It doesn’t get more central than The Beecham in Covent Garden Covent Garden, that stretch of meandering streets off The Strand that culminates in the famous piazza, has been through every stage of London life. It started out, as many of the City’s suburbs did, as countryside, serving as gardens for Westminster Abbey. Then came its first gentrification phase when Henry VIII seized the land and architect Inigo Jones was commissioned to design fine townhouses to attract wealthy gentlemen. As the square became more fashionable, the Covent Garden fruit and vegetable market sprouted up. Eventually, the area fell into disrepair and it became such a notorious red light district that an Act of Parliament was drawn up to take control of the area. As the city expanded, a concentration of theatres opened up including the Royal Opera House and the Royal Ballet, establishing the area as a cultural tourist hotspot. Now, there are only two more pieces of the regeneration puzzle left; commercial and residential. In 2006, Capital & Counties Properties (Capco) bought the largest stake in the area and the developer is responsible for 956,000sqft of the Covent Garden estate. Under Capco’s stewardship, the area has become a vibrant tourist hub, attracting around 43m visitors a year. [...] newsinlondon/it-doesnt-get-more-central-than-the-beecham-in-covent-garden-6/
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 14:01:28 +0000