The A4200 is a major thoroughfare in
central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...
. It runs between the
A4 at
Aldwych
Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it, in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, and is part of the West End of London, West End West End Theatre, Theatreland. T ...
, to the
A400 Hampstead Road/
Camden High Street
The A400 road is an A roads in Great Britain, A road in London that runs from Charing Cross (near Trafalgar Square, in London's West End of London, West End) to Archway, London, Archway in North London. It passes some of London's most famous l ...
, at
Mornington Crescent tube station, via
Holborn
Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...
,
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
,
Euston and
Somers Town.
Kingsway

Kingsway is a major road in
central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...
, designated as part of the
A4200. It runs from
High Holborn
High Holborn ( ) is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and ...
, at its north end in the
London Borough of Camden
The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...
, and meets
Aldwych
Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it, in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, and is part of the West End of London, West End West End Theatre, Theatreland. T ...
in the south in the
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...
at
Bush House
Bush House is a Grade II listed building at the southern end of Kingsway between Aldwych and the Strand in London, England. It was conceived as a major new trade centre by American industrialist Irving T. Bush, and commissioned, designed, ...
. It was opened by King Edward VII in 1905. Together Kingsway and Aldwych form one of the major north–south routes through central London linking the ancient east–west routes of
High Holborn
High Holborn ( ) is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and ...
and
Strand. The name "King's Way" originally applied to what is now
Theobalds Road, as it was the route that
King James I took when travelling from London to his residence
Theobalds Palace in Hertfordshire.
History
Building the road
The road was purpose-built as part of a major redevelopment of the area in the 1900s. Its route cleared away the maze of small streets in Holborn such as Little Queen Street and the surrounding slum dwellings. However, Holy Trinity Church in Little Queen Street was spared, whereas the
Sardinian Embassy Chapel, an important
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
church attached to the Embassy of the
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...
, was demolished to make way for the new street.
Plans were published by
London County Council
The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
in 1898, authorised by the
London County Council (Improvements) Act 1899 (
62 & 63 Vict. c. cclxvi) and the road was formally opened in 1905. It is one of the broadest streets in central London at wide. There were several proposed names for the new street, including ''King Edward VII Street'', ''Empire Avenue'', ''Imperial Avenue'' and ''Connecticut Avenue''. The name "Kingsway" was in honour of King
Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910.
The second child ...
, who opened the street.
Tramway tunnel
It was unique in containing below it a tunnel for a
tramway, which started just north of Southampton Row, passed beneath Aldwych and continued to the Thames Embankment; this
Kingsway tramway subway joined the North and South London tram systems. In 1958 the disused tunnel was reopened at the southern end to make a new connection, the Strand Underpass, for light traffic between Waterloo Bridge and Kingsway in order to reduce congestion. Also beneath Kingsway was a branch of the
Piccadilly tube line from Holborn to
Aldwych station on the Strand; this was closed in 1994. Aldwych station is still used for television and film sets that require underground scenes. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the branch was used to store art treasures from the
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
, including the
Elgin Marbles
The Elgin Marbles ( ) are a collection of Ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon and other structures from the Acropolis of Athens, removed from Ottoman Greece in the early 19th century and shipped to Britain by agents of Thomas Bruce, 7 ...
.
2015 underground electrical cable fire
On 1 April 2015, electrical cables under the pavement in Kingsway caught fire, leading to serious disruption in central London. The fire continued for the next two days, with flames shooting out of a manhole cover from a burst gas main,
before being extinguished. Several thousand people were evacuated from nearby offices, and several theatres cancelled performances.
[ There was also substantial disruption to telecoms infrastructure. On 8 April, press reports emerged stating that the fire may have been started as part of the 2015 Hatton Garden burglary; however, the investigation into how the fire started stated on 9 April that it came from an electrical fault.
]
Buildings
The original buildings were built between 1903 and 1905. They were mostly mid-rises in stone, and in various styles including neoclassical and neo-Baroque. Many survive but some have been replaced. Notable buildings include:
* 61 Aldwych, previously Television House
Television House is the former name of a building on Kingsway in London. From 1918, it was the base of the Air Ministry. From 1955, the building was the headquarters of Associated-Rediffusion/Rediffusion London, Independent Television News (ITN) ...
, the headquarters of Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...
Television
* Africa House
* Alexandra House
* Aviation House, formerly the Church of the Holy Trinity, in an Edwardian Baroque style.
* Bush House
Bush House is a Grade II listed building at the southern end of Kingsway between Aldwych and the Strand in London, England. It was conceived as a major new trade centre by American industrialist Irving T. Bush, and commissioned, designed, ...
, King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
* Civil Aviation Authority House (formerly known as Space House)
* Kingsway Hall
The Kingsway Hall in Holborn, London, was the base of the West London Mission (WLM) of the Methodist Church, and eventually became one of the most important recording venues for classical music and film music.
It was built in 1912 and demolish ...
, Methodist mission hall opened in 1912; from 1926, the church allowed HMV (EMI from 1931), to use it as a recording studio. In 1944 EMI was joined by Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...
.
* Victory House (the London Central Employment Tribunal)
* York House
* Various buildings of the London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
Transport
Closest London Underground stations
The closest tube stations are Holborn
Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...
, which is at the top of the road, at the junction with High Holborn, as well as Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
, and formerly Aldwych
Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it, in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, and is part of the West End of London, West End West End Theatre, Theatreland. T ...
, which closed in 1994.
Strand Underpass
As part of the redevelopment a tram tunnel was built underneath the road. The trams ceased to run in the 1950s and, since 1961, the southern end of the tunnel has been used by cars under the name of the Strand Underpass
The Strand underpass is a one-way road tunnel in central London connecting Waterloo Bridge to Kingsway, London, Kingsway near Holborn. Opened in 1964, it was built within the former Kingsway tramway subway, which closed in the 1950s. It is open ...
. The northern entrance to the tunnel still exists (with its tram lines still ''in situ,'' see image right) and can be found at the junction of Southampton Row and Vernon Place.
Culture
1909 Edward Elgar song
On 27 December 1909, a song by the English composer Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
, named The King's Way, celebrates the opening of Kingsway. The words are written by his wife, Caroline Alice Elgar. The song was first performed at an Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...
concert on 15 January 1910, sung by Clara Butt
Dame Clara Ellen Butt (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English dramatic contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, ...
.
Southampton Row
Southampton Row is a major thoroughfare running northwest–southeast in Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
, Camden, central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...
, England.
Name
The street was named after Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton. It was previously known as King Street
History
1822 – Henry Hetherington printing press
In 1822, the Chartist Henry Hetherington
Henry Hetherington (June 1792 – 24 August 1849) was an English printer, bookseller, publisher and newspaper proprietor who campaigned for social justice, a free press, universal suffrage and religious freethought. Together with his close asso ...
registered a printing press at 13 Kingsgate Street (a smaller street parallel to King street, but demolished during the 1903-05 Kingsway development). This was an eight-roomed house, including shop and printing premises—at an annual rent of £55. His first published book was in January 1823, and was named Mudie's journal, the ''Political Economist and Universal Philanthropist''.
Pre–1837 – home of Robert William Sievier
The first studio of the sculptor Robert William Sievier (1794–1865) was in Southampton Row until 1837, where he relocated to Henrietta Street, near Cavendish Square
Cavendish Square is a public square, public garden square in Marylebone in the West End of London. It has a double-helix underground commercial car park. Its northern road forms ends of four streets: of Wigmore Street that runs to Portman Square ...
, and he also had a separate residence in Upper Holloway.[Sievier, Robert William (1794-1865)](_blank)
/ref>
1896 – beginning of the Central School of Art & Design
The Central School of Art and Design
The Central School of Art and Design was a school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Crafts.
...
, formerly the Central School of Arts and Crafts
The Central School of Art and Design was a art school, school of fine arts, fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School ...
, was established by the London County Council
The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
in 1896 in Southampton Row to provide specialist art teaching for workers in the craft industries. The architect William Lethaby (1857–1931) was the first Principal, as recorded by a blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
on Southampton Row.
1899 – Sir John Barbirolli was born
Sir John Barbirolli, the conductor and cellist, was born in Southampton Row on 2 December 1899. A commemorative blue plaque was placed on the wall of the Bloomsbury Park Hotel in May 1993 to mark his birthplace.
1907 – Institute of Education moving buildings
In 1907, the Institute of Education
The UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is the faculty of education and society of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior t ...
moved to its first purpose-built building on Southampton Row. In 1938, the Institute moved to the Senate House complex of the University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
on Malet Street, not far away to the northwest.
1933 – Leó Szilárd insight
On 12 September 1933, the Hungarian physicist Leó Szilárd, an exile from Nazi Germany, was crossing Southampton Row at the junction with Russell Square when he conceived the idea of a nuclear chain reaction
In nuclear physics, a nuclear chain reaction occurs when one single nuclear reaction causes an average of one or more subsequent nuclear reactions, thus leading to the possibility of a self-propagating series or "positive feedback loop" of thes ...
, which led directly to the development of nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
s and nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
.
1953 – beginning of the Sue Ryder Care charity
The Sue Ryder Care
Sue Ryder is a British palliative and bereavement support charity based in the United Kingdom. Formed as The Sue Ryder Foundation in 1953 by World War II Special Operations Executive volunteer Sue Ryder, the organisation provides care and supp ...
charity, established in 1953, is registered at 114–118 Southampton Row.
1953 - bookshop opening
Also in 1953, John Cass opened a bookshop on Southampton Row, where he began publishing books and journals which were acquired by Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research and Dovepress. It i ...
in 2003.
1966 – Indica Bookshop and Indica Gallery separation
In 1966, the Indica Bookshop was separated from the Indica Gallery
The Indica Gallery was a counterculture art gallery
An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first us ...
, a counterculture art gallery supported by Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
, and moved to 102 Southampton Row in the summer of that year.
Today
a major route for buses, the street once formed part of a tram
A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
route that included a tunnel for trams.
Woburn Place and Upper Woburn Place
Woburn Place is a street in central London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England, named after Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...
, home to the Dukes of Bedford who developed much of Bloomsbury. It is located in the Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
area of Camden.
Surroundings
To the north is Tavistock Square
Tavistock Square is a public square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden near Euston Station.
History
Tavistock Square was built shortly after 1806 by the property developer James Burton and the master builder Thomas Cubitt for Fr ...
and to the south-east is Russell Square
Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton (property developer), James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Mus ...
. Past Tavistock Square the road becomes Upper Woburn Place until the junction with Euston Road
Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to Kings Cross, London, King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston ...
. The Royal National Hotel building is located in the south-west side of Woburn Place north of Russell Square, with 1,630 rooms on eight floors, is the largest hotel in the UK. The British Medical Association
The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...
building is at the junction of Upper Woburn Place with Tavistock Square.
Property values
Property values are high in this area. For example, in 2005 a freehold office building at 19–29 Woburn Place (9,400 m2, 101,000 sq ft) was sold for £22.6 million.
7 July 2005 bombing
On 7 July 2005, a suicide bomb planted by 18-year-old Hasib Hussain detonated aboard a double decker bus
A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are used primarily for commuter transport, but Open top bus, open-top models are used as sightseeing buses for tourists, and there are Coach (bus), coaches too for long-d ...
passing Tavistock Square as it was travelling from Marble Arch
The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 as the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today th ...
to Oxford Circus on route 30, killing 13 passengers, plus Hussain himself. The bus had been diverted to Woburn Place due to road closures resulting from the earlier bombings.
Eversholt Street
Eversholt Street is a street in the London Borough of Camden
The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...
in London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England. It lies in Somers Town, London
Somers Town is an inner-city district in North West London. It has been strongly influenced by the three mainline north London railway termini: Euston (1838), St Pancras (1868) and King's Cross (1852), together with the Midland Railway Some ...
: stretching a kilometre from Euston railway station
Euston railway station ( ; or London Euston) is a major London station group, central London railway terminus and Euston tube station, connected London Underground station managed by Network Rail in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sout ...
in the south to Camden Town
Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London.
Laid out as a residential distri ...
in the north.
Route
Eversholt Street starts at Euston Road
Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to Kings Cross, London, King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston ...
, between Euston Square Gardens and Euston Fire Station. It travels north, including Euston House, the grade-II listed Royal George, the grade-II listed 64 Eversholt Street, the grade-II listed Church of St Mary the Virgin, the grade-II listed Eversholt House, and Camden Council's The Crowndale Centre which includes Camden Town Library. It joins Camden High Street at Mornington Crescent station. It also includes a controversial strip bar that is the subject of many articles in local newspapers.
History
The road was laid out in the 1810s as part of the Bedford Estate. It was called "Seymour Street", as shown in the map to the right, until 1938 when it was renamed. It took its new name from Eversholt which is a village in Bedfordshire (which comes from Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
meaning "wood of the wild boar") near Ampthill
Ampthill () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It lies between Bedford, Bedfordshire, Bedford and Luton. At the 2021 census it had a population of 8,825.
Histor ...
, which gave its name to Ampthill Square nearby, and follows a theme of names related to the Duke of Bedford
Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1414 for Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of Fran ...
. It in turn gives its name to Eversholt Rail Group.
See also
* Kingsway telephone exchange, an underground telephone exchange in Chancery Lane.
* List of eponymous roads in London
* Southampton Street, Westminster, London
* Sicilian Avenue, Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
, London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
* Woburn Square
* Woburn Walk
References
{{reflist
Roads in London