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Bloomsbury Square
back to sights listingThis place was once called Southampton Square. "Bloomsbury" takes its name from 'Blemondisberi', that means 'the manor of (William) Blemond', who acquired the land in the early-13th century. The Square was laid out in 1660, having made a basis of the Bloomsbury squares. The area remained mainly rural until 1661, when the 4th Earl of Southampton built Southampton (now Bloomsbury) Square around his house. The construction of Bloomsbury Square marked the start of a trend and many more followed including Bedford Square (built in 1775 - 80) and the much larger Russell Square (added in 1800).
In 1780 anti-Catholic Gordon rioters burned down the town house of the Lord Chief Justice in Bloomsbury Square. Original buildings of Bloomsbury Square did not survive and today its delightful shady garden, graced by a statue of statesman Charles James Fox (1749 - 1806), is encircled by a noisy one-way traffic system.
In June 1816, a statue of the late Charles James Fox was erected here. The work consists simply of a colossal bronze figure, nine feet in height, raised on a granite pedestal. The figure is in a sitting position, and is habited in a consular robe. The right arm is extended, the hand supporting Magna Charta. It is said, that the likeness of Mr. Fox is perfect and striking. The following is the only inscription :-" CHARLES JAMES FOX. Erected MDCCCXVI."
The square has had many famous residents but mostly people closely associate it with the literary and artistic 'Bloomsbury Group'. Many members of the group lived in the area in the early decades of the 20th century, including artists Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and Dora Carrington, biographer Lytton Strachey and novelist Virginia Wolf. Individual blue plaques commemorating the members of the Bloomsbury Group can be seen throughout the area.
What is most remarkable and comfortable for our modern age here is that you can always find a parking spot in the huge underground garage. You'll find it by exiting the Tube at Tottenham Court Road -a bustling street where Londoners acquire their electronic goods at the Oxford Street end and their furniture at Heal's and Habitat on the north end - and taking Great Russell Street east. Bloomsbury is dotted with squares - Gordon, Tavistock, Bedford, and Brunswick are some of the more picturesque ones.
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Address:
Bloomsbury Square
London WC1,
United Kingdom
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