Holborn

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

Holborn is also a non-residential area of London and famous for being London’s legal quarter. Due to Holborn’s central location and proximity to the West End and Covent Garden, it has become a hotel destination. However, due to the location of the Royal Courts of Justice on Fleet Street, this area also has many offices, not only lawyers and barristers chambers but interestingly also bankers and other professionals.

Unlike its neighbour, Holborn has really only one garden square, Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Red Lion Square is located to its immediate north but this is a small overlooked dark square, off the A40. Lincoln’s Inn Fields is an attractive outside space, popular with students, particularly those from LSE. It has tennis courts, a cafe and a friendly atmosphere.

The architecture is mixed, some regency buildings and some, even older. However, there is a complete mixture, reflective of the diverse planning uses.  A new scheme, by Lodha at Lincoln’s Inn Fields has recently come to the market.

Holborn is well placed halfway between the City and the West End but remains about 20 per cent cheaper than nearby Covent Garden and Fitzrovia.

It is popular with barristers and solicitors and the area is becoming more residential. And whereas it used to be closed at weekends, now more shops, cafés and restaurants remain open.

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.