Drury Lane

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This article is about the street in London; Drury Lane is also the name of a well-known theatre on that street and of a fictional detective created by Ellery Queen writing as Barnaby Ross.

Oxfam shop on Drury Lane

Drury Lane is a street in the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster.

It was originally named after the Drury family, owners of a large house there during the Tudor period. In the 16th and 17th centuries it was a distinguished address but by the 18th century it had become one of the worst slums in London dominated by prostitution and gin palaces. The area was eventually cleared to make way for the developments of Kingsway and Aldwych.

The name of the street is often used to refer to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which has in different incarnations been located in Drury Lane since the 17th century. Also on Drury Lane is the New London Theatre.

The street Drury Lane is also where The Muffin Man lives as mentioned in a popular children's song. A rendition of this song was included in the motion picture Shrek and was mentioned in Shrek 2.

Drury Lane

See also