The Seven Dials Trust owns and maintains the column and the sundials and looks after the public realm in collaboration with the local authorities, major land-owners, Historic England and other stakeholders.
Standing at the junction of seven streets in London's West End is a pillar topped with six – that's right, six – sundials, giving the intersection and the surrounding area its name.
What was the Seven Dials like in the Victorian era?
The notorious warren known as "The Seven Dials" was a breeding ground of vice, disease, and crime at the junction of seven roads in the area of Covent Garden. Thomas Neale, a Member of Parliament and real estate developer, originally laid out the area in the early 1690s.
Just west of Covent Garden, Seven Dials is one of the great architectural set pieces of London. It was laid out c. 1693 by Thomas Neale, MP, 'The Great Projector'.
Seven Dials is a road junction and neighbourhood in the St Giles district of the London Borough of Camden, within the greater Covent Garden area in the West End of London.
The Fascinating History of Seven Dials – From Slums to Upmarket Over the Centuries
Was Seven Dials a slum?
Confusingly named for its signature column with six sundials on it, today Seven Dials is famed for its mixture of niche shops and restaurants. However it was once known as one of the great slums of London, rivaled only by the nearby St Giles's Rookery.
The area just east of Tottenham Court Road station is properly known as St Giles (or St Giles's) but the term is rarely used, perhaps because this was once London's most notorious neighbourhood.
We love pets but sadly they are not allowed in Banana Warehouse. They're welcome to come and hang out in Cucumber Alley though while you grab a bite to eat! What about food allergies and intolerances? There are lots of food and drink options at Seven Dials Market so we can cater for everyone!
The market is a walk-in only space, with plenty of seats and communal tables to grab, but you can book one of their quirky party spaces to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries or corporate events. The Market Bookshop and Bar Nana are available to book seven days a week.
Bringing you the taste and experience of London via 2 bars and 20 juicy independent members! We mainly take walk-ins only, but we do hold back a small number of bookable tables for large groups and events! Just email [email protected] for enquiries and pricing.
Unfortunately in many other emporiums your dog will not be welcome. Major department stores Harrods, Fortnum & Mason and John Lewis apply a no dogs rule (unless they are guide dogs).
One of the areas hardest hit by choleraimg was what was then known as the 'Devil's Acre. ' This section of London would have been located in what is currently the prestigious heart of Westminster.
If one goes to parking space number 23 they'll see a commemorative plaque reading “The above stone marks the approximate site of the burial in St Giles' Graveyard of John Knox The Great Scottish Divine who died 24 Nov 1572”.
When Gerald Wade died, apparently from an overdose of sleeping draught, seven clocks appeared on the mantelpiece. Who put them there and had they any connection with the Night Club in Seven Dials? That is the mystery that Bill Eversleigh and Bundle and two other young people set out to investigate.
Seven Dials was synonymous with poverty and crime, a black hole to most Londoners. Dickens stormed it with pen and paper. It's hard to conjure the notorious slum from the column steps today. Passing reference to the area's history in a guidebook is abstract, leaving you with a cloudy image of sooty faces.
What were the name for the slum areas of Whitechapel?
Bad housing: o Overcrowded housing: ▪ Much of Whitechapel contained slum housing (also known as “rookeries”); ▪ Houses were divided into several apartments sometimes with 30 people in each house; ▪ In 1881, Whitechapel's 30,709 people lived in 4,069 houses - on average 7.5 in each; ▪ Whitechapel's population density ...
Some of these slums were isolated streets that had lost cachet, such as Sultan Street in Camberwell, Litcham Street in Kentish Town, and Campbell Road in Finsbury Park – later described as “the worst street in north London” – albeit being surrounded by respectable streets.
Hundreds of years ago this area earned the epithet “that terrible place.” That's just the foundation. If you can call marshland a foundation. It was Dickens who described this part of London as the “devil's acre.” How bad was it? Well, slums built on marshland, what do you think?
The Devil's Acre, a set of five or six streets immediately west of Westminster Abbey, was an area of unimaginable poverty. Infant mortality rates were abysmal. Rooms were shared by up to 12 people. The conditions could scarcely be better designed for the needs of rats, fleas, cholera and typhus.
It's said that Knox wanted to be buried within 20 feet of Saint Giles, so he was laid to rest right outside the church in what was once a proper graveyard. However, the site has since been tarmacked over and is now a functioning parking lot.
Here are 7 famous people buried in Edinburgh - from Deacon Brodie to the Great La Fayette. Edinburgh is teeming with history, and many famous and infamous people are buried here. Edinburgh is a city of romance, science and enlightenment, with many famous people either starting their days here, or ending them.
It would eventually become the final resting place of thousands of local citizens, among the most notable being the philosopher David Hume, scientist John Playfair and publishers William Blackwood and Archibald Constable.
Can I take my dog into Marks and Spencer? Sadly, dogs are not allowed in any Marks and Spencers stores, even the ones that deal only with clothing and homewares and have no food hall or cafe. However, this does not apply to assistance dogs, who are legally entitled to go anywhere their person can.
We do not have a specific dress code for entry into the store, including any of our restaurants. However, we do reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone who is not deemed to be appropriately dressed. Sportswear, including trainers, shorts, and tracksuits, are permitted across all areas of the store and restaurants.
