Bloomsbury
Thu Jan 02 2003 at 20:20:14
Bloomsbury is a district of central London, in the borough of Camden. Although upmarket and predominantly residential, the area is also fairly busy, lying not far north of Soho and the West End. It has more or less a square shape, being roughly defined by four prominent roads - bustling Euston Road to the north; fashionable shopping lane Tottenham Court Road to the west; commercial Gray's Inn Road to the east; and High Holborn, principal thoroughfare of the legal district of Holborn, to the south.
The area takes its name from early landowners the Blemund family, and began to be developed in the 17th century. Once on the northern fringes of London, subsequent expansion of the city has rendered Bloomsbury a part of the centre. Architecturally the area is mainly low-rise and is most notable for such venerable buildings as the Gower Street campus of University College. Geographically it is most distinguished by a number of very pleasantly gardened squares - most famous among them being the beautiful Russell Square, but also including some interesting others such as Bedford and Bloomsbury Squares. (The names Russell and Bedford refer to two other key landowning families in Bloomsbury's history and feature in many local place names.)