Editing Bloomsbury

{{Short description|District in West End, London}}
{{Other uses|Bloomsbury (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                  = England
| map_type                 = Greater London
| static_image_name        = {{Photomontage
 |photo1a                  = British Museum from NE 2 (cropped).JPG
 |photo2a                  = Aabedfordsq2.jpg
 |photo2b                  = Cartwright Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 1008860.jpg
 |photo3a                  = Sicilian Avenue.jpg
 |photo3b                  = Gordon Square (west side) 3.jpg
 |spacing                  = 2
 |position                 = center
 |color_border             = white
 |color                    = white
 |size                     = 266
 |foot_montage             = Top to right: [[British Museum]]; [[Bedford Square]], [[Cartwright Gardens]]; [[Sicilian Avenue]]; [[Gordon Square]]
 }}
| region                   = London
| population               = 10,892
| population_ref           = (2011 Census. Ward)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13688636&c=Bloomsbury&d=14&e=62&g=6321391&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1476970622003&enc=1 |title=Camden Ward population 2011 |access-date=20 October 2016 |publisher=Office for National Statistics |work=Neighbourhood Statistics |archive-date=21 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021060554/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13688636&c=Bloomsbury&d=14&e=62&g=6321391&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1476970622003&enc=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| official_name            = Bloomsbury
| coordinates              = {{Wikidatacoord|Q150120|display=inline,title}}
| os_grid_reference        = TQ299818
| post_town                = LONDON
| postcode_area            = WC
| postcode_district        = WC1, NW1
| london_borough           = Camden
| dial_code                = 020
| constituency_westminster = [[Holborn and St Pancras (UK Parliament constituency)|Holborn and St Pancras]]
}}
'''Bloomsbury''' is a district in the [[West End of London]], part of the [[London Borough of Camden]] in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous [[cultural institution|cultural]], intellectual, and [[educational institution]]s.
Bloomsbury is home of the [[British Museum]], the largest museum in the United Kingdom, and several educational institutions, including [[University College London]] and a number of other colleges and institutes of the [[University of London]] as well as its central headquarters, the [[New College of the Humanities]], the [[University of Law]], the [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]], the [[British Medical Association]] and many others. Bloomsbury is an intellectual and literary hub for London, as home of world-known [[Bloomsbury Publishing]], publishers of the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series, and namesake of the [[Bloomsbury Group]], a group of British intellectuals which included author [[Virginia Woolf]], biographer [[Lytton Strachey]], and economist [[John Maynard Keynes]].

Bloomsbury began to be developed in the 17th century under the [[Earl of Southampton|Earls of Southampton]],<ref name=LondonEncyc>[[The London Encyclopaedia]], Edited by Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert. Macmillan London Ltd 1983</ref> but it was primarily in the 19th century, under the [[Duke of Bedford]], that the district was planned and built as an affluent [[Regency era]] residential area by famed developer [[James Burton (property developer)|James Burton]].<ref>Burton's St. Leonards, J. Manwaring Baines F.S.A., Hastings Museum, 1956.</ref> The district is known for its numerous [[Squares in London|garden squares]], including [[Bloomsbury Square]], [[Russell Square]] and [[Bedford Square]].<ref>[http://www.gardenvisit.com/landscape/london/lguide/london-squares.htm Guide to London Squares] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012053330/http://www.gardenvisit.com/landscape/london/lguide/london-squares.htm |date=12 October 2007 }}. Retrieved 8 March 2007.</ref>

Bloomsbury's built heritage is currently protected by the designation of a [[Conservation area (United Kingdom)|conservation area]] and a locally based conservation committee. Despite this, there is increasing concern about a trend towards larger and less sensitive development, and the associated demolition of Victorian and Georgian buildings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/conservation-areas/bloomsbury-conservation-area/ |title=Bloomsbury Conservation Area |author=Owen Ward |date=11 January 2021 |website=BCAAC |access-date=20 January 2021 |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123163213/https://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/conservation-areas/bloomsbury-conservation-area/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Christ the King, Gordon Square, London WC1 - geograph.org.uk - 1592452.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Church of Christ the King, Bloomsbury|Church of Christ the King]] was built in 1850]]
Bloomsbury (including the closely linked [[St Giles, London|St Giles]] area) has a long association with neighbouring [[Holborn]]; but is nearly always considered as distinct from Holborn.

===Origins and etymology===
The area appears to have been a part of the parish of [[Holborn]] when [[St Giles, London|St Giles]] hospital was established in the early 1100s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Religious Houses: Hospitals {{!}} British History Online |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol1/pp204-212#h3-0010 |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref>

The earliest record of the name, Bloomsbury, is as ''Blemondisberi'' in 1281. It is named after a member of the Blemund family who held the manor. There are older records relating to the family in London in 1201 and 1230. Their name, Blemund, derives from Blemont, a place in [[Vienne (department)|Vienne]], in western France.<ref>The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, Eilart Ekwall, 4th Edition</ref> At the end of the 14th century, [[Edward III]] acquired Blemond's manor, and passed it on to the [[Carthusian]] monks of the [[London Charterhouse]]. The area remained rural at this time.

In the 16th century with the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]], [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] took the land back into the possession of the Crown and granted it to [[Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton]].

===Administrative history===
[[File:German Historical Institute London 5 Dec 2016.jpg|thumb|left|The historic seat of the [[Royal Historical Society]]]]
The area was part of the [[Civil Parish#Ancient Parishes|Ancient Parish]] of [[St Giles, London|St Giles]], served by the church of [[St Giles in the Fields]]. Some sources indicate that the parish was in place before 1222<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol5/pt2/pp1-2 |access-date=8 September 2021 |title=Boundary of the parish of St. Giles-in-the-Fields |website=British History Online }}</ref> while others suggest 1547.<ref name="Youngs">{{cite book |first=Frederic |last=Youngs |title=Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England |volume=I: Southern England |year=1979 |publisher=[[Royal Historical Society]] |location=London |isbn=0-901050-67-9 }}</ref> From 1597 onwards, English parishes were obliged to take on a civil as well as ecclesiastical role, starting with the [[Act for the Relief of the Poor 1597|relief of the poor]].

In 1731 a small new independent parish of ''Bloomsbury'' was created, based on a small area round [[Bloomsbury Square]]. In 1774 these parishes recombined, for civil purposes, to form the parish of ''St Giles in the Fields and St George Bloomsbury'' – which had the same boundaries as the initial parish of ''St Giles''.<ref name="Youngs"/>

The area of the combined civil parish was used for the [[St Giles District (Metropolis)]], established under the [[Metropolis Management Act 1855]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/London-life19th.jsp |title=London History - London, 1800-1913 - Central Criminal Court |publisher=oldbaileyonline.org |access-date=26 July 2010 |archive-date=15 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115183928/http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/London-life19th.jsp |url-status=live }}</ref> This body managed certain infrastructure functions, while the civil parish continued with its responsibilities until the abolishment of the Poor Law in 1930; however it was not formally abolished until the creation of Greater London in 1965.
[[File:St Giles &amp; Holborn Civil Parish Map 1870.png|thumb|The combined parishes of ''St Giles in the Fields and St George Bloomsbury'' (west) joined with most of Holborn District to form the Met. Borough of Holborn, in 1900]]

In 1900 the area of the ''St Giles District (Metropolis)'' merged with [[Holborn District (Metropolis)]] (excluding those parts of [[Finsbury division|Finsbury Division]] which had been temporarily attached to Holborn) to form a new [[Metropolitan Borough of Holborn]]. The traditional boundaries of ''St Giles'' and ''Bloomsbury'' were used for wards in the new borough, though these were subject to minor rationalisations to reflect the modern street pattern rather than the historic basis of the older streets and pre-urban field boundaries. The combined civil parish continued to operate, in parallel, for a considerable time after.

In 1965 the [[Metropolitan Borough of Holborn]] merged with [[St Pancras, London|St Pancras]] and [[Hampstead]] to form the new [[London Borough of Camden]].

===Boundaries===
The formal historic boundaries of the combined parish of ''St Giles in the Fields and St George Bloomsbury'' (as adjusted in some places to reflect the modern street pattern) include Tottenham Court Road to the west, Torrington Place (formerly known, in part, as Francis Street) to the north, the [[London Borough of Camden|borough boundary]] to the south and [[Marchmont Street]] and [[Southampton Row]] to the east.
[[File:Holborn Met. B Ward Map 1952.svg|thumb|Wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn, 1952. Bloomsbury and St Giles (including most of Lincoln's Inn) were sub-divided but retained their identity]]

The western boundary of Tottenham Court Road is common to all and a northern limit of Euston Road is often understood, though Coram's Fields and the land to the north, consisting mainly of blocks of flats, built as both private and social housing was traditionally associated as being north Bloomsbury with Judd Street and its surrounding squares being part of St Pancras, King's Cross.

The eastern boundary is sometimes taken to be in the region of Southampton Row<ref>London for Dummies, Donald Olson, p93</ref> or further east on Grays Inn Road.<ref name=LondonEncyc/> The southern extent is taken to approximates to [[High Holborn]] or the thoroughfare formed by [[New Oxford Street]], Bloomsbury Way and Theobalds Road.

On the west side, the traditional and various informal definitions of the area are all based on the ancient [[Tottenham Court Road]]. The differences between the formal and more recent understandings of the area (to the north and south), seem to derive from Bloomsbury having been commonly misconceived as being coterminous with the [[Bedford Estate]].<ref>link to a Bloomsbury history website https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bloomsbury-project/streets/bedford_ducal.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726222638/https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bloomsbury-project/streets/bedford_ducal.htm |date=26 July 2021 }}</ref>

===Development===
In the early 1660s, the [[Earl of Southampton]], who held the manors of St Giles and Bloomsbury,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introduction {{!}} British History Online |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol19/pt2/pp1-31 |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> constructed what eventually became [[Bloomsbury Square]]. ''[[The Yorkshire Grey]]'' public house on the corner of [[Gray's Inn Road]] and [[Theobald's Road]] dates from 1676. The estate passed to the Russell family following the marriage of [[William Russell, Lord Russell]] (1639–1683) (third son of [[William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford]]) to [[Rachel Wriothesley]], heiress of Bloomsbury, younger of the two daughters and co-heiresses of [[Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton]] (1607–1667). Rachel's son and heir was [[Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford]] (1680–1711), of [[Woburn Abbey]] in Bedfordshire, whose family also owned [[Covent Garden]], south of Bloomsbury, acquired by them at the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]].

The area was laid out mainly in the 18th century, largely by [[Wriothesley Russell, 3rd Duke of Bedford]], who built Bloomsbury Market, which opened in 1730. His younger brother, [[John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford]], would have built a circus here but he died in 1771, leaving his wife to continue development of the area. She commissioned the construction of [[Bedford Square]] and of [[Gower Street, London|Gower Street]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Weinreb |first=Ben |url=http://archive.org/details/londonencycloped00ias |title=The London encyclopedia |publisher=Adler & Adler |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-917561-07-8 |location=Bethesda, Maryland, US |pages=75 |language=en }}</ref> The major development of the squares that we see today started in about 1800 when [[Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford]], demolished Bedford House<ref name=":1" /> and developed the land to the north with [[Russell Square]] as its centrepiece. Much is still owned today by the [[Bedford Estate]] in trust for the Russell family.

[[John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford]], extended development on the north and east side of the estate, this area would then be frequented by writers, painters and musicians as well as lawyers due to the nearby [[Inns of Court]]. The area was enclosed by gates until these were abolished under a 1893 Act of Parliament. In the 19th century, the Bloomsbury area became less fashionable, now dominated by the [[University of London]] and the [[British Museum]] as well as numerous new hospitals. Modern development has destroyed several [[Georgian era|Georgian]]-era buildings, but some remain.<ref name=":1" />

===London Beer Flood===
The [[London Beer Flood|London Beer Flood (also known as the ''Great Beer Flood'')]] was a disaster that occurred in October 1814, when a large vat of [[Porter (beer)|porter]] at the [[Horse Shoe Brewery]], just west of Dyott Street, burst open, releasing a 15-foot wave of beer onto the surrounding streets, killing eight people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Palace |first=Steve |date=2020-07-01 |title=The Great London Beer Flood of 1814 - When a Giant Wave of Suds Crushed the City {{!}} The Vintage News |url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2020/07/01/london-beer-flood/ |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=thevintagenews |language=en}}</ref>

==Conservation==
[[File:PiedBullYard.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Pied Bull Yard, in the Bloomsbury Conservation Area]]
All of the geographic area of Bloomsbury is covered by the Bloomsbury Conservation Area, an historic designation designed to limit new development, and ensure that changes to the built environment preserve and enhance its special character. This [[Conservation area (United Kingdom)|conservation area]] is one of the oldest and most significant in the UK, having been designated in 1968, less than a year after conservation areas were promulgated in the Civic Amenities Act 1967.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/conservation-areas/bloomsbury-conservation-area/ |title=Bloomsbury Conservation Area |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=20 January 2021 |website=BCAAC |access-date=20 January 2021 |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123163213/https://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/conservation-areas/bloomsbury-conservation-area/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Bloomsbury Conservation Area is almost unique in the UK in that it also has a ''conservation area advisory committee'', an expert committee of architects, planners, lawyers, and other community members that also live and work in Bloomsbury.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/our-work/ |title=Our Work |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=20 January 2021 |website=BCAAC }}</ref> This group was founded in 1968 by the [[London Borough of Camden|local authority]] and continues to serve Bloomsbury and the surrounding area. It is generally thought that the Bloomsbury Conservation Area Advisory Committee (BCAAC) has the most detailed knowledge of Bloomsbury's built heritage and social history due to its members having lived in the area for many decades. It is accordingly consulted with on all major and minor development proposals in the area, including traffic circulation changes, and its objections carry formal planning weight through the local authority's constitution.<ref name="auto"/>

Bloomsbury contains one of the highest proportions of listed buildings and monuments per square metre of any conservation area, including many of the UK's most iconic buildings, such as the British Museum.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/developers/character-maps/ |title=Character Maps |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=20 January 2021 |website=BCAAC |access-date=20 January 2021 |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123181526/https://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/developers/character-maps/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However its strategic location in the centre of London and associated high development pressures has seen a rise in the demolition of historic fabric, and the construction of tall and harmful development. Between 2015 and 2020 the local authority recommended approval for a total of five major developments judged to be harmful by the BCAAC,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/2015/06/royal-ear-hospital-entrance-demolition-plans/ |title=Royal Ear Hospital Demolition |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1 June 2015 |website=BCAAC |access-date=20 January 2021 |archive-date=8 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208130606/https://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/2015/06/royal-ear-hospital-entrance-demolition-plans/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/2015/06/old-gpo-on-new-oxford-street-to-be-enlarged-and-re-clad/ |title=Old GPO to be Enlarged |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1 June 2015 |website=BCAAC |access-date=20 January 2021 |archive-date=2 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202020332/https://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/2015/06/old-gpo-on-new-oxford-street-to-be-enlarged-and-re-clad/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/2013/09/cartwright-gardens/ |title=Cartwright Gardens Approved |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1 June 2013 |website=BCAAC |access-date=20 January 2021 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225112116/https://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/2013/09/cartwright-gardens/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite web |url=https://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/our-work/successes/ |title=Our Successes |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1 January 2021 |website=BCAAC }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/2020/03/historic-hospital-demolition-approved/ |title=Historic Hospital Demolition Approved |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1 March 2020 |website=BCAAC }}</ref> with the Greater London Authority approving one.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.taylorwimpeycentrallondon.com/development/en/postmark |title=Taylor Wimpey Postmark |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1 March 2020 |website=Taylor Wimpey }}</ref> The BCAAC were only successful in defeating one of those developments.<ref name="auto1"/>

As a result, Victorian buildings and even some of Bloomsbury's famous Georgian terraces have been demolished in recent years. This has led to sharp criticism of the local authority's approach to the conservation and preservation of Bloomsbury, with national heritage groups such as the Victorian Society and Georgian Group voicing concerns along with local groups. A local campaign associated with the BCAAC, Save Bloomsbury, has written and campaigned extensively to protect Bloomsbury's heritage.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://savebloomsbury.co.uk/2020/04/11/bloomsburys-heritage-is-at-risk/ |title=Bloomsbury's Heritage is At Risk |author=Owen Ward |date=11 April 2020 |website=Save Bloomsbury }}</ref> As of 2021 Camden Council has not adopted any strategy to ensure Bloomsbury's conservation, and harmful development proposals continue to come forward.

==Nearby districts==
Neighbouring areas include [[St Pancras, London|St Pancras]] to the north and west, [[Fitzrovia]] to the west, [[Covent Garden]] and [[Holborn]] to the south, and [[Clerkenwell]] to the east.

{{Geographic Location
|title     = '''Neighbouring Districts'''
|Northwest = [[Regent's Park]]
|North     = [[Somers Town, London|Somers Town]]
|Northeast = [[St Pancras, London|St Pancras]]
|West      = [[Fitzrovia]]
|Centre    = Bloomsbury
|East      = [[Clerkenwell]]
|Southwest = [[Soho]]
|South     = [[Covent Garden]]
|Southeast = [[Holborn]]
}}
For street name etymologies see ''[[Street names of Bloomsbury]]''.

==Culture==
Historically, Bloomsbury is associated with the arts, education, and medicine. The area gives its name to the [[Bloomsbury Group]] of artists, among whom was [[Virginia Woolf]], who met in private homes in the area in the early 1900s,<ref>{{cite book |first=Paul |last=Fargis |title=The New York Public Library Desk Reference – 3rd Edition |year=1998 |publisher=Macmillan General Reference |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newyorkpublicli100newy/page/262 262] |isbn=0-02-862169-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newyorkpublicli100newy }}</ref> and to the lesser known [[Bloomsbury Gang]] of [[British Whig Party|Whigs]] formed in 1765 by [[John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford]]. The publisher [[Faber & Faber]] used to be located in [[Queen Square, London|Queen Square]], though at the time [[T. S. Eliot]] was editor the offices were in Tavistock Square. The [[Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood]] was founded in John Millais's parents' house on [[Gower Street, London|Gower Street]] in 1848.

The Bloomsbury Festival was launched in 2006 when local resident Roma Backhouse was commissioned to mark the re-opening of the Brunswick Centre, a residential and shopping area. The free festival is a celebration of the local area, partnering with galleries, libraries and museums,<ref>{{cite web |title=Preview: The Bloomsbury Festival |url=http://londonist.com/2012/10/preview-the-bloomsbury-festival.php |publisher=Londonist |access-date=8 October 2013 |date=16 October 2012 }}</ref> and achieved charitable status at the end of 2012. As of 2013, the Duchess of Bedford is a festival patron and Festival Directors have included Cathy Maher (2013), Kate Anderson (2015–2019) and Rosemary Richards (2020–present).<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=http://bloomsburyfestival.org.uk/history-2/ |publisher=Bloomsbury Festival |access-date=8 October 2013 |date=October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024044933/http://bloomsburyfestival.org.uk/history-2/ |archive-date=24 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Team |url=http://bloomsburyfestival.org.uk/the-team/ |publisher=Bloomsbury Festival |access-date=8 October 2013 |date=October 2013 |archive-date=24 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024063123/http://bloomsburyfestival.org.uk/the-team/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Educational institutions===
[[File:Wilkins Building 2, UCL, London - Diliff (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|300px|The [[UCL Main Building|Main Building]] of [[University College London]]]]
Bloomsbury is home to the federal University of London's central administrative centre and library, Senate House, as well as many of its independent members institutions including Birkbeck College, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, School of Oriental and African Studies, School of Advanced Study, Royal Veterinary College, and [[University College London]] (which has now absorbed the formerly separate School of Eastern European and Slavonic Studies, School of Pharmacy, and Institute of Education academic institutions). Bloomsbury is also home to [[London Contemporary Dance School]], [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]], a branch of University of Law, [[Architectural Association School of Architecture]], and the London campuses of several American colleges including [[Arcadia University]], [[University of California]], [[University of Delaware]], [[Florida State University]], [[Syracuse University]], [[New York University]], and [[Hult International Business School]].

The growing private tutoring sector in Bloomsbury includes various tutoring businesses such as Bloomsbury International (for English language), Bloomsbury Law Tutors (for law education), Skygate Tutors, and Topmark Tutors Centre.

===Museums===
[[File:British Museum Great Court, London, UK - Diliff (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|The [[Queen Elizabeth II Great Court]]]]
The [[British Museum]], which first opened to the public in 1759 in [[Montagu House, Bloomsbury|Montagu House]], is at the heart of Bloomsbury. At the centre of the museum the space around the former [[British Library Reading Room]], which was filled with the concrete storage bunkers of the British Library, is today the [[Queen Elizabeth II Great Court]], an indoor square with a glass roof designed by British architect [[Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank|Norman Foster]]. It houses displays, a cinema, a shop, a cafe and a restaurant. Since 1998, the British Library has been located in a purpose-built building just outside the northern edge of Bloomsbury, in Euston Road.

Also in Bloomsbury is the Foundling Museum, close to Brunswick Square, which tells the story of the [[Foundling Hospital]] opened by [[Thomas Coram]] for unwanted children in Georgian London. The hospital, now demolished except for the Georgian [[colonnade]], is today a playground and outdoor sports field for children, called [[Coram's Fields]]. It is also home to a small number of sheep. The nearby [[Lamb's Conduit Street]] is a pleasant thoroughfare with shops, cafes and restaurants.

The [[Dickens House|Dickens Museum]] is in [[Doughty Street]]. The [[Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology]] and the [[University College London#Special collections|Grant Museum of Zoology]] are at University College London in Gower Street.

The [[Postal Museum, London|Postal Museum]] is on 15-20 Phoenix Place.

===Churches===
[[File:St George, Bloomsbury (35970241823).jpg|thumb|St George, Bloomsbury. Bloomsbury's parish church]]
Bloomsbury contains several notable churches:

* [[St. George's Church, Bloomsbury]], located on Bloomsbury Way. This is Bloomsbury's own parish church, and was built by [[Nicholas Hawksmoor]] between 1716 and 1731. It has a deep Roman porch with six huge [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] columns, and is notable for its steeple based on the [[Tomb of Mausolus]] at [[Halicarnassus]] and for the statue of King [[George II of Great Britain|George I]] on the top.
* [[St Giles in the Fields]], also known as the ''Poet's Church''. The current church building was built in the [[Palladian architecture|Palladian]] style in 1733.
* The Early English Neo-Gothic [[Church of Christ the King, Bloomsbury|Church of Christ the King]] on [[Gordon Square]]. It was designed for the [[Irvingites]]<ref>[http://www.andrewcusack.com/blog/2005/07/church_of_chris.php Church of Christ the King] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106111230/http://www.andrewcusack.com/blog/2005/07/church_of_chris.php |date=6 November 2007 }}. Retrieved 8 March 2007.</ref> by Raphael Brandon in 1853. Since 10 June 1954 it has been a Grade I [[listed building]].
* [[St Pancras New Church]], near [[Euston railway station|Euston station]]. This church was completed in 1822, and is notable for the [[caryatids]] on north and south which are based on the "porch of the maidens" from the [[Erechtheum|Temple of the Erechtheum]].
* The church of [[St George the Martyr Holborn]], in [[Queen Square, London|Queen Square]] was built 1703–06,<ref>[http://www.sgtm.org/about/index.asp St George's Bloomsbury] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123192722/http://www.sgtm.org/about/index.asp |date=23 November 2007 }}. Retrieved 8 March 2007.</ref> and was where [[Ted Hughes]] and [[Sylvia Plath]] married on [[Bloomsday]] in 1956.<ref>Walking Literary London, Roger Tagholm, New Holland Publishers, 2001.</ref>
* Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church in [[Shaftesbury Avenue]], is the central church of the [[Baptists|Baptist]] denomination. It was opened in 1848, having been built by Sir Samuel Moreton Peto MP, one of the great railway contractors of the age.<ref>[http://bloomsbury.org.uk/church/page/our_history/ Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church History Page] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140612100500/http://bloomsbury.org.uk/church/page/our_history/ |date=12 June 2014 }}. Retrieved 27 May 2014.</ref>
[[File:London St Pancras New Church portico.jpg|thumb|right|upright|200px|[[St Pancras New Church]]]]

==Parks and squares==
[[File:Russell Square with restaurant.JPG|thumb|right|[[Russell Square]]]]
Bloomsbury contains some of London's finest parks and buildings, and is particularly known for its formal squares. These include:
* Russell Square, a large and orderly square; its gardens were originally designed by [[Humphry Repton]]. [[Russell Square tube station|Russell Square Underground station]] is a short distance away.
* [[Bedford Square]], built between 1775 and 1783, is still surrounded by Georgian town houses.
* [[Bloomsbury Square]] has a small circular garden surrounded by Georgian buildings.
* [[Queen Square, London|Queen Square]], home to the [[National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery]].
* [[Gordon Square]], surrounded by the history, philosophy and archaeology departments of University College London, Birkbeck College's School of Arts, as well as the former homes of writer [[Virginia Woolf]] and economist [[John Maynard Keynes]]. This is where the Bloomsbury Group lived and met.
* [[Woburn Square]], home to other parts of University College London. Named after [[Woburn Abbey]] in Bedfordshire, the main seat of the Dukes of Bedford.
* [[Torrington Square]], home to other parts of University College London. Named after Hon. Georgiana Byng, daughter of [[George Byng, 4th Viscount Torrington]], and wife of [[John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford]] (1766–1839).
* [[Tavistock Square]], home to the [[British Medical Association]]; its eastern edge was the site of one of the [[7 July 2005 London bombings]]. Named after [[Tavistock Abbey]] in Devon, granted to the Russell family at the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and after which they took the title [[Marquess of Tavistock]], since held as a [[courtesy title]] by the eldest son and [[heir apparent]] of the Duke of Bedford.
* [[Mecklenburgh Square]], east of Coram's Fields, one of the few squares which remains locked for the use of local residents. Named after the mother of King George IV.
* Coram's Fields, a large recreational space on the eastern edge of the area, formerly home to the [[Foundling Hospital]]. It is only open to children and to adults accompanying children.
* [[Brunswick Square]], now occupied by the [[School of Pharmacy, University of London|School of Pharmacy]] and the [[Foundling Museum]]. Named after the wife of King George IV.
* [[St George's Gardens]], originally the burial ground for St George's Queen Square and St George's Bloomsbury.
* [[Cartwright Gardens]].

==Hospitals==
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the [[Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine]] (formerly the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital) are both located on Great Ormond Street, off Queen Square, which itself is home to the [[National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery]] (formerly the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases). Bloomsbury is also the location of [[University College Hospital]], which re-opened in 2005 in new buildings on Euston Road, built under the government's [[private finance initiative]] (PFI). The [[Eastman Dental Hospital]] is located on Gray's Inn Road close to the [[Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital]] administered by the [[Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust]].

==Other notable buildings==
One of the largest building in the area is the Brutalist [[Brunswick Centre]] a residential building with a shopping centre at ground floor.<ref>[http://www.alliedlondon.com/news/news_2004spring.html Brunswick Centre – Restoration] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008065533/http://www.alliedlondon.com/news/news_2004spring.html |date=8 October 2007 }}. Retrieved 8 March 2007.</ref>

==Administration and representation==
Bloomsbury is in the parliamentary [[constituency]] of [[Holborn and St Pancras (UK Parliament constituency)|Holborn and St Pancras]]. The western half of the district comprises [[Bloomsbury (ward)|Bloomsbury ward]], which elects three [[councillor]]s to [[Camden London Borough Council|Camden Borough Council]].

==Economy==
[[File:BMA War Memorial.JPG|thumb|left|250px|[https://bmahouse.org.uk/ BMA House]]]
In February 2010, businesses were balloted on an expansion of the InHolborn [[Business Improvement District]] (BID) to include the southern part of Bloomsbury. Only businesses with a rateable value in excess of £60,000 could vote as only these would pay the BID levy. This expansion of the BID into Bloomsbury was supported by Camden Council.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/content/press/2009/november/council-supports-proposed-expansion-of-business-improvement-district-inholborn.en |title=Council supports proposed expansion of Business Improvement District inholborn accessed 13 March 2010 |publisher=Camden.gov.uk |date=9 November 2009 |access-date=6 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611215556/http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/content/press/2009/november/council-supports-proposed-expansion-of-business-improvement-district-inholborn.en |archive-date=11 June 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The proposal was passed and part of Bloomsbury was brought within the InHolborn BID.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/content/council-and-democracy/news/2010/march/business-improvement-district-ballot-result.en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100306135251/http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/content/council-and-democracy/news/2010/march/business-improvement-district-ballot-result.en |url-status=dead |title=Bloomsbury, Holborn and St Giles business improvement district renewal ballot – announcement of result accessed 13 March 2010 |archive-date=6 March 2010 }}</ref>

Controversy was raised during this BID renewal when InHolborn proposed collecting Bloomsbury, St Giles and Holborn under the name of "Midtown", since it was seen as "too American".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23798144-bloomsbury-regroups-for-a-bright-new-future.do |title=Bloomsbury regroups for a bright new future accessed 13 March 2010 |publisher=Thisislondon.co.uk |access-date=6 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125144225/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23798144-bloomsbury-regroups-for-a-bright-new-future.do |archive-date=25 January 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.janeslondon.com/2010/01/holborn-midtown.html |title=Holborn Midtown accessed 13 March 2010 |publisher=Janeslondon.com |date=22 January 2010 |access-date=6 July 2010 |archive-date=29 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129052851/http://www.janeslondon.com/2010/01/holborn-midtown.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hill |first=Dave |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/davehillblog/2010/jan/25/bloomsbury-holborn-stgiles-midtown-london |title=Bid to re-brand Holborn, Bloomsbury and St Giles accessed 113 March 2010 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=25 January 2010 |access-date=6 July 2010 }}</ref> Businesses were informed about the BID proposals, but there was little consultation with residents or voluntary organisations. InHolborn produced a comprehensive business plan aimed at large businesses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://inholborn.org/app/webroot/files-user/files/Web%20Version%20of%20Business%20Plan(2).pdf |title=IH_BID2010_document_061109:IH_BID2010_document |access-date=6 July 2010}} {{Dead link|date=November 2010|bot=H3llBot }}</ref> Bloomsbury is now part of InMidtown BID with its 2010 to 2015 business plan and a stated aim to make the area "a quality environment in which to work and live, a vibrant area to visit, and a profitable place in which to do business".<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Purpose |url=http://inmidtown.org/about-us/purpose/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113021505/http://inmidtown.org/about-us/purpose/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=13 January 2013 |publisher=Midtown BID |access-date=20 December 2012 }}</ref>

==Transport==

=== Rail ===
Several London railway stations serve Bloomsbury. There are three [[London Underground]] stations in Bloomsbury:

* [[Russell Square tube station|Russell Square]] {{Rint|london|piccadilly}}
* [[King's Cross St Pancras tube station|King's Cross St. Pancras]] {{Rint|London|Circle}} {{Rint|London|H&C}} {{Rint|London|Metropolitan}} {{Rint|London|Northern}} {{Rint|London|piccadilly}} {{Rint|london|Victoria}}
* [[Euston Square tube station|Euston Square]] {{Rint|London|Circle}} {{Rint|London|H&C}} {{Rint|London|Metropolitan}}
* [[Goodge Street tube station|Goodge Street]] {{Rint|London|Northern}}

King's Cross St. Pancras station offers step-free access to all lines, whilst Euston Square offers step-free access to the westbound platform. Other stations nearby include: [[Euston tube station|Euston]], [[Warren Street tube station|Warren Street]], [[Goodge Street tube station|Goodge Street]], [[Tottenham Court Road tube station|Tottenham Court Road]], [[Holborn tube station|Holborn]] and [[Chancery Lane tube station|Chancery Lane]]. There is a disused station in Bloomsbury on the Piccadilly line at the [[British Museum tube station|British Museum]].

There are also three [[National Rail]] stations to the north of Bloomsbury:

* [[Euston railway station|Euston]] {{Rint|GB|Rail}} {{Rail-interchange|London|Overground|watford}}
* [[London King's Cross railway station|King's Cross]] {{Rail-interchange|GB|Rail}}
* [[St Pancras railway station|St Pancras International]] {{Rail-interchange|gb|rail}}

[[Eurostar]] services to [[Gare du Nord|France]], [[Brussels-midi|Brussels]] and [[Amsterdam Centraal station|the Netherlands]] begin in London at St Pancras.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/stations/london-st-pancras-international |title=London St Pancras International |website=[[Eurostar]] |access-date=23 April 2019 |archive-date=21 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621133242/https://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/stations/london-st-pancras-international |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf |title=London's Tube and Rail Services Map |website=[[Transport for London]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410113009/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf |archive-date=10 April 2019 }}</ref>

=== Buses ===
Several bus stops can be found in Bloomsbury. All buses passing through Bloomsbury call at bus stops on [[Russell Square]], [[Gower Street, London|Gower Street]] or [[Tottenham Court Road]]. Several key London destinations can be reached from Bloomsbury directly, including: [[Camden Town]], [[Greenwich]], [[Hampstead Heath]], [[Piccadilly Circus]], [[Victoria, London|Victoria]], and [[Waterloo, London|Waterloo]]. [[Euston bus station]] is to the north of Bloomsbury.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/russell-square-a4.pdf |title=Buses from Russell Square |date=24 November 2018 |website=[[Transport for London]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423024442/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/russell-square-a4.pdf |archive-date=23 April 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/goodgestreet-a4-0517.pdf |title=Buses from Goodge Street |date=17 June 2017 |website=[[Transport for London]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423024442/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/russell-square-a4.pdf |archive-date=23 April 2019 }}</ref>

=== Road ===
One of the 13 surviving [[Cabmen's Shelter Fund|taxi drivers' shelters]] in London, where drivers can stop for a meal and a drink, is in Russell Square.<ref>[http://www.urban75.org/london/cabmans-shelters.html Cabmen's Shelters] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314232436/http://www.urban75.org/london/cabmans-shelters.html |date=14 March 2007 }}. Retrieved 24 August 2010.</ref>

Bloomsbury's road network links the district to several destinations across London. Key routes nearby include:

* the '''[[A40 road|A40]]''' (Bloomsbury Way/[[High Holborn]]) - eastbound to [[Clerkenwell]] (via [[A401 road|A401]]), [[Holborn Circus]] and Bank; westbound to [[Oxford Circus]] and [[Marble Arch]]
* the '''[[A400 road (Great Britain)|A400]]''' ([[Gower Street, London|Gower St.]]/[[Bloomsbury Street|Bloomsbury St.]]) - northbound to [[Camden Town]], [[Holloway, London|Holloway]] (via [[A503 road|A503]]) and [[Archway, London|Archway]]; southbound to [[Trafalgar Square]]
* the '''[[A4200 road|A4200]]''' ([[Southampton Row]]/[[Woburn Place|Woburn Pl.]]) - northbound to [[Euston, London|Euston]] and Camden Town; southbound to [[Aldwych]]
* the '''[[London Inner Ring Road|A501 Inner Ring Road]]''' ([[Euston Road|Euston Rd.]]) - eastbound towards [[Kings Cross, London|King's Cross]] and [[Angel, London|Angel]]; westbound to [[Regent's Park]] and [[Marylebone]]

[[Gower Street (London)|Gower Street]], which runs through the area on a north–south axis, has been two-way since Sunday 28 February 2021.

==== Air pollution ====
The [[London Borough of Camden]] measures roadside [[air quality]] in Bloomsbury. In 2017, average [[Nitrogen dioxide|Nitrogen Dioxide]] (NO<sub>2</sub>) levels recorded in Bloomsbury significantly exceeded the UK National Objective for cleaner air, set at 40μg/m3 ([[microgram]]s per cubic metre).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://www.camden.gov.uk/documents/20142/1458280/Air+quality+status+report+2017.pdf/326282c9-7b97-58d6-75f9-577f86406259 |title=Air Quality Annual Status 2017 |date=31 May 2018 |website=[[London Borough of Camden]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423023915/https://www.camden.gov.uk/documents/20142/1458280/Air+quality+status+report+2017.pdf/326282c9-7b97-58d6-75f9-577f86406259 |archive-date=23 April 2019 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+2017 Average NO<sub>2</sub> Levels Recorded in Bloomsbury<ref name=":0" />
!Location
!NO<sub>2</sub> concentration (μg/m<sup>3</sup>)
|-
|Euston Road (Automatic)
|83
|-
|Euston Road
|92.45
|-
|Bloomsbury Street
|80.67
|}

=== Cycling ===
Several cycle routes cross Bloomsbury, with [[cycling infrastructure]] provided and maintained by both the [[London Borough of Camden]] and [[Transport for London]] (TfL). Many routes across Bloomsbury feature [[Cycle-track|segregated cycle tracks]] or [[bus lane]]s for use by cyclists. Additionally, Bloomsbury is connected to the wider [[List of cycle routes in London|London cycle network]] via several routes, including:

* '''Quietway 1 (Q1)''' - Running on segregated cycle track or residential streets, Q1 carries cyclists on an unbroken, signposted cycle route from [[Covent Garden]], via Bloomsbury, to [[Kings Cross, London|King's Cross]] and [[Kentish Town]]. The route is carried south–north through Bloomsbury on Bury Place, [[Montague Street, London|Montague Street]], Montague Place, [[Malet Street]], [[Tavistock Place]], and Judd Street.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/quietway-1-north-map-covent-garden-to-kentish-town.pdf |title=Quietway 1 (North): Covent Garden to Kentish Town |website=[[Transport for London]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406235304/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/quietway-1-north-map-covent-garden-to-kentish-town.pdf |archive-date=6 April 2019 }}</ref>
* '''Quietway 2 (Q2)''' - Running on segregated cycle track or residential streets, Q2 carries cyclists on an unbroken, signposted cycle route from Bloomsbury to [[Walthamstow]]. In Bloomsbury, the route begins to the east of Russell Square, leaving the area eastbound on [[Guilford Street|Guildford Street]]. ''En route'' to Walthamstow, Q2 passes through [[Angel, London|Angel]], [[Islington]], [[London Fields]] and [[Hackney Central]]. TfL proposes that Q2 will head west from Bloomsbury in the future, towards [[East Acton]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/q2-bloomsbury-walthamstow-east.pdf |title=Quietway 2 (East): Bloomsbury to Walthamstow |website=[[Transport for London]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407114313/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/q2-bloomsbury-walthamstow-east.pdf |archive-date=7 April 2019 }}</ref>
* '''Cycle Superhighway 6 (CS6)''' - CS6 passes to the east of Bloomsbury, via Judd Street, Tavistock Place and Regent's Square. To the north, CS6 terminates at King's Cross. To the south, CS6 passes through [[Farringdon, London|Farringdon]], [[Ludgate Circus]] and [[Blackfriars, London|Blackfriars]] ''en route'' to [[Elephant and Castle]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/cs6-ns-map-september-2018.pdf |title=Cycle Superhighway 6: King's Cross to Elephant & Castle |website=[[Transport for London]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410201034/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/cs6-ns-map-september-2018.pdf |archive-date=10 April 2019 }}</ref>

==Notable residents==
[[File:George_Charles_Beresford_-_Virginia_Woolf_in_1902_-_Restoration.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Virginia Woolf]], considered one of Britain's most important authors]]
[[File:Vladimir Lenin.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Vladimir Lenin]], founder of the [[Soviet Union]]]]
* [[Hylda Baker]], the actress and TV comedienne, had an apartment in [[Ridgmount Gardens]] in Torrington Place, Bloomsbury, where she lived throughout the 1960s and 70s when she was in London.<ref>Notable London Abodes: [http://www.notableabodes.com/person-abode-details/8513/dame-hylda-baker-comedienne_97-ridgmount-gardens-bloomsbury-london Hylda Baker]{{Dead link|date=April 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* [[Ada Ballin]] (1863–1906), magazine editor and writer on fashion<ref name=odnb>[http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101055732/Ada-Ballin Ada Ballin]{{Dead link|date=October 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ODNB, Retrieved 6 October 2016</ref>
* [[J. M. Barrie]] (1860–1937), playwright and novelist, lived in Guilford Street and 8 Grenville Street when he first moved to London;<ref>Mackail, Denis: ''The Story of J.M.B. Peter Davies'', 1941</ref> this is where Barrie situated the Darlings' house in ''[[Peter Pan]]''.<ref>J.M. Barrie: ''Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up''. Act I. Hodder & Stoughton, 1928</ref>
* [[Vanessa Bell]] (1879–1961), painter, sister of Virginia Woolf, lived at 46 [[Gordon Square]].
* [[William Copeland Borlase]] M.P. (1848–1899), died bankrupt and disowned by his family at 34 Bedford Court Mansions.
* [[Vera Brittain]] (1893–1970) and [[Winifred Holtby]] (1898–1935), lived at 58 Doughty Street.
* [[Randolph Caldecott]] (1846–1886), illustrator, lived at 46 Great Russell Street.
* [[William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire]] (1698–1755), sold the [[Old Devonshire House]] at 48 Boswell Street.
* [[Charles Darwin]] (1809–1882), lived at 12 Upper [[Gower Street, London|Gower Street]] in 1839.<ref>[http://darwin.baruch.cuny.edu/biography/london/london.html Charles Darwin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010303070823/http://darwin.baruch.cuny.edu/biography/london/london.html |date=3 March 2001 }}. Retrieved 8 March 2007.</ref>
* [[George Dance the Younger|George Dance]] (1741–1825), architect, lived at 91 Gower Street.
* [[Charles Dickens]] (1812–1870), novelist, lived at 14 [[Great Russell Street]], Tavistock Square and [[48 Doughty Street]].
* [[George du Maurier]] (1834–1896), artist and writer, lived at 91 (formerly 46) Great Russell Street.
* [[Benton Fletcher]] (1866–1944), housed his keyboard collection at the [[Old Devonshire House]], 48 Boswell Street, in the 1930s and 40s.
* [[E. M. Forster]] (1879–1970), novelist, essayist, and broadcaster, resided in Brunswick Square
* [[Ricky Gervais]] (born 1961), comedian, lived until recently in Southampton Row, Store Street and owned one of the penthouses in Bloomsbury Mansions in Russell Square, WC1.
* [[Mary Anne Everett Green]] (1818–1895), Calenderer of State Papers, author of ''Lives of the Princesses of England'', mother of Evelyn Everett-Green, a prolific 19th-century novelist.
* [[Philip Hardwick]] (1792–1870) and [[Philip Charles Hardwick]] (1822–1892), father and son, architects, lived at 60 [[Russell Square]] for over ten years.
* [[Travers Humphreys]] (1867–1956), barrister and judge, was born in [[Doughty Street]].
* [[John Maynard Keynes]] (1883–1946), economist, lived for 30 years in [[Gordon Square]].
* [[Vladimir Lenin]] (1870–1924), founder of the USSR, lived here in 1908.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/lenin-tavistock-place/ |title=Lenin - Tavistock Place |website=London Remembers }}</ref>
* [[James Lind (naturalist)|James Lind of Windsor]] (1736–1812), natural philosopher, physician to [[George III]]
* [[Emanuel Litvinoff]] (1915–2011), author, poet, playwright and human rights campaigner, lived for 46 years in Mecklenburgh Square.
* [[Edmund Lodge]] (1756–1839), [[officer of arms]] and writer on [[heraldry]], died at his Bloomsbury Square house on 16 January 1839.<ref>ODNB: Lucy Peltz, "Lodge, Edmund (1756–1839)" [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/16920 Retrieved 11 March 2014] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924145109/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/16920 |date=24 September 2015 }}</ref>
* [[Bob Marley]] (1945–1981), musician, lived in 34 Ridgmount Gardens for six months in 1972.
* [[Charlotte Mew]] (1869–1928), poet, was born at 30 Doughty Street and lived there until the family moved nearby to 9 Gordon Street, in 1890.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/charlotte-mew |title=Charlotte Mew |date=1 April 2017 |website=Poetry Foundation |language=en-us |access-date=2 April 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.asu.edu/pipercwcenter/how2journal/archive/online_archive/v2_1_2003/current/in_conference/networking-women/collecott.htm |title=In-Conference: Diana Collecott &ndash; HOW2 |website=www.asu.edu |access-date=2 April 2017 }}</ref>
* [[Jacquie O'Sullivan]] (born 1960), musician and former member of [[Bananarama]].
* [[Dorothy Richardson]] (1873–1957), novelist, lived at 7 Endesleigh Street and 1905–6 [[Woburn Walk]]. Her experiences are recorded in her autobiographical novel, in thirteen volumes, ''Pilgrimage''.<ref>''Windows on Modernism: Selected Letters of Dorothy Richardson'', ed Gloria G, Fromm. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press 1995, p. xxx; The Dorothy Richardson Society web site [http://dorothyrichardson.org/society/conference_2015.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201063723/http://dorothyrichardson.org/society/conference_2015.htm|date=1 February 2017}}.</ref>
* Sir [[Francis Ronalds]] (1788–1873), inventor of the [[electric telegraph]], lived at 40 Queen Square in 1820–1822.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Sir Francis Ronalds: Father of the Electric Telegraph |last=Ronalds |first=B.F. |publisher=Imperial College Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78326-917-4 |location=London }}</ref>
* [[Dorothy L. Sayers]] (1893–1957), novelist lived at 24 Great James Street from 1921 to 1929. Her main female character Harriet Vane also lived in Bloomsbury.
* [[Alexei Sayle]] (born 1952), English stand-up comedian, actor and author.<ref>{{cite news |title=Alexei Sayle: Bloomsbury by bike - video |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/video/2013/oct/08/alexei-sayle-bloomsbury-festival-london-bike-video?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2&et_cid=51918&et_rid=7107573&Linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.theguardian.com%2ftravel%2fvideo%2f2013%2foct%2f08%2falexei-sayle-bloomsbury-festival-london-bike-video |access-date=8 October 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=8 October 2013 |author=Alexei Sayle |format=Video upload }}</ref>
* [[John Shaw Sr.|John Shaw Senior]] (1776–1832) and [[John Shaw Jr.|John Shaw Junior]] (1803–1870), father and son, architects, lived in [[Gower Street, London|Gower Street]].
* [[Catherine Tate]] (born 1968), actress and comedian, brought up in the Brunswick Centre, close to [[Russell Square]].
* [[Kenneth Williams]] (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988), actor and comedian, lived at 57 Marchment Street opposite the Brunswick Centre.
* [[Wee Georgie Wood]] (1895–1979), actor and comedian, lived and died at Gordon Mansions on Torrington Place.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bushell |first=Peter |title=London's Secret History |url=https://archive.org/details/londonssecrethis0000bush |url-access=registration |publisher=Constable |date=1983 |page=[https://archive.org/details/londonssecrethis0000bush/page/179 179] |isbn=9780094647305 }}</ref>
* [[Virginia Woolf]] (1882–1941), author, essayist, and diarist, resided at 46 [[Gordon Square]] (1904–07) and 52 Tavistock Square (1924–39).
* [[Thomas Henry Wyatt]] (1807–1880), architect, lived at 77 Great Russell Street.
* [[John Wyndham]] (1903–1969), lived at the Penn Club in [[Tavistock Square]] (1924–38) and then (except for 1943–46 army service) at the club's present address, 21–22 Bedford Place, off Russell Square, until his marriage in 1963 to Grace Isabel Wilson, who had lived in the next room at the club.
* [[W. B. Yeats|William Butler Yeats]] (1865–1939), poet, dramatist and prose writer, lived at [[Woburn Walk]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Richard Tames. ''Bloomsbury Past'', London: Historical Publications, 1993. {{ISBN|978-0-94866-720-6}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bloomsbury, London district|Bloomsbury}}
* {{Wikivoyage inline|London/Bloomsbury}}
* [https://bloomsburyconservation.org.uk/ Bloomsbury Conservation Areas Advisory Committee (BCAAC)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140514174430/http://www.citymarque.com/london/locations/bloomsbury/ Bloomsbury area guide]
* {{cite web |title=UCL Bloomsbury Project |url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/bloomsbury-project/streets/taviton_street.htm |website=University College London}}

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