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Central London
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The term Central London refers to the districts of London which are considered closest to the centre. There is no conventional definition, nor any official one, for the entire area that can be called "central London". Central London covers about 10 square miles (26 square kilometres) on both areas of north-south River Thames. Central London can be split into three main sections, the City, the West End, and South Bank. The South Bank stretches over the river from these regions.
starting point in considering what "Central London" means, it is important to recognise that London does not consist of a small high rise core surrounded by a belt of very low density districts.
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Encyclopedia
The term Central London refers to the districts of London which are considered closest to the centre. There is no conventional definition, nor any official one, for the entire area that can be called "central London". Central London covers about 10 square miles (26 square kilometres) on both areas of north-south River Thames. Central London can be split into three main sections, the City, the West End, and South Bank. The South Bank stretches over the river from these regions.
Pattern of settlement
As a starting point in considering what "Central London" means, it is important to recognise that London does not consist of a small high rise core surrounded by a belt of very low density districts. The situation is more complex. The section of London that is of an urban, as opposed to a suburban, character is very extensive, encompassing most of the districts built before 1914. Before World War I, most London housing, including housing in the most expensive districts, was terraced. Low-density suburbs were first built in the early 19th century, but they did not become predominant for another hundred years.
During the 20th century, and especially in the decades after World War II, the size of the fashionable central area of London shrank considerably as the old aristocratic London elite faded away and many members of the middle classes decided that living close to the city centre was no longer appealing. At that time, government planners often had a negative view of urban life as well, and a large amount of housing in central London had been destroyed during World War II. Thus, many members of the working class were induced to move out of the city centre as well, either to suburban developments around London or to new towns further afield. However, since the 1980s, many of these areas have become gentrified, and they are regarded as desirable areas of central London once again. A very large section of urban West London still contains areas which are extremely expensive to live in. These areas are Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Brompton, Kensington, Chelsea, South Kensington, Fulham, Belgravia, Holland Park, Notting Hill, St John's Wood, Marylebone and Soho.
Changing definition
Introduction of postal districts
In 1858 London was divided into postal districts in order to aid the forwarding of mail items. The two most central districts were "EC" - East Central which broadly covered the City of London and "WC" - West Central which covered the area immediately west of there as far as Charing Cross Road and Tottenham Court Road.
Coming of the railways
When the railways were first constructed in London during the latter 1800s an area of central London was defined by government and railway lines were not permitted to pass beyond it, at least not above ground. The restrictions were relaxed a little and the new, more central, terminals were constructed at Waterloo (replacing Nine Elms), Fenchurch Street (Minories) and Liverpool Street (Bishopsgate). This created the ring of terminal stations which still exists today. The railways were thus instrumental in both enabling the rapid expansion of London and also helped to reinforce the boundary of the central area.
1901 census
The 1901 census defined the central area as consisting of St George's, Hanover Square, Westminster, Marylebone, St Giles, Strand, Holborn, London City, Shoreditch and St Olave, Southwark.
Modern times
In the late 1970s the population of Greater London was at its lowest level since the 1920s, and "central London" might have included:
These five districts all contain dense concentrations of characteristically metropolitan activities: major corporate offices; buildings housing the functions of the state; universities; professional institutions; large scale retailing, including department stores; museums, libraries, theatres, concert halls and other important entertainment facilities. They also have a large amount of housing, some of that in the private sector being among the most expensive in the world.
Since 1970s there has been a long term trend for the number of districts in London which can credibly be considered part of "central London" to increase. Some non-residential land uses in London, such as offices and hotels, have become more widely distributed, but these new candidate districts for "central London" status tend to be more residential than the core districts listed above.
The Central London Partnership covers six London boroughs plus the City, the boroughs are: Camden, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Southwark, and Westminster. In December 2005 the London Development Agency published a draft 'Central London Tourism Strategy' covering the Central London Partnership area. It excluded the City of London but said that its 'central importance' would be taken into account as part of the strategy.
South Bank and its environs
London began on the north bank of the Thames, and its centre of gravity is still strongly on that side of the river, but a wide range of major buildings and facilities have been built south of the river in recent decades. The South Bank and Bankside areas are now accepted as being part of "central London", and some people would include other districts on this side of the river as well.
The East End
Although much of the East End of London is completely urban in character, compared to the West End of London it has historically been the poorer side of the city. With extensive redevelopment, social change and rising land values this contrast has been reduced.
Inner suburbs
To the west and north west of the core districts listed above there is a ring of fashionable mainly Victorian and primarily residential districts around all four sides of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, such as Holland Park and Notting Hill. Some people consider all of these districts to be part of "central London". Similar claims would also be made by many for the fashionable north western districts as far out as Hampstead.
Central London and Inner London
Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. The area was first officially defined in 1965 and for purposes such as statistics, the definition has changed over time.
Use of Inner London in some contexts can carry negative connotations and be used only to describe those inner-city areas affected by poverty, crime, and social problems while Central London carries more prestigious connotations and is used in terms of business, entertainment, tourism and desirable housing. In this context it is suggested that Central London is surrounded by Inner London and not part of it.
It is important to note that unlike in some major cities in the United States and elsewhere, these two faces of urban life are intermingled. There is social housing in almost all of the prestigious central London districts, even Mayfair, and nowadays expensive private housing is often built in poor neighbourhoods where most of the existing occupants live in social housing without these poorer occupants being moved elsewhere. All sorts of people live cheek-by-jowl in London, though often without having much contact with people outside of their own group.
Other definitions
Maps
The Geographer's A-Z Street Atlas and other map sources often include a section covering central London at an increased scale. The area chosen as central may vary.
Transport
- The area inside the Circle Line of the London Underground. This is a fairly wide definition in the western areas, but entirely ignores any districts south of the Thames and the recent expansion of central activities to part of the East End of London, with the development of Docklands. Thus it is probably not used as much as it was some years ago.
- Travelcard Zone 1 in the public transport system, which is a little more generous, taking in some areas to the south of the Thames. Although the zones are not perfectly circular, the approximate centre for zone 1 is slightly southwest of Piccadilly Circus station.
- Central London 'Journey Planner' maps in tube carriages show a varying area as central.
- The congestion charging zone.
Postal districts
The East Central and West Central postal district created in 1858 which were further divided in 1917 into the modern EC1, EC2, EC3, EC4, WC1 and WC2 London postal districts. These do not reflect changes in perceptions which have occurred since then, and they were perhaps not intended to define "Central London" for general purposes even then. An area closer to a typical modern definition of Central London can be arrived at by combining the aforementioned districts with the head districts of the other sectors e.g. W1.
Parlance
One way of identifying which areas are central is the language used to describe them by Londoners. When describing non-central areas the relevant place name is used. When the central area is being referred to it is most commonly called 'The City' for the City of London and 'Town', 'West End' or 'West' for the central shopping, entertainment and business districts outside the City. One might be 'going up to Town' if shopping on Oxford Street or Bond Street but not if shopping on the Kings Road.
Phone codes
In passing, it should be noted that it is thought by some that, if a telephone number begins with 020 7, it may be assumed to be located in Central London. This, however, is not always the case.
Central activities zone
The Central Activities Zone (CAZ): This is a term used in the London Plan, which derives in its turn from definitions used in the local plans of the various boroughs whose areas form part of Central London. It covers only those areas with a very high concentration of metropolitan activities, generally those where 50 per cent or more of each street block is in commercial use. This results in a small and extremely irregularly shaped area.
Charing Cross
On a traffic island at the southern end of Trafalgar Square was the original Charing Cross, where the Strand from the City met Whitehall, coming north from Westminster. The site is now occupied by an equestrian statue of Charles I, behind which a plaque states:
On the site now occupied by the statue of King Charles was erected the original Queen Eleanor's Cross, a replica of which stands in front of Charing Cross station. Mileages from London are measured from the site of the original cross.
The original cross was erected on one of twelve places where Queen Eleanor's body rested on its procession from Lincoln to Westminster Abbey. An ornate reconstruction of 1863 now stands in the forecourt of the station. By convention, distances from London, that appear on road signs, are still measured from the original Charing Cross.
London boroughs
With the exception of the "square mile" of the City of London, the London boroughs all include some districts which would not be considered to be part of "central London" at least by some of the stricter definitions. London boroughs can be defined in terms of 'inner' or 'outer' London, but cannot be defined as central or otherwise. However, the London Plan in 2004 defined the Central London sub-region as comprising the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Camden, Islington, Wandsworth, Lambeth, Southwark and the City of Westminster, omitting the City of London itself.
Summary of districts
The City of London is taken as being entirely and undisputedly central. Here follow some districts which are also commonly thought of as central and some fringe cases that are sometimes considered so.
| London borough | Districts considered central | Fringes |
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| London Borough of Tower Hamlets | Tower Hill | Whitechapel, Wapping |
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| London Borough of Hackney | Shoreditch, Old Street | North and east of City Road |
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| London Borough of Islington | Clerkenwell | North of the Angel, Islington |
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| London Borough of Camden | Holborn, Bloomsbury, Fitzrovia | North of Euston Road, Kings Cross, Camden Town |
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| City of Westminster | All except north west | Bayswater, St John's Wood, Maida Vale |
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| Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea | Chelsea, Knightsbridge | Kensington, Notting Hill, Earl's Court |
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| London Borough of Lambeth | South Bank, Waterloo, North Lambeth | Vauxhall, Kennington |
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| London Borough of Southwark | The Borough | Elephant & Castle, Bermondsey, Walworth |
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External links
- - the scale has been selected for convenience only and the map edges do not correspond with any definition of central London. By some definitions central London extends beyond the edges of this map, especially to the east, where Canary Wharf is off the map. The black and white square just above centre is at Charing Cross.
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