A walk around Holborn
A stroll around the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2
(Photos/words © urban75, 9th Sept, 2007)
A Saturday afternoon walk around the legal heart of central London.
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-01.jpg) The New London Theatre on Drury Lane. Opened in 1973, the theatre seats 960 people on two levels.
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-02.jpg) Boarded up windows, Whetstone Park, near Lincoln's Inn Fields.
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-27.jpg) On the corner of Serle Street and Carey St can be seen this memorial to Thomas Moore (1478-1535), Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII.
The stone sculpture was created by Robert Smith (no, not the bloke from The Cure) in 1866.
Moore's 1516 book, 'Utopia' is a must-read!
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-28.jpg) A little further down Carey Street is the Seven Stars which has served thirsty folks from the Royal Courts of Justice for centuries.
Thought to have been built around 1602 and originally known as the Leg and Seven Stars, the pub retains a unique charm and character and is well worth a visit.
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-29.jpg) Another view of the Seven Stars.
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-30.jpg) Extremely fancy gate leading to New Square which, unsurprisingly, leads on to Old Square.
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![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-31.jpg) List of barristers. Mostly blokes, natch.
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-32.jpg) Walking down Bell Yard. The bell you can see hanging from the building on the right is disappointingly not a working one.
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-34.jpg) Intricate ironwork at the entrance to the Law Courts Branch of the Lloyds Bank.
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-35.jpg) Looking closer, you can see the design incorporates a bee hive.
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-36.jpg) The Royal Courts of Justice (commonly called the Law Courts) on the Strand.
Built in the Victorian Gothic style by George Edmund Street in the 1870s, the courts were opened by Queen Victoria in December 1882.
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-37.jpg) Monument to Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), dictionary compiler and friend of Boswell.
The memorial stands outside St Clement Danes Church on the Strand and was sculpted by Percy Fitzgerald in 1910.
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-38.jpg) Whitby & Co opticians at 29 Fleet Street.
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-39.jpg) Sir William Walworth statue at Holborn Viaduct.
Sculpted in 1868, the memorial pays tribute to the former Sheriff and then Lord Major of London (1374).
Enraged by his attitude towards the King, Walworth killed the leader of the Peasant's Revolt, Wat Tyler in 1381.
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-40.jpg) One of those buildings that make you wish you could get the same bonkers drugs that made the architect think this messy metal thing at 6, New Street Square was a great idea.
![A walk around Holborn, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Law Courts and the Strand, London WC2](images/holborn-london-41.jpg) The slender lines of the Ye Olde Cock Tavern, Fleet Street.
The narrowest building in Fleet Street, it was originally located on the other side of the road until being replaced by a branch of the Bank of England in 1887.
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