Seven Dials
Covent Garden London
Seven Dials is a very trendy part of
Covent Garden which Charles Dickens immortalized in one of his famous quotes in 'Sketches by Boz'. Although a popular area to visit, this was once a slum-area notorious for it's gin houses and bawdy taverns.
It was Thomas Neale MP (1641 - 1699) who visualized and helped make the area what it is today. Neale was responsible for the construction of the famous Sundial Pillar (see in picture above), which was topped by six sundial faces with the seventh being the column itself.
The area includes streets such Monmouth Street, Shorts Gardens and Neal Street (named after the great man himself). Also in the area is Earlham Street which is famous for it's flower market and the Bodley Head publishers.
Neal's Centre (once an old banana warehouse) is a popular and very trendy area of Neal's Yard just off Monmouth Street and Shorts Gardens.
Since the seventeenth century this area has been home to homeopaths and astrologers and the cobbled streets now include shops for alternative medicine, new-age shops such as Mysteries and Neal's Yard Remedies.
The Radisson Edwardian in Mercer Street has a popular bar and restaurant overlooking the area.
Related Pages...
West End Shows
Cheap Flights to London
Things to do in London
Eating Out in London
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