The Distribution of Wealth in London Throughout TIme

Since the 19th Century, the High Street has been one of London’s most notable shopping districts. Essentially London’s “Main Street,” the High Street contains a plethora of thriving businesses, from retail fashion stores, other shops, museums, restaurants, and a lively nightlife. In London, the “High Street” was a common term applied to streets in the town that were permitted to have shops and businesses located along them ("High Street"). Following the Great Fire of London in the 17th Century, four types of street were designated when they began rebuilding the city, one of which being the…

Regent’s Park is one of the eight royal parks of London, partially in the Borough of Camden and partially in the City of Westminster. The Park, before being declared available for the public in 1841, was strictly property to the crown. Originally, Prince Regent at the time, who is now known as King George IV, wanted to make a summer place in the area and restrict it from outside use. However, the palace was never created and landscapers John Nash, close friend of King George IV, and James and Decimus Burton, who financially supported the project themselves, schemed out the layout of the…

Originally, Baker Street was nothing more than upper-class residential living, but it gradually became a street full of commercial buildings, yet even today, it has still retained its historical high-class attribute ("Guide to Baker Street: History, Architecture, Business and Tourism", 2012). As depicted in the novel The Romance of a Shop, the author details the Lorimer girls' attempt at success on Baker Street. As mentioned in the novel, "there are a great many photographers in Baker Street already" (Levy). At a time when photographers were known to be wealthy,…

Bethnal Green is an area that began around common green space as a Hamlet of Stepney before becoming its own parish in 1743 (Wikipedia). After many years of the enclosure movement and urban expansion, Bethnal Green came to be known as the quintissential East London slum. Bordered by Spitalfields (a formerly diverse, thriving market district) to its south, the inaction of local governors regular updating of maps and jurisdictions led to many construction and sewer encroachment disputes between Bethnal Green and its neighboring parishes (Spitalfields) . This only worsened the area's…

Image 1 is a 19th century illustration of Belgrave Chapel and the Western edge of Belgrave Square. This piece was created by an artist known as C. Lacy, and it is currently held at The British Museum in London.

Image 2 is a photograph of a small part of Belgrave Square taken this century by Sarah Jackson.

Belgrave Square is in the Belgravia neighborhood of Westminster, London. The land was originally a natural marshland owned by the Grosvenor family, who later became the Dukes of Westminster. In the 19th century, the Grosvenor family sold the marshland…