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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Covent Garden
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(London WC2) The name derives from the area having been a 'convent garden' belonging to Westminster Abbey. It was developed as a Palladian piazza in the early 17C, with Inigo *Jones as architect, though all that survives from his original scheme is the church on the southwest side (St Paul's, known as the actors' church from its long association with the profession). The centre of the piazza was used for the sale of flowers and vegetables from the 17C until 1974, when the market moved to Nine Elms in southwest London. The market building was designed by Charles Fowler in the 1830s; saved from demolition in the 1970s, it is now the centrepiece of London's liveliest district of small shops and cafés. To the northeast is the *Royal Opera House, which is itself often referred to as Covent Garden.
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