Bloomsbury

Bloomsbury and Holborn are very much intertwined. Generally speaking, Bloomsbury occupies the northern section of west central (WC1) and Holborn the southern section, adjacent to Covent Garden.

Bloomsbury, within the London Borough of Camden, was developed in the 17th and 18th centuries by the powerful Russell family. Their intention was to create a desirable central London residential location with many garden squares and trophy houses. Many of the buildings remain but the ownership has changed markedly. Now, Bloomsbury is home to much of London University, not only residential flats for students but also teaching departments and offices and Great Ormond Street Hospital. There are over six London university colleges in Bloomsbury alone. In addition, there are five medical teaching hospitals and colleges.

Although, much of the area is owned by the university or other higher-learning institutions, there are pockets of residential ownership, most notably the controversial Brunswick Centre. Beyond this there are more residential streets, the most prestigious being John Street and its continuation, Doughty Street.

The area around Tottenham Court Road is experiencing a makeover courtesy of Crossrail 1, with the first trains rolling through the new £1 billion station in 2019. On the corner of Charing Cross Road and New Oxford Street, Derwent London has plans for a new 350-seat theatre to replace the Astoria theatre as part of a mixed use development, which was demolished for the new station.

In terms of schools whilst there are many centres of higher education there are very few schools in either area. Families tend to educate their children in other immediate neighbourhoods.