Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

, almost entirely within the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and S ...

. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south;

Tottenham Court Road tube station Tottenham Court Road is a London Underground and Elizabeth line station in St Giles in the West End of London. The station is served by the Central line, the Elizabeth line and the branch of the Northern line. The station is located at St Gil ...

lies just beyond the southern end of the road. Historically a market street, it became known for selling electronics and

white goods A major appliance, also known as a large domestic appliance or large electric appliance or simply a large appliance, large domestic, or large electric, is a non-portable or semi-portable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cookin ...

in the 20th century. The street takes its name from the manor (estate) of ''Tottenham Court'', whose lands lay toward the north and west of the road, in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of St Pancras. ''Tottenham Court'' was not directly connected to the district of

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...

in the London Borough of Haringey.

Geography

Centre Point under renovation from Tottenham Court Road

Tottenham Court Road runs from Euston Road in the north, to St Giles Circus (the junction of Oxford Street and

Charing Cross Road Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street) and then becomes Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direction ...

) at its southern end. The road lies almost entirely within the

near its boundary with the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a city and borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of central Greater London, including most of the West En ...

, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km). South of Torrington Place (originally Francis Street) the road marks the traditional boundary of the parishes of St Pancras (of which the manor of Tottenham Court was part) to the west, and St Giles to the east (Due to long-standing shared administrative arrangements, St Giles is often described as a part of

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest ...

). North of Torrington Place both sides of the road are in St Pancras. The term Fitzrovia was first coined in the late 1930s as an informal description for some of the surrounding area. Tottenham Court Road is sometimes used to distinguish Fitzrovia to the west from

to the east (St Giles often being thought of as part of Bloomsbury). Fitzrovia has never had any formal limits applied, and its informal extent is sometimes also said to extend further east to Gower Street, thus potentially overlapping with the more formal definitions applied to St Giles and Bloomsbury. The south end of the road is close to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

and to

Centre Point Centre Point is a building in Central London, comprising a 34-storey tower; a 9-storey block to the east including shops, offices, retail units and maisonettes; and a linking block between the two at first-floor level. It occupies 101–103 ...

, the West End's tallest building. There are a number of buildings belonging to

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

along the road, and

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lon ...

is near the north end of the road.

History

The origin of the road's name is that it is the road to the Manor of Tottenham Court. The manor house lay just to the north of the road's junction with Euston Road.

Manor of Tottenham Court

The first surviving record of the manor is, as Þottanheale, from a charter from around AD 1000. The initial 'Þ' (pronounced 'th') may have been a mistake by the scribe, who should perhaps have used a 'T': all subsequent records use an initial 'T'. The manor was subsequently described as ''Totehele'' in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086. The area was described as ''Totenhale'' in 1184 and ''Totenhale Court'' by 1487. Although the road's name has a similar word root to

in the London Borough of Haringey, the two are not directly related. St Giles parish, London 1804

The Manor occupied the south-western part of the parish of St Pancras, whose boundaries are now used to delineate most of the south-west of the wider modern

, of which St Pancras is the principal component. South of Torrington Place, ''Tottenham Court'' (and therefore St Pancras) lay between Tottenham Court Road and what is now the borough boundary with the

. North of Torrington Place ''Tottenham Court'' (and hence also St Pancras) occupied both the east and west sides of the road. The manor house lay just to the north of what is now Euston Road (which wasn't built until 1756). The manor is mentioned in the

as belonging to the Dean and Chapter of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

. In the time of Henry III (1216–1272), a manor house slightly north-west of what is now the corner of Tottenham Court Road and Euston Road belonged to one William de Tottenhall. In about the 15th century, the area was known variously as Totten, Totham, or Totting Hall. After changing hands several times, the manor was leased for 99 years to

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen ...

, and it came to be popularly called Tottenham Court. In 1639, the land was leased to

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

until his execution ten years later, when it was sold to Ralph Harrison. It regained Crown ownership upon the

Restoration of the Monarchy Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration *Restoration ecology ...

, where it was given a 41-year lease to Charles II.

Urbanisation

The manor became the property of the Fitzroys, who built Fitzroy Square on a part of the manor estate towards the end of the 18th century. There was a manor house at the northwest end of the road, which subsequently became the Adam and Eve pub. This was demolished to build the Euston Tower. Tottenham Court Road had become a place of entertainment by the mid-17th century. In 1645, three people were fined for drinking on a Sunday. A Gooseberry Fair was held sporadically throughout the century and featured numerous booths with street entertainers. The Horse Shoe Brewery was established in 1764 on the junction of Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street. The current Horseshoe pub was built in the 19th century. Whitefield's Tabernacle was built in 1756 for the Reverend George Whitefield, and subsequently became the world's largest Methodist church after it was extended in 1760. It was rebuilt in 1857 after being destroyed by fire, and again in 1888 after the building collapsed. It was bombed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and rebuilt as the Memorial Chapel. Tottenham Court Road was predominantly rural in nature until well into the 19th century. When

Heal's Heal's ("Heal and Son Ltd") is a British furniture retail company comprising seven stores, selling a range of furniture, lighting and home accessories. For over two centuries, it has been known for promoting modern design and employing t ...

was established on former farmland, the lease stipulated there must be appropriate accommodation for 40 cows. These cowsheds were destroyed in a fire in 1877. A 17th century farmhouse at the rear of No. 196 Tottenham Court Road was demolished in 1917.

Fairyland shooting range

Fairyland, 92 Tottenham Court Road London circa 1905

During the period leading up to and during World War I, an amusement arcade that contained a miniature rifle shooting range called Fairyland was at No. 92 Tottenham Court Road. In 1909, Madan Lal Dhingra practised shooting here prior to his assassination of Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie. Other residents of India House and members of

Abhinav Bharat Abhinav Bharat is a Hindu militant organization founded by retired Indian Army Major Ramesh Upadhyay in 2006 in Pune, India. It has a large base in Madhya Pradesh. The organization is believed to be the revived form of the pre-Independence era Ab ...

practised shooting at the range and rehearsed assassinations they planned to carry out. Also in 1909 it was reported in a police investigation that the range was being used by two

Suffragettes A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to member ...

in a possible conspiracy to assassinate prime minister

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

. It was also where Donald Lesbini shot Alice Eliza Storey. ''R v Lesbini'' (1914) was a case establishing in

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

that with regard to voluntary manslaughter a reasonable man always has reasonable powers of self-control and is never intoxicated. The shooting range was owned and run by Henry Stanton Morley (1875-1916).

Transport

The road was, for many years, a one-way street: all three lanes were northbound only; the corresponding southbound traffic used the parallel Gower Street, to the east. The new two-way traffic flows on Tottenham Court Road and the surrounding streets were fully completed in March 2021. The road is served by three stations on the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

—from south to north these are Tottenham Court Road, Goodge Street and

Warren Street Warren Street is a street in the London Borough of Camden that runs from Cleveland Street in the west to Tottenham Court Road in the east. Warren Street tube station is located at the eastern end of the street. History The street is crossed b ...

—and by numerous bus routes. When it opens, the Elizabeth line is expected to increase passenger traffic at Tottenham Court Road station by 40 percent. On 3 June 2014 Camden Council announced plans to reserve the road for buses and bicycles only, during daylight hours from Monday to Saturday. The council claimed it would make the street safer and boost business ahead of the opening of the new Crossrail station. The current one-way system would be replaced with two-way traffic flows. Wider pavements, cycle lanes and safer pedestrian crossings would also be installed as part of the £26m plan. As of Spring 2019, Tottenham Court Road has been 2-way, with buses, cycles and motorbikes permitted to use the southbound road towards the junction towards (New) Oxford Street.

Economy

Entertainment

The Dominion Theatre opened in 1929, on the site of the old Horseshoe Brewery on Tottenham Court Road. It became a cinema in 1932, before reverting to being a theatre. It has a capacity of 2,000. The UK flagship location of the

Spearmint Rhino Spearmint Rhino is a chain of strip clubs that operates venues throughout the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. The first Spearmint Rhino was located in Upland, California. Operations John Gray is the founder & CEO of Spearmint ...

is located in this street.

Retail

Tottenham Court Road is a significant shopping street, best known for its high concentration of

consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic ( analog or digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usuall ...

shops, which range from shops specialising in cables and computer components to those dealing in package computers and audio-video systems. Further north there are several furniture shops, including

Habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

and

. Another well-known store was the furniture maker Maple & Co. In the 1950s and 1960s, Tottenham Court Road and a few of the adjoining streets became well known for stores selling

surplus radio and electronics equipment and all kinds of electro-mechanical and radio parts. Shops such as Proops Brothers (established in 1946) lined both sides of the road at that time. By the 1960s they were also selling Japanese transistor radios, audio mixers and other electronic gadgets. Many British-made

valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fitting ...

stereos were offered too. In the early twenty-first century, the growth of e-commerce has reduced the importance of electronics retailing in the area, and cafes and fashion stores like

Primark Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland) is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It has stores across Europe and in the United States. The Penneys brand is not us ...

have become more prevalent. Whilst Tottenham Court Road still has some specialist furniture and electronics retailers, it is becoming more of a general business district. However, some of the original electronics stores on Tottenham Court Road still trade, such as House of Computers, well known in the area for offering a range of computers and accessories.

Whitfield Gardens

Opposite Habitat and Heal's is a small public open space called Whitfield Gardens, built on the former site of a chapel. On the side of a house is a painting, the "Fitzrovia Mural", which is about 20 metres (over 60 feet) high and shows many people at work and at leisure. It was painted in 1980 in a style resembling that of Diego Rivera. The mural has suffered from neglect and has been daubed with graffiti. There is a proposal to restore the mural after the current works to renovate the gardens are completed. In 2005, 12 so-called "Our Glass" panels were erected in the gardens. Each is about five feet (1.5 m) high, with two sides showing a

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...

of people associated with the area, from satirical cartoonist Hogarth to the popular singer

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

. There is a 13th panel showing an index of the people depicted.

In popular culture

Art

William Hogarth's painting '' The March of the Guards to Finchley'' is set outside the Adam and Eve at the northwest end of Tottenham Court Road.

Music

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

played many early concerts at the UFO Club at 31 Tottenham Court Road where they were the house band. The road is referred to in the lyrics of

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwo ...

's ''

Born Slippy .NUXX "Born Slippy .NUXX" is a song by British electronic music group Underworld. It was first released as the B-side to "Born Slippy", in May 1995. The fragmented lyrics, by vocalist Karl Hyde, describe the perspective of an alcoholic. After it w ...

''. The Kinks reference the road in their song ''Denmark Street'' (1970).

The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse" ...

mention Tottenham Court Road in the song ''Transmetropolitan'' (1984), written by

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGo ...

. David Gray references Tottenham Court Road in the song ''Everytime'' on his 1996 album '' Sell, Sell, Sell.''

Books

Tottenham Court Road is mentioned in many works of

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a tradi ...

. It is featured briefly in ''

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the seventh and final novel of the main ''Harry Potter'' series. It was released on 21 July 2007 in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury Publ ...

'' by J.K. Rowling when Harry and his friends are escaping from Death Eaters; in Robert Golbraith’s CB Strike mystery series it is featured in the first five novels; in Diana Gabaldon’s The Fiery Cross novel (Outlander series) it is featured in character Roger McKenzie’s flashback/forward of 1960s London; '' The Woman in White'' by Wilkie Collins; in '' Mrs. Dalloway'' by

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born ...

; in '' Postern of Fate'' by

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fiction ...

; in '' Pygmalion'' by

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

and its musical adaptation, '' My Fair Lady''; in ''

Saturday Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The da ...

'' and '' Atonement'' by

Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan, (born 21 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of th ...

. It is also mentioned in several ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

'' stories by Sir

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

; in the Saki story ''Reginald on Christmas Presents''; several stories by John Collier; in ''

A Room with a View ''A Room with a View'' is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian era England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a humorous critique of English society a ...

'' by E.M. Forster; in '' The London Eye Mystery'' by

Siobhan Dowd Siobhan Dowd (4 February 1960 – 21 August 2007) was a British writer and activist. The last book she completed, '' Bog Child'', posthumously won the 2009 Carnegie Medal from the professional librarians, recognising the year's best book fo ...

; in ''The Late Mr Elvesham'' and '' The Invisible Man''The Invisible Man, Chapter 21 and 22 by H. G. Wells; in ''The Wish House'' by

Celia Rees Celia Rees (born 17 June 1949) is an English author. Celia Rees was born in Solihull, West Midlands and attended Tudor Grange Grammar School for Girls. She studied History and Politics at Warwick University and has a PGCE and a master's ...

; in the short story ''Rumpole and the Judge's Elbow'' from the book '' Rumpole's Last Case'' by

John Mortimer Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for novels about a barrister named Horace Rumpole. Early life Mortimer was born in Hampstead, London ...

; in a The Matrix-based story, ''Goliath'', by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gra ...

. It features often in novels by Mark Billingham and in ''

The Lonely Londoners ''The Lonely Londoners'' is a 1956 novel by Trinidadian author Samuel Selvon. Its publication was one of the first to focus on poor, working-class black people following the enactment of the British Nationality Act 1948 alongside George Lamming' ...

'' by Sam Selvon. Sherlock Holmes once said that he purchased his Stradivarius from "a Jew broker in the Tottenham Court Road."

Films

It is mentioned briefly as the location where 'I' was allegedly arrested for ' toilet trading' in the 1986 Bruce Robinson cult-classic movie '' Withnail and I''. Mrs. Eynsford-Hill, Freddy's mother, lives in Tottenham Court Road, according to Professor Henry Higgins ('' My Fair Lady''). Also,

is where one person becomes victim to the werewolf's rampage in '' An American Werewolf In London''.

Musicals

In the Lerner- Loewe musical '' My Fair Lady'', Tottenham Court Road is mentioned as the place where Eliza Doolittle sells her flowers.

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musical ...

's musical ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members o ...

'' references the area in the song ''Grizabella the Glamour Cat'', the lyrics coming from an unpublished poem fragment by T. S. Eliot. Tottenham Court Road station was replicated as part of the set for the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

musical '' We Will Rock You'', which played at the Dominion Theatre between 2002 and 2014, directly above the actual Underground station.

References

Citations Sources * * *

External links

* {{Authority control