Holborn walk

	A Holborn Walk Route & what to see
	london-footprints.co.uk

A 3½ mile walk from Holborn (Central & Picadilly lines) to Tottenham Court Road (Central & Northern line).

Exit the station and go south along Kingsway.
This street was created as a north-south route in the Edwardian period and has a number of impressive buildings including the former Holy Trinity Church (1909-11) and Africa House (1921). A tram route was opened below the street in 1906. It was deepened for double deckers in 1930 and was last used in 1952. The northern section of the tunnel remains but the southern section is now used by cars. The entrance to Holborn Station was in the centre of the road [more info]. St Anslem & St Cecila RC Church was built in 1909.

Left at Remnant Street continuing into Lincoln's Inn Fields.
Sir John Soane's Museum is on the north side. The Hunterian Museum is within the Royal College of Surgeons on the south side.

Return and go through Gate Street and New Turnstile into High Holborn. Go right along this street.
The former Pearl Assurance building (1912-9) has been converted into a hotel.

Left at Red Lion Street then second left at Princeton Street. Go clockwise around Red Lion Square, cutting through the middle.
Rossetti lived at number 16-17, later used as offices by William Morris (see plaque). Summit House was designed by Westwood & Emberton for Austin Reed in 1925. There is a plaque to John Harrison, the clockmaker on the side. Conway Hall was built for South Place Ethical Society in 1929.

Exit via Lamb's Conduit Passage and go right at Red Lion Street. First left along Princeton Street
There is a former Board School of 1877.

Left at Bedford Row.
There are fine Georgian houses here.

Cross Theobald's Road into Great St James Street then go right along Northington Street.
Number 13 is a former coach house of 1903.

Right at John Street.
Houses here were built 1756-9.

Right along Theobald's Road.
The 1960s Holborn Library includes a local studies section.

Left at Southampton Row.
Central St Martin's was built for the LCC in 1905-8. The entrance to the tram tunnel can be viewed in the centre of the road. Sicilian Avenue is an unusual pedestrian shopping street of 1905-10.

Right along High Holborn
The Princess Louise pub has a fine 19th century interior. The former town hall was built in 1906-8 and the adjoining library in 1894.

Continue along St Giles High Street.
The Shaftesbury Theatre was originally the Princes, designed by Bertie Crewe in 1911. On the corner with Endell Street is St Giles' National School of 1860 by EM Barry. It had 1500 children and there was a soup kitchen and industrial school in the basement.

Continue to St Giles Church
In 1101 Queen Matilda founded a leper hospital whose chapel became a parish church after the Reformation in 1539. The church of St Giles-in-the-Fields was rebuilt in 1630 and again in 1730-4 to the designs of Henry Flitcroft. [website]

Go along Flitcroft Street.
Elms Lester Printing Works of 1903-4 houses scene painting workshops.

At Charing Cross Road go left.
The Phoenix Theatre was designed in 1930 by Giles Gilbert Scott and Bertie Crewe.

Left at Phoenix Street
Notice the theatre elevation from this street. The Phoenix Garden is a community garden created on the site of a car park in 1984 [website].

Exit via Stacey Street into Shaftsbury Avenue
The Odeon Cinema was formerly the Saville Theatre, designed by TP Bennett and Bertie Crewe in 1931. The frieze depicts 'Drama through the Ages'.

Go northwards along Shaftesbury Avenue, crossing St Giles High Street.

Left at Bloomsbury Street, crossing New Oxford Street.
Britannia House of 1929 is in an Egyptian style. The Central Baptist Church was built in 1845-8. Opposite are King Edward Mansions of 1902-8. James Smith's attractive umbrella shop was established in 1830 [website].

Right at Great Russell Street then right along Willoughby Street
Parnell House was designed by Henry Roberts for the 'Society for Improving the Conditions of the Labouring Classes' in 1849.

Left at Streatham Street then right at Coptic Street.
The Dairy Supply Company premises were built in 1888.

Left along Little Russell Street.
The Cartoon Museum is housed in a former dairy building.

At the end cross Bury Place to explore Pied Bull Yard and Galen Place.
Notice the clock at the entrance (pictured in header).

Return to Bury Place and go south. Right at Bloomsbury Way.
St George's Bloomsbury was the last of the '50 new churches', designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and consecrated in 1730. The tower was based on the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and is topped by a statue of George I. The church has recently been restored and the lions & unicorns reinstated. The undercroft was cleared of some 900 burials and now houses an exhibition on Hawksmoor & Bloomsbury. [website]

Return along Blooomsbury Way.
Pushkin House at number 5 was designed by Henry Flitcroft in 1744. Opposite are the premises of the Swedenborg Society. The College of Preceptors was built in 1887.

Walk northwards through Bloomsbury Square.
This was originally landscaped by Repton in 1806. It was replanted in the 1970s when a car park was constructed below. On the east side is Victoria House, built for the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society in 1921-34. There is a seated statue of Charles James Fox by Westmacott (1816). Terraces on the north side replaced Southampton House around 1800.

Left at Great Russell Street.
This was built up from 1661. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. The museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759 in Montagu House, on the site of the current museum. Congress House is the TUC memorial building, designed in 1948 but not built until 1953-7. The sculpture is 'The Spirit of Brotherhood'. There is a better view of the building from Dyott Street.

At the end of Great Russell Street go left at Tottenham Court Road to the tube station.
The Dominion Theatre was built in 1928-9 and seats 3000. It was a cinema in the 1930s. The 34 storey Centre Point was constructed by Seifert & Partners in 1959-66 as offices but was converted to housing. The tube station features colourful tiles by Eduardo Paolozzi.

Resources
Buildings of England London 4: North by Cherry & Pevsner
A free map of the area is available from the inholborn kiosk outside Holborn Station

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