COVENT GARDEN

 I love Covent Garden. Its eclectic mix of market stalls and exclusive shops, its little eateries, and the added bonus of street entertainers and classical musicians. There are always street and circus performers in the piazza outside the market, and musical performers in the two galleried basement squares.

 We have become very fond of a String Quartet called Bowjangles who occasionally play there. They are led by a very funny, but brilliant, cellist called Ezme, and they really liven the place up. However, I digress, This is part of the spectacular Christmas decorations.

One of London's most famous markets, Covent Garden was primarily a place to buy fruit and vegetables. This 40-acre site once belonged to the convent of St Peter's, Westminster, which maintained a kitchen garden here. This 'convent garden' evolved to become known as Covent Garden.
In the 1630s, the Bedford family employed Inigo Jones to design a piazza to attract the moneyed folk of London. Only one side of his original design remains. The market began very simply in 1656 when the Duke of Bedford allowed several temporary stalls to be built in the gardens of Bedford House, his London home. In 1670 the Duke was granted a license by Charles II to hold a market every day except Sundays and Christmas.

According to diarist Samuel Pepys, the very first Punch and Judy shows were held here in 1662. Around 1650 the first pineapples began to be grown in England, and so popular did the fruit become that it was adopted as the symbol of Covent Garden Market. The area surrounding Covent Garden was quite posh, and the residents were by no means happy with the rather plebian market, a source, they thought, of noise and dirt. In 1748 the market was rebuilt by the Duke, at a cost of £4000. The shops gained upper stories, and the tone of the market was raised considerably.