Editing West End of London (section)

==History==
[[File:Oxford Street (geograph 4949395).jpg|thumb|Oxford Street, one of the main West End shopping areas]]
[[File:Map of the West End of London.png|thumb|Londons West End and immediate vicinity]]
[[Medieval]] [[London]] comprised two adjacent cities – the [[City of London]] in the east, and the [[City of Westminster]] in the west.

[[File:Temple-bar-griffin.jpg|thumb|left|175px|Dragon statue on the [[Temple Bar, London|Temple Bar]] monument, which marks the boundary between the City of Westminster and [[City of London]]]]
[[File:Aldwych Theatre 2.jpg|thumb|left|Aldwych Theatre in London Theatreland]]
Over time they came to form the centre of modern London, although each kept its own distinct character and its separate legal identity (for example, the City of London has its own police force and is a distinct [[county]]). The City of London became a centre for the banking, financial, legal and professional sectors, while Westminster became associated with the leisure, shopping, commerce, and entertainment sectors, the government, and home to [[university|universities]] and [[embassy|embassies]]. The modern West End is closely associated with this area of central London.

Lying to the west of the historic [[Londinium|Roman]] and medieval City of London, the West End was long favoured by the rich elite as a place of residence because it was usually upwind of the smoke drifting from the crowded City.<ref>Robert O. Bucholz and Joseph P. Ward: ''London: A Social and Cultural History, 1550–1750''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2012, p. 333</ref> It was close to the royal seat of power at the [[Palace of Westminster]] (now home to [[parliament]]), and is largely contained within the City of Westminster (one of the 32 [[London borough]]s).

The [[Great Fire of London]] did not directly affect the West End a great deal, but the huge loss of housing in the City of London, led to a building boom in the west.<ref>https://www.westend.com/history-of-the-west-end-of-london</ref> This began with an initial development by [[Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans]] in the 1660s. Then during the late 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, it was built as a series of palaces, expensive town houses, fashionable shops and places of entertainment. The areas closest to the City around [[Holborn]], [[Seven Dials, London|Seven Dials]], and [[Covent Garden]] contained poorer communities that were cleared and redeveloped in the 19th century.
{{See also|Cities of London and Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)}}