre - Train - Transport - Tube - TV - Weather -
Contact Us
IN THE NEWS
TOUR OF THE MONTH
ON THIS DAY IN LONDON
17th December 1942 Allies in London sentence German war criminals
17th December 1936 Singer Tommy Steele, born in Bermondsey, London.
17th December 1891 Born today: Robertson Hare, London England, actor (Our Girl Friday, Banana Ridge)
Seven Dials (nee Six)
The Seven Dials once had a pub on every one of the seven corners
Location: Monmouth Street, Covent Garden, London
Description: Prior to the end of the 17th century the area was a marshland and called the Cock & Pye fields. In the early 1690s Thomas Neale, Master of the Mint and also a property speculator, acquired this plot from the Crown.
He devised the characteristic six dials street layout in order to maximise the number of houses that could be built on the site and therefore his profit. He soon changed it to seven, but the original centrepiece still has the original six.
The names of the seven streets were chosen with the intention of attracting well to do residents, however some of the names have subsequently been simplified or changed because of duplication with other streets in London. They were originally: Little and Great Earl Street (now Earlham Street), Little and Great White Lyon Street (now Mercer Street), Queen Street (now Shorts Gardens) and Little & Great St. Andrews Street (now Monmouth Street). Some of the original street signs can still be seen attached to buildings in the area.
Later, the area had failed to establish itself as Neale hoped and deteriorated into a slum, renowned for its gin shops. At one point each of the seven apexes facing the Monument housed a pub, their cellars and vaults connected in the basement providing handy escape routes should the need arise.
Retail
Pub
Ranking This Month: 597/2786
Pages Hit This Month: 50
Link to This Page: http://www.shadyoldlady.com/location/318
Credits: http://www.sevendials.co.uk
|
The Seven Dials once had a pub on every one of the seven corners |
The Shady Old Lady points out that you can drag this map using mouse. Or visit our full massive map.
The East Ends most famous market», 2.1km
History made at Earls Court», 3.3km
The Freud's Lived Here», 3.2km
The Maya's home from home», 3.9km
Peter Pan - Still a Legend», 0.6km
The Old Bedford», 1.6km
From Russia With Love», 0.4km
The College of Arms», 1.2km
A Bridge and a Rose», 2.0km
The Widest Pavement in London», 2.3km
mapping London's most interesting and unusual places and history
