1.
London congestion charge
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The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most motor vehicles operating within the Congestion Charge Zone in Central London between 07,00 and 18,00 Mondays to Fridays. It is not charged on weekends, public holidays or between Christmas Day and New Years Day, the charge was introduced on 17 February 2003. The charge aims to reduce traffic flow in the central area. The standard charge is £11.50 for each day, for each vehicle that travels within the zone. The ULED scheme was designed to curb the number of diesel vehicles on Londons roads. A new toxicity charge, known as T-charge will be introduced from 23 October 2017 for vehicles that do not meet Euro 4 standards and these older polluting vehicles will pay an extra £10 charge on top of the congestion charge to drive within the Congestion Charge Zone. Enforcement is primarily based on number plate recognition. Transport for London is responsible for the charge which has operated by IBM since 1 November 2009. During the first ten years since the introduction of the scheme, from 2003 to 2013, about £1.2 billion of net revenue has been invested in public transport, road and bridge improvement and walking and cycling schemes. Of these, a total of £960 million was invested on improvements to the bus network, despite these gains, traffic speeds have also been getting progressively slower over the past decade, particularly in central London. Although primarily an area, there are also 136,000 residents. There is little industry within the zone. Signs were erected and symbols painted on the road to help drivers recognise the congestion charge area. In January 2013 Transport for London opened a consultation to increase the standard charge 15% by mid 2014. The increase was expected to generate an estimated £84 million of revenue by the end of 2017/18. The consultation process ran from January 2014 to March 2014, according to TfL the objective of the increase was to recoup inflation over the past three years and ensure the charge remains an effective deterrent to making unnecessary journeys in central London. As of 16 June 2014 the following apply, The standard fee is £11.50 per day if paid by midnight on the day of travel, £14 if paid by the end of the following day. Businesses with six or more vehicles can register with Fleet Auto Pay, from 20 May 2013 failure to pay results in the issuance of a Penalty Charge Notice for £130, reduced to £65 if paid within 14 days, but increased to £195 if unpaid after 28 days
2.
Road
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Roads consist of one or two roadways, each with one or more lanes and any associated sidewalks and road verges. Roads that are available for use by the public may be referred to as parkways, avenues, freeways, interstates, highways, or primary, secondary, and tertiary local roads. In urban areas roads may diverge through a city or village and be named as streets, serving a function as urban space easement. Modern roads are normally smoothed, paved, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel, historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or maintenance. In the United Kingdom there is ambiguity between the terms highway and road. The Highway code details rules for road users and this includes footpaths, bridleways and cycle tracks, and also road and driveways on private land and many car parks. Vehicle Excise Duty, a use tax, is payable on some vehicles used on the public road. The definition of a road depends on the definition of a highway, in the United States, laws distinguish between public roads, which are open to public use, and private roads, which are privately controlled. The assertion that the first pathways were the trails made by animals has not been universally accepted, others believe that some roads originated from following animal trails. The Icknield Way is given as an example of type of road origination. By about 10,000 BC, rough roads/pathways were used by human travelers, the worlds oldest known paved road was constructed in Egypt some time between 2600 and 2200 BC. Stone-paved streets are found in the city of Ur in the Middle East dating back to 4000 BC, corduroy roads are found dating to 4000 BC in Glastonbury, England. The Sweet Track, a timber causeway in England, is one of the oldest engineered roads discovered. Built in winter 3807 BC or spring 3806 BC, tree-ring dating enabled very precise dating and it was claimed to be the oldest road in the world until the 2009 discovery of a 6, 000-year-old trackway in Plumstead, London. Brick-paved streets were used in India as early as 3000 BC, in 500 BC, Darius I the Great started an extensive road system for Persia, including the Royal Road, which was one of the finest highways of its time. The road remained in use after Roman times, a hybrid of road transport and ship transport beginning in about 1740 is the horse-drawn boat in which the horse follows a cleared path along the river bank. From about 312 BC, the Roman Empire built straight strong stone Roman roads throughout Europe and North Africa, at its peak the Roman Empire was connected by 29 major roads moving out from Rome and covering 78,000 kilometers or 52,964 Roman miles of paved roads. In the 8th century AD, many roads were built throughout the Arab Empire, the most sophisticated roads were those in Baghdad, which were paved with tar
3.
Shoreditch
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Shoreditch is an inner city district in the historic East End of London and modern Central London within the London Borough of Hackney, lying immediately to the north of the City of London. The districts of Hoxton and Haggerston are part of Shoreditch, but the Shoreditch High Street railway station, lies just outside, the etymology of Shoreditch is debated. One legend holds that the place was originally named Shores Ditch, after Jane Shore, the mistress of Edward IV, however, the area was known as Soersditch long before Jane Shores life. A more plausible origin for the name is Sewer Ditch, in reference to a drain or watercourse in what was once a boggy area and it may have referred to the headwaters of the river Walbrook, which rose in the Curtain Road area. In a further theory, antiquarian John Weever claimed that the derived from Sir John de Soerdich. Shoreditch High Street and Kingsland road are a small sector of the Roman Ermine Street, known also as the Old North Road, it was a major coaching route to the north, exiting the City at Bishopsgate. The east–west course of Old Street–Hackney Road was also originally a Roman Road, connecting Silchester with Colchester. Shoreditch Church is of ancient origin and features in the line when I grow rich say the bells of Shoreditch, from the nursery rhyme Oranges. Shoreditch was the site of a house of canonesses, the Augustinian Holywell Priory and this priory was located between Shoreditch High Street and Curtain Road to east and west and Batemans Row and Holywell Lane to north and south. In 1576 James Burbage built the first playhouse in England, known as The Theatre, some of Shakespeares plays were performed here and at the nearby Curtain Theatre, built the following year and 200 yards to the south. It was here that Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet gained Curtain plaudits, in 1599 Shakespeares Company literally upped sticks and moved the timbers of The Theatre to Southwark at expiration of the lease to construct The Globe. The Curtain continued performing plays in Shoreditch until at least 1627, the suburb of Shoreditch was attractive as a location for these early theatres because it was outside the jurisdiction of the somewhat puritanical City fathers. During the 17th century, wealthy traders and Huguenot silk weavers moved to the area, by the 19th century Shoreditch was also the locus of the furniture industry, now commemorated in the Geffrye Museum on Kingsland Road. However the area declined along with textile and furniture industries and by the end of the 19th century Shoreditch was a byword for crime, prostitution. This situation was not improved by extensive devastation of the stock in the Blitz during World War II. In the late 19th century this was one of the largest theatres in London, in 1926 it was converted into a cinema called The New Olympia Picturedrome. The building was demolished in 1940, sims Reeves, Mrs Marriott and James Anderson all appeared here, also performed were programmes of classical opera and even Shakespeare, with such luminaries as Henry Irving. There was considerable rivalry with the West End theatres, with real rain, a real flood, and a real balloon
4.
Tower Bridge
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Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London built in 1886–1894. The bridge crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London and has become a symbol of London. Tower Bridge is one of five London bridges now owned and maintained by the Bridge House Estates and it is the only one of the Trusts bridges not to connect the City of London directly to the Southwark bank, as its northern landfall is in Tower Hamlets. The vertical components of the forces in the sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower, before its restoration in the 2010s, the bridges colour scheme dated from 1977, when it was painted red, white and blue for Queen Elizabeth IIs Silver Jubilee. Its colours were restored to blue and white. The nearest National Rail stations are at Fenchurch Street and London Bridge, in the second half of the 19th century, an advertisement in the East End of London led to a hiring for a new river crossing downstream of London Bridge. A Special Bridge or Subway Committee was formed in 1877, chaired by Sir Albert Joseph Altman and it opened the design of the crossing to public competition. Over 50 designs were submitted, including one from civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, an Act of Parliament was pasesd in 1885 authorising the bridges construction. It specified the opening span must give a clear width of 61 metres, construction had to be in a Gothic style. Barry designed a bridge with two bridge towers built on piers. The central span was split into two equal bascules or leaves, which could be raised to allow traffic to pass. The two side-spans were suspension bridges, with the suspension rods anchored both at the abutments and through rods contained within the bridges upper walkways, E W Crutwell was the resident engineer for the construction. Two massive piers, containing over 70,000 tons of concrete, were sunk into the riverbed to support the construction, over 11,000 tons of steel provided the framework for the towers and walkways. This was then clad in Cornish granite and Portland stone, both to protect the steelwork and to give the bridge a pleasing appearance. Jones died in 1886 and George D. Stevenson took over the project, the total cost of construction was £1,184,000. The bridge was opened on 30 June 1894 by The Prince of Wales. The bridge connected Iron Gate, on the bank of the river, with Horselydown Lane, on the south – now known as Tower Bridge Approach and Tower Bridge Road
5.
New Kent Road
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New Kent Road is a 1 kilometre road in the London Borough of Southwark. The road was created in 1751 when the Turnpike Trust upgraded a local footpath, the road forms part of the London Inner Ring Road and as such forms part of the boundary of the London congestion charge zone. New Kent Road is designated the A201 which, to the north-west past the Elephant and Castle, just a few older houses still remain, mostly on the south side. The southern side of New Kent Road starts at the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, built in the 1960s, stalls of the Elephant Market are grouped around the ground floor entrance. Just inside the entrance of the shopping centre there is a small grocery kiosk run by. On Saturdays and Sundays it becomes an informal lunch restaurant and social centre, the 1955 Survey of London reports that 16–18 New Kent Road, part of the current site of the Shopping Centre, was the auction yard for horses, ponies and vehicles known as the London Repository. At 26 New Kent Road, the pub attached to the Shopping Centre is named after a famous local ex-resident Charlie Chaplin and it is said that Chaplin had a martini at the pub during a visit to the area in the 1950s. The Coronet at 28 New Kent Road is a club and live music venue, the site was first occupied by the Theatre Royal, built in 1872 and destroyed by fire only six years later. Rebuilt as the Elephant and Castle Theatre in 1879, Charlie Chaplin performed there and it was converted to an ABC cinema in 1928. After several more changes, it became the Coronet Cinema in 1981. The Coronet Cinema closed down in 1999, leaving the Elephant and Castle area with no cinemas, Elephant Road is a short road that connects New Kent Road with the Walworth Road. The railway arches on the west side house businesses including a shop, Corsica Studios art space. At the Walworth Road end is The Artworks, which houses restaurants bars, retail units and it includes the temporary site of the Newington Library. East of the bridge is the site of a future complex of businesses and residential units at the corner of New Kent Road. It is being developed by Oakmayne Properties who also built the nearby South Central East residential building on Walworth Road, the site of Oakmayne Plaza was formerly occupied by UKs largest used Volvo showroom and the Elephant Road Industrial Estate. In the summer of 2008, a 35 feet high sculpture of a stag by Ben Long was erected on the Oakmayne Plaza site and it was constructed from scaffolding materials, and after a few months was dismantled and reformed into a new structure on a new site. From Elephant Road to Rodney Place, this side of the New Kent Road is dominated by the site of the demolished Heygate Estate, multi-coloured spherical lights in the trees were installed in 2005 by the Elephant Impacts project. Proposed feature lighting at Metro Central Heights was abandoned when residents feared it would cause light pollution, crossway United Reformed Church is the only part of the Heygate Estate that is still standing
6.
Elephant and Castle
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The Elephant and Castle is a major road junction in South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name is derived from a coaching inn. The Elephant, as abbreviated, consists of major traffic junctions connected by a short road called Elephant and Castle. Between these junctions, on the side, is the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre. To the north of this, bounded by Newington Causeway and New Kent Road is the large Metro Central Heights residential block, the 43-storey Strata residential block lies just south of the shopping centre on Walworth Road. Newington Butts and Walworth Road adjoin the southern junction, the whole junction forms part of the London Inner Ring Road and part of the boundary of the London congestion charge zone. The Elephant has two linked London Underground stations, on the Northern and Bakerloo lines, and a National Rail station served by Southeastern, the Cuming Museum is nearby on Walworth Road. The name Elephant and Castle is derived from a coaching inn, the earliest surviving record of this name relating to the area appears in the Court Leet Book of the Manor of Walworth, which met at Elephant and Castle, Newington on 21 March 1765. Shakespeare mentions the Elephant Lodgings in Twelfth Night, in Act 3 Scene 3 Antonio says In the south suburbs, at the Elephant, is best to lodge. Although the play is set in Illyria in the Balkans, Shakespeare often used local London references, the theatres were all in Southwark, so Shakespeares line may represent an advertisement for a local hostelry. The Elephant is a common nickname for the Elephant and Castle. Newington is one of the most common names in England, and from 1750 the area became more important. Compare Angel at Islington, or Bricklayers Arms, a distance along New Kent Road. The inn site was rebuilt in 1816 and again in 1898, however, Eleanor of Castile was not an infanta. María has a strong British connection because she was once engaged to Charles I. Infanta de Castilla therefore seems to be a conflation of two Iberian royals separated by 300 years, however, Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII, was indeed an Infanta de Castille. She lived well into the 1500s so it is possible that the original name Elephant, known previously as Newington, in the medieval period it was part of rural Surrey, in the manor of Walworth. The parish was called St Mary, Newington, which occupied the southwest side of todays southern roundabout, near the Tabernacle
7.
London Inner Ring Road
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The London Inner Ring Road is a 12-mile route formed from a number of major roads that encircle Central London. The ring road forms the boundary of the London congestion charge zone, the route is described as the Inner Ring Road because there are two further sets of roads that have been described as London ring roads. The North and South Circular Roads together form the ring road around London. The M25 motorway is the outermost road encircling the metropolis, at a diameter of 40–50 miles. Plans for an Inner Ring Road were put forward by Patrick Abercrombie in the 1940s, the route is signed as Ring Road and is made up of the following roads, A100 A1202 A1210/A1211 A201 A202 A302 A3204 A4202 A5 A501. It formed part of the historical New Road, construction of the New Road from Paddington to Islington began in 1756 to relieve congestion in the built-up area of London. At that time the districts of Marylebone, Fitzrovia and Bloomsbury were on the edge of the city. The New Road ran through the fields to the north of three neighbourhoods. The road is now one of the busiest main roads in the city and it runs from Edgware Road in the west to Angel, in the east. City Road was constructed in 1761 to continue the route eastwards to the edge of the City of London. Pentonville Road runs west to east from Kings Cross to City Road and it acquired its present name in 1857. There are several halls of residence located on Pentonville Road, these being Dinwiddy House, Paul Robeson House, there are two green spaces along the road – Joseph Grimaldi Park and Claremont Square, the latter however is not open to the public. This street is distinguished by the set back housing lines originally intended to provide an atmosphere of spaciousness along the thoroughfare and it is one of the locations on the UK version of the Monopoly board game, which features areas native to London. Pentonville Road is one of the many London placenames mentioned the song Transmetropolitan by The Pogues and it runs from Aldgate southwards to the Tower of London. The northern part, north of the junction with Goodmans Yard and Prescot Street, has one way northbound traffic and it also links to Long Lane. The road has an abundance of shops along part of its length. There is also Bermondsey Square which holds a market every Friday morning, usually known as Bermondsey Market. Towards its southern end are a collection of shops, pubs, Kennington Lane is an A-road running between the Elephant & Castle to the east and Vauxhall to the west
8.
Vauxhall
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Vauxhall is a mixed commercial and residential district of southwest London in the London Borough of Lambeth. Vauxhall formed part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created, Vauxhall is 2.1 km south of Charing Cross and 1.5 km southwest of the actual centre of London at Frazier st near Lambeth North tube station. The area only became known by this name when the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens opened as a public attraction. Initially most visitors would have approached by river, but crowds of Londoners of all came to know the area after the construction of Westminster Bridge in the 1740s. There are competing theories as to why the Russian word for a railway station is вокзал. This was further embellished into a story that the Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, visiting London in 1844, was taken to see the trains at Vauxhall and made the same mistake. The locality of the L&SWRs original railway terminus, Nine Elms Station, was shown boldly and simply as Vauxhall in the 1841 Bradshaw timetable, in 1838 a music and entertainment pavilion was constructed at the railway terminus. This pavilion was called the Vokzal in homage to the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens in London, the name soon came to be applied to the station itself, which was the gateway that most visitors used to enter the gardens. It later came to any substantial railway station building. Archdeacon William Coxe describes the place as a sort of Vauxhall in that year, there is no mention of Vauxhall in the 1086 Domesday Book. The area originally formed part of the extensive Manor of South Lambeth, falkes de Breauté acquired it in 1216 when he married Margaret, widow of Baldwin de Redvers, de Breautés lands reverted to the de Redvers family after his death in 1226. In 1293 South Lambeth Manor and the Manor of la Sale Faukes passed, probably by trickery, in 1317 King Edward II granted the manor of Vauxhall, Surrey, to Sir Roger dAmory for his good services at the Battle of Bannockburn. From various accounts, three local roads – the South Lambeth Road, Clapham Road and Wandsworth Road – were ancient and well-known routes to and from London. The land was flat and parts were marshy and poorly drained by ditches, and only started to be developed with the draining of Lambeth Marsh in the mid-18th century, prior to this it provided market garden produce for the nearby City of London. Vauxhall Bridge and Vauxhall Bridge Road were opened in 1816, by 1860 the village had been subsumed by the town of Lambeth. Many of Vauxhalls streets were destroyed during the construction of the railway to Waterloo station, many Vauxhall residents live in social housing. Vauxhall is an ethnically diverse area, with approximately 40% of residents originating from a non-white ethnic group. There is a significant Portuguese community, some with a connection to Madeira, many Portuguese restaurants and bars are located in South Lambeth Road, there is also a significant Muslim community, with almost 6% of residents declaring themselves as Muslim in the 2001 census
9.
Vauxhall Bridge
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Vauxhall Bridge is a Grade II* listed steel and granite deck arch bridge in central London. It crosses the River Thames in a south–east north–west direction between Vauxhall on the bank and Pimlico on the north bank. The original bridge was built on the site of a former ferry, the building of both bridges was problematic, with both the first and second bridges requiring several redesigns from multiple architects. The original bridge, the first iron bridge over the Thames, was built by a private company and operated as a toll bridge before being taken into public ownership in 1879. The second bridge, which eight years to build, was the first in London to carry trams. With the exception of alterations to the layout and the balustrade. The bridge today is an important part of Londons road system, in the early 13th century, Anglo-Norman mercenary Falkes de Breauté built a manor house in the then empty marshlands of South Lambeth, across the River Thames from Westminster. The lands surrounding his Lambeth manor house continued to be known as Falkes Hall, in 1809 a new bill was presented to Parliament, and the proprietors of Battersea Bridge agreed to allow it to pass and to accept compensation. The Bill incorporated the Vauxhall Bridge Company, allowing it to raise up to £300,000 by means of mortgages or the sale of shares, and to keep all profits from any tolls raised. From these profits, the Vauxhall Bridge Company was obliged to compensate the proprietors of Battersea Bridge for any drop in revenue caused by the new bridge, dodd submitted a scheme for a bridge at Vauxhall of 13 arches. However, soon after the 1809 Act was passed, he was dismissed by the Vauxhall Bridge Company, john Rennie was commissioned to design and build the new bridge, and a stone bridge of seven arches was approved. On 9 May 1811, Lord Dundas laid the stone of the bridge on the northern bank. Rennie submitted a new design for a bridge of eleven spans. Rennies design was rejected, and instead construction began on a nine arch iron bridge designed by Samuel Bentham, concerns were raised about the construction of the piers, and engineer James Walker was appointed to inspect the work. On 4 June 1816, over five years after construction began, the opened, initially named Regent Bridge after George, Prince Regent. The bridge cost £175,000 to build, with the costs of approach roads and compensation payments, exemptions were granted for mail coaches, soldiers on duty and parliamentary candidates during election campaigns. However, the area around the failed to develop as expected. Meanwhile, the large Millbank Penitentiary was built near the end of the bridge
10.
Victoria, London
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Victoria is a small district in the City of Westminster in central London, named after Victoria Street and Victoria Station and therefore, indirectly, after Queen Victoria. The name is used to describe streets adjoining or nearly adjoining, including Victoria Street, Buckingham Palace Road, Wilton Road, Grosvenor Gardens, Victoria consists predominantly of commercial property and private and social housing, with retail uses along the main streets. Victoria Coach Station,900 yards southwest of the station, provides road-coach services to long-distance UK. Victoria Street runs on an east–west axis from Victoria station to Broad Sanctuary at Westminster Abbey, Cardinal Place, across the street from Westminster Cathedral, opened in 2006 and contains a selection of restaurants, banks and shops, including a Marks and Spencer store. Further along the street, there is a large House of Fraser department store opposite Westminster City Hall, the area formed part of the parish of St George Hanover Square. Long before Cardinal Place opposite the cathedral came into being there was a brewery based at the western end of Victoria Street. From the early 17th century it started off as a small brewhouse with properties that once were part of St Jamess Palace and this then substantially grew and then was bought and owned by Watney & Co. They built lodgings around the brewery as well as amenities for their staff to use, by the end of the 19th century they were employing a sizeable number of staff. Part of a slum, dubbed Devils Acre by Charles Dickens, was demolished to construct Victoria Street, Victoria Station was built in 1861. According to his biography Norman Wisdom slept near the statue of Marshal Foch by the bus station at the end of the street when his parents split up at the age of 9. Before going into comedy he worked as a boy in the then grand Artillery Mansions on Victoria Street which was then a grand hotel. In the 1980s it went into decay and became a squat - and in the 1990s was gutted, refurbished, Victoria Palace Theatre has been in its present site since 1832. It was originally known as Moys Music Hall but after Victoria station was built it got demolished and it was demolished again in 1911 due to modernisation. It was most famous for a statue of Anna Pavlova which was above it. In 1939 this was removed and lost, a replica has recently been added and it is also known as the home of the Crazy Gang and the Black and White Minstrels. It has hosted countless famous in the yearly Royal Variety Show, most of the year it hosts musicals its latest being Billy Elliott. Little Ben - a small 20 ft version of Big Ben stands in a roundabout outside the Victoria Palace was first erected in 1891 removed in 1963. It was erected with sponsorship from Elf Aquitaine Ltd as a gift of Anglo-French friendship, the Apollo Victoria on Wilton Road was designed as a super cinema in the art deco style in the 1930 and opened as the New Victoria
11.
Park Lane
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Park Lane is a major road in the City of Westminster, in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north and it separates Hyde Park to the west from Mayfair to the east. The road has a number of important properties and hotels and has been one of the most sought after streets in London. The road was originally a country lane on the boundary of Hyde Park. Aristocratic properties appeared during the late 18th century, including Breadalbene House, Somerset House, notable residents included the 1st Duke of Westminsters residence at Grosvenor House, the Dukes of Somerset at Somerset House and the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli at No.93. Other historic properties include Dorchester House, Brook House and Dudley House, flats and shops began appearing on the road, including penthouse flats. A number of properties on the road today are owned by some of the wealthiest businessmen from the Middle East, current residents include business mogul Mohamed Al-Fayed and former council leader Dame Shirley Porter. The road has suffered traffic congestion since the mid 19th century. Improved crossings for cyclists appeared in the early 21st century, despite the changes, property prices along the road are still among the highest in London. Its prestigious status has been commemorated by being the second-most expensive property square on the London Monopoly board, Park Lane is about 0.7 miles long, and runs north from Hyde Park Corner to Marble Arch, along the eastern flank of Hyde Park. The road is a route, classified A4202. The street is one of the key bus corridors in Central London. It is used by London bus routes 2,10,13,16,36,73,74,137,148,414,436 and night bus routes N16, N73, N74 and N137. The nearest tube stations are Hyde Park Corner on the Piccadilly line near the southern end. What is now Park Lane was originally a track running along farm boundaries, when Hyde Park was opened in the 16th century, the lane ran north-south along eastern boundary from Piccadilly to Marble Arch. Tyburn Lane took its name from the former Tyburn village which had declined in the 14th century, the Tyburn gallows, or Tyburn Tree, at the end of what is now Park Lane, was Londons primary public place of execution until 1783. In 1741, the Kensington Turnpike Trust took over its maintenance, Breadalbene House was built on the street in 1776. The politician and entrepreneur Richard Sharp, also known as Conversation Sharp, in the 1760s, Londonderry House, on the corner of Park Lane and Hertford Street, was bought by the Sixth Earl of Holdernesse
12.
Edgware Road
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Edgware Road is a major road through north-west London, starting at Marble Arch in the City of Westminster and running north to Edgware in the London Borough of Barnet. It is also a boundary between several North London boroughs, the route has its origins as a Roman road and therefore runs for 10 miles in an almost perfect straight line, which is unusual in London. It is part of the modern A5 road, the road runs north-west from Marble Arch to Edgware on the outskirts of London. It crosses the Harrow Road and Marylebone Road, passing beneath the Marylebone flyover, the road passes through the areas of Maida Vale, Kilburn and Cricklewood. It then crosses the North Circular Road before West Hendon at Staples Corner, after this, the road continues in the same direction, through the Hyde, Colindale, Burnt Oak, and then reaches Edgware. The southernmost part of the Edgware Road forms part of the London Inner Ring Road and as such is part of the boundary of the London congestion charge zone. However, when the zone was extended in February 2007, the became part of the free through routes which allows vehicles to cross the zone during its hours of operation without paying the charge. Along the entire route, it retains its identity as the A5 road under the Great Britain road numbering scheme, the A5 continues beyond the end of the Edgware Road, following the old Roman road for much of its route and terminating at Holyhead, Wales. The name Edgware Road is also used to refer to an area of London. The districts northern boundary is the Marylebone flyover, the postal codes of the area are W1, W2, NW1 and NW2. The part of the road between Marble Arch and the Marylebone Flyover also separates the areas of Marylebone and Bayswater, before the Romans, todays Edgware Road began as an ancient trackway within the Great Middlesex Forest. The Romans later incorporated the track into Watling Street, during the 18th century, it was a destination for Huguenot migrants. By 1811, Thomas Telford produced a re-design for what was known as a section of the London to Holyhead road. Telfords redesign emerged only a year after the area saw the establishment of Great Britains first Indian restaurant, the area began to attract Arab migrants in the late 19th century during a period of increased trade with the Ottoman Empire. They established the present-day mix of bars and shisha cafes, which make the area known to Londoners by nicknames such as Little Cairo and these shisha cafés have been hard hit by the enforcement of the England-wide smoking ban in 2007. One of the two Edgware Road tube stations was one of the sites of the 7 July bombings, a bomb was detonated on a train leaving the tube station serving the Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines and heading for Paddington tube station. Six people were killed in the blast, Colin Morley,52, Jennifer Vanda Ann Nicholson,24, Johnathan Downey,34, Laura Webb,29, Michael Brewster,52, the perpetrator was the ringleader of the 7 July bombings, Mohammed Siddique Khan. On the first anniversary of the bombings, a plaque to the victims was unveiled at the station
