London - Covent Garden - 6/22/2013

It's going to be a busy day today. Couldn't sleep much. Guess I'm still recovering from the jet lag. Plans are to leave the flat at 9:30AM and head out to Covent Garden, a famous London landmark.We had coffee, a quick bite for breakfast, and hopped on the Tube at Gloucester Road.
Covent Garden
After a short walk, we entered a square, surrounded by high-end shops, St. Paul's church, and the Apple Market that contained many street vendors, street performers,

pubs, and restaurants. "The land, now called 'Covent Garden', was seized by Henry VIII, and granted to the Earls of Bedford in 1552." The 4th Earl commissioned a guy named Inigo Jones to build some up-scale houses to attract wealthy investors. Inigo Jones - sounds more like a center fielder and lead-off hitter than a 16th century Brit. Jones designed the Italiante arcaded square and the church of St. Paul's." The design of the square was new to London, and had a tremendous influence on modern town planning, acting as a prototype for new estates as London grew. However by the later part of the  17th century and well into the 18th century things began to change. Gradually, both the market that had sprung up on the south side of the square in 1654 and the surrounding area fell into disrepute as "taverns, theatres, coffee-houses, and brothels opened up; the gentry moved away, and rakes, wits, and playwrights moved in." By the 18th century, Covent Garden had become a red-light district, attracting many notable prostitutes of that era. In fact, an enterprising publisher who went by the pseudonym of 'H. Ranger' released the first edition of Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies just in time for Christmas, 1756. "Merry Christmas, Elizabeth, I hope you like this new, brilliant, high-society book on style I got you for Christmas. Love, Reginal." Oops! Published as an annual directory from 1757 to 1795, this stylish booklet was a directory that described "the physical appearance and sexual specialties of about 120 - 190 prostitutes who worked in and around Covent Garden." From contemporary reports, it was estimated that 8000 copies of the booklet were sold annually.
Interestingly, this was not the first directory of prostitutes to be circulated in London. The Wandering Whore ran for five issues between 1660 and 1661. As opposed to Harris's List, it was meant to be an expose of the sex trade. Note the difference in the titles; I wonder what the publishers' opinions were on the subject? The Wandering Whore uses dialogue between such characters as "Magdalena, a Crafty Whore, Julietta, an Exquisite Whore, Francion, a Lascivious Gallant, and Gusman, a Pimping Hector." I love that. I can see myself trying to settle an argument by pointing to each combatant in turn and respectfully saying, "You, my good man, are an honorable man. But you, sir, are a Pimping Hector." Or the more contemporary "Get your Pimping Hector ass out of my office."

OK, I have gotten off track again. It took an Act of Parliament to clean up Covent Garden. In 1830, the famous neo-classical building was built to cover and help organize the market. The red-light district declined as the market grew and new buildings were added: the Floral Hall, Charter Market, and in 1904 the Jubilee Market. The tourist location seen today contains cafes, pubs, small shops, a craft market called the Apple Market, and another market held a Jubilee Hall.
We split up as a group and made plans to meet at a central location on the square at a specified time. Anne and I walked by the gardens behind St. Paul's and visited a number of shops on either side of the Apple Market. There were plenty of street performers providing music, comedy, juggling, etc. We were fascinated by an open air restaurant with a guy preparing vegetables to throw into giant woks to make a lunchtime Paella. But, alas, it was too early for lunch. On our first full day in London, it didn't take much to fascinate us. It was time to connect back up with the group and head to the British Museum, purported to be the most amazing museum of the many museums in London.