Floral Street is a street located in the Covent Garden

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...

 area of London. It runs east from Garrick Street to Bow Street

Bow Street

Bow Street is a thoroughfare in Covent Garden, Westminster, London. It features as one of the streets on the standard London Monopoly board....

 and contains a number of fashion stores, including Paul Smith

Paul Smith (fashion designer)

Sir Paul Smith jr, RDI, is an English fashion designer, whose business and reputation is founded upon his menswear. He is both commercially successful and highly respected within the fashion industry....

.

History

Originally called Hart Street, it changed to the current name in 1895 to reflect the market trade. However the street itself was mainly used by tradesmen associated with the fruit market. Originally the street was a cul-de-sac

Cul-de-sac

A cul-de-sac is a word of French origin referring to a dead end, close, no through road or court meaning dead-end street with only one inlet/outlet...

 and at its peak during the 18th century there were no fewer than eleven pubs on the road and many illegal brothels.

Floral Street was also the Old Compton Street

Old Compton Street

Old Compton Street runs east-west through Soho, London, England.- History :The street was named after Henry Compton. who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686...

 of its time with a lage gay community, a pillory

Pillory

The pillory was a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse, sometimes lethal...

 stood in the street which was mainly occupied by carousing homosexuals. Due to its narrowness, the street has never been a sought after residential address in comparison to its surroundings, though Joseph Haines

Joseph Haines

Joseph Haines or Jo Haines was a 17th-century actor, singer, dancer, guitar player, fortune teller, and author.The Life of the Late Famous Comedian, Jo...

 lived and died here in 1701.

The main point of architectural note is the helix-shaped walkway which connects the Royal Ballet School

Royal Ballet School

The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...

 with the main opera house building. It was designed by Wilkinson Eyre

Wilkinson Eyre

Wilkinson Eyre Architects is an international architecture firm based in London, England. The firm won the Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize two years in a row...

to represent the fluid grace of the prima ballerina.

External links

• History of Floral Street