The Project Gutenberg EBook of Holborn and Bloomsbury, by
Sir Walter Besant and Geraldine Edith Mitton

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: Holborn and Bloomsbury
The Fascination of London

Author: Sir Walter Besant
Geraldine Edith Mitton

Release Date: May 9, 2007 [EBook #21411]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOLBORN AND BLOOMSBURY ***

Produced by Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

THE FASCINATION
OF LONDON

HOLBORN AND BLOOMSBURY

_IN THIS SERIES._

Cloth, price 1s. 6d. net; leather, price 2s. net, each.

THE STRAND DISTRICT.

By Sir WALTER BESANT and G. E. MITTON.

WESTMINSTER.

By Sir WALTER BESANT and G. E. MITTON.

HAMPSTEAD AND MARYLEBONE.

By G. E. MITTON. Edited by Sir WALTER BESANT.

CHELSEA.

By G. E. MITTON. Edited by Sir WALTER BESANT.

KENSINGTON.

By G. E. MITTON. Edited by Sir WALTER BESANT.

HOLBORN AND BLOOMSBURY.

By Sir WALTER BESANT and G. E. MITTON.

[Illustration: STAPLE INN, HOLBORN BARS]

The Fascination of London

HOLBORN AND
BLOOMSBURY

BY
SIR WALTER BESANT
AND
G. E. MITTON

LONDON
ADAM & CHARLES BLACK
1903

PREFATORY NOTE

A survey of London, a record of the greatest of all cities, that should
preserve her history, her historical and literary associations, her
mighty buildings, past and present, a book that should comprise all that
Londoners love, all that they ought to know of their heritage from the
past--this was the work on which Sir Walter Besant was engaged when he
died.

As he himself said of it: "This work fascinates me more than anything
else I've ever done. Nothing at all like it has ever been attempted
before. I've been walking about London for the last thirty years, and I
find something fresh in it every day."

Sir Walter's idea was that two of the volumes of his survey should
contain a regular and systematic perambulation of London by different
persons, so that the history of each parish should be complete in
itself. This was a very original feature in the great scheme, and one in
which he took the keenest interest. Enoug