Ludgate Circus
| Ludgate Circus | |
|---|---|
 Ludgate Circus pictured in 2006 | |
| Location | |
| London, United Kingdom | |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: 51°30′51.00″N 0°06′15.97″W / 51.5141667°N 0.1044361°W |
| Roads at junction: | Ludgate Hill, Fleet Street, Farringdon Street and New Bridge Street |
| Construction | |
| Type: | Intersection |
| Opened: | Between 1864 and 1875 |
Ludgate Circus is a road junction in the City of London where Farringdon Street and New Bridge Street (together forming part of the A201 road) cross Fleet Street and Ludgate Hill (which rises up to St. Paul's Cathedral).
Historically the main connection between the City of London and the City of Westminster, Ludgate Circus is situated on the course of the River Fleet, London's largest subterranean river. The circle of Ludgate Circus was constructed between 1864 and 1875 using Haytor granite from Dartmoor in Devon transported via the unique Haytor Granite Tramway.
In Charles Dickens' Dictionary of London (1879) the area was described as "Farringdon-circus".[1]
Etymology
The name Ludgate, according to Stow in his 1760 Survey of London, is thought to derive from an old gate - the sixth and principal gate of London. Other ideas for the name are corruptions of Floodgate or Fleetgate.[2]
Stations
Had the Fleet line of the London Underground been built, it would have had a station at Ludgate Circus. However, the Fleet line's proposed route evolved into the Jubilee line which went south of the River Thames before reaching Ludgate Circus. In 1990 however, a City Thameslink station was opened on the site of the proposed Ludgate Circus station.
See also
References
- ↑ "Victorian London - Districts- Streets - Ludgate Hill". The Dictionary of Victorian London. Retrieved 4 Aug 2013.
- ↑ "Victorian London - Publications - History - The Queen's London : a Pictorial and Descriptive Record of the Streets, Buildings, Parks and Scenery of the Great Metropolis, 1896 - Ludgate Circus". The Dictionary of Victorian London. Retrieved 4 Aug 2013.