Comments on: The GLC and how they Nearly Destroyed Covent Garden

By: David Bieda

David Bieda — Mon, 03 May 2021 09:47:49 +0000

Hello,
Lot of very interesting material & comments.
Might you have a large version of the CG development map on your site which the Seven Dials Trust could use as we have not seen that one before?
Also I would like to contact Lawrence who commented above as I used to live at No 1 Shorts Gardens.
Thanks,
Dsvid Bieda

By: Kate McFadden

Kate McFadden — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 16:50:39 +0000

Hello,

The chair of my company is writing a book and I wondered if you had any high res images of the covent garden redevelopment plan and model we could use?

Thanks
Kate

By: Nat Bocking

Nat Bocking — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 17:50:02 +0000

You may already know that Ellen Keeley’s descendants continue in the barrow trade today, renting market barrows and many other wonderful things as a major prop hire company Keeley Hire.

By: Emily Davies

Emily Davies — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 14:55:02 +0000

Really interested to read about this history of Covent Garden market as I’m keen to help my husband trace some family members who had a fruit And veg stall at the market – pre and post war, he used to box as well so wondered if it was the place mentioned above on Neal Street?
His name is Jackie Jacobs – can anyone help?

By: Bryan Boese

Bryan Boese — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 15:27:11 +0000

For an idea of what CG would look like see The Travel Lodge on Drury Lane which was the first of the development – its underground car park was originally excavated as a road tunnel and then aborted.

By: How To Live The 1960s In The London Of 2015 | UnilagMusic UK

How To Live The 1960s In The London Of 2015 | UnilagMusic UK — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 12:42:00 +0000

[...] blank-faced planners were yanking down Victorian tenements, Euston Arch, and were thinking of doing the same to Covent Garden. Still, some unlikely 60s gems just about save the day; try your luck getting up the BT Tower [...]

By: Blind Chivvy. | The London Column

Blind Chivvy. | The London Column — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 09:30:12 +0000

[...] large rooms, their Regency elegance constituting an act of defiance: as late as 1978, the threat of wholesale demolition still loomed over Covent Garden. The house is still someone’s home; perhaps the most desirable [...]

By: 28 Photos Later: Day 20 in London | distant drumlin

28 Photos Later: Day 20 in London | distant drumlin — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 05:34:28 +0000

[...] Click here for an article about the history of Covent Garden, including a photo of Ellen Keeley̵…. [...]

By: Lawrence

Lawrence — Tue, 06 May 2014 00:33:23 +0000

33 Neal Street used to have a boxing ring in the basement.John Contis corner man John(Nutty)Phillips lived with his family at 37 Neal St.We lived at 1 Shorts Gardens.A magical place where everyone had a nickname.
My great grandfather Bill Phillips used to rent out stalls outside the Coliseum for people to sit on whilst waiting to get in.

By: Michael Coates

Michael Coates — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 20:39:36 +0000

If you want an alternative to the conservation project to save Covent Garden, try Brian’s Anson’s “I’ll Fight You for It! : Behind the Struggle for Covent Garden” (ISBN 13: 9780224017954) Anson recounts his experience as former GLC planner, his rebellion and work in the working-class community’s doomed attempt to preserve their way of life.
Incredibly rare and expensive if you wanted to buy it, but the British Library have a copy.