Holborn
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Holborn (pronounced /ˈhəʊbən/ or /ˈhəʊbɜːn/ -- "ho bun") is a place in London, named after a tributary to the River Fleet that flowed through the area, the Hole-bourne (the stream in the hollow). Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, straddling the borders of the London Borough of Camden, the City of Westminster and the City of London. The name Holborn is derived from a hamlet called Holebourne to the East which was established long before 1249, this name in turn taken from the river Fleet, now subterranean but once flowing parallel to where Kingsway now stands. In the days when Holborn was a green oasis the Elizabethen herbalist John Gerard cultivated the land with much horticultural zeal. Here he was the first to catalogue over 1000 native species in a splendid prose tome which still exists to this day at the British museum.
Publishing was the booming industry of the 17th century in which the area began to prosper. During this time ladies of the night became a popular sight on the streets, despite prostitution being illegal. Years later Charles Dickens took up residence in the street - during his time it had a phenomenal concentration of taverns; 22 inns are recorded in the 1860s. Over the coming years the area began to diversify and become recognisable as today's street. A plaque stands at 120 commemorating Thomas Earnshaw's invention of the marine chronometer, one of the catalysts which facilitated long-distance travel. There were also extraordinary exhibitions - the first time anyone saw a gorilla was on this street in 1859. However this popularity bred imposters - Captain Eades mermaid transpired to be a crudely combined salmon and infant orang-utan. In more recent times High Holborn has become an efficient businesslike street where lawyers and financial professionals have cemented their place amongst entertainment venues. The Holborn Empire stood between 1867 and 1960 when it was pulled down after structural damage sustained in the blitz. Here was the first ever showing of a full-length feature film in 1924, The Wold, the Flesh and the Devil, a 100-minute melodrama filmed in Kinemacolour. Even more recently, until 1992, the London Weather Centre stood here.
The area is north of the traditional stamping ground for journalists in Fleet Street and lawyers in the Inner Temple and Middle Temple. The most northerly of the Inns of Court, Gray's Inn, is in Holborn. It is also the location of Barnard's Inn, the current home of Gresham College, the first college in London. In the eighteenth century, Holborn was the location of the infamous Mother Clap's molly house.
At the eastern end of Holborn is the Prudential Insurance building, designed by Alfred Waterhouse. The Daily Mirror offices used to be directly opposite it. The Prudential building is notable for being used on the cover of "Old Holborn" tobacco. The insurance company relocated in 2002.
Further east in the gated avenue of Ely Place is the oldest Catholic Church in London, St Etheldreda's Church. Ely Place is on the site of what was from 1300 until 1772, the site of the Bishop of Ely’s London palace. In medieval times, bishops of Ely frequently held high state office requiring them to live in London. St Etheldreda’s Church was built as a private chapel attached to the palace. It is still standing today,and is the only surviving building in London from the reign of Edward I (1239–1307) though it was badly damaged during the last war. St Etheldreda, a seventh-century queen and nun, was the saint in whose name Ely Cathedral was founded.
There are references to Ely Palace grounds in Shakespeare’s plays. It was at the house that the Bard had John of Gaunt – who was living there in 1382 – say his ‘This royal throne of Kings, this sceptre’d isle’ speech. And in Richard III, Gloucester tells the Bishop of Ely: ‘My Lord of Ely, when I was last in Holborn, I saw good strawberries in your garden there. I do beseech you, send for some of them.’.
Hatton Garden, the centre of the Diamond trade was leased to a favourite of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Christopher Hatton at the insistance of the Queen to provide him with an income.
Behind the Prudential Building lies the Anglo Catholic chruch of St Alban the Martyr. Origianlly built in 1863 by architect William Butterfield it was destroyed in 1941 and a new church was built in the Victorian Gothic style.
On Holborn Circus lies the Church of St Andrews. Although it was an ancient Guild Church, it did survive the Great Fire of London. Wren in any case decided to rebuild it. Although the nave was destroyed in the Blitz, the rebuild was faithful to Wren's original. In the early twenty-first century, Holborn has been the site of new offices and hotels, which have exploited its excellent public transport links (Holborn underground station is the junction of the Central and Piccadilly lines), and its strategic location between the City of London and the West End.
The Metropolitan Borough of Holborn was created in 1899. It was abolished in 1965 and its area formed part of the London Borough of Camden.
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