Simon Whitehouse presents three lectures on Covent Garden.

FROM CONVENT TO CONCRETE

Covent Garden has been a popular destination for over 1500 years. We trace the story of the area's development, from its origins as a thriving Saxon port to Inigo Jones’ revolutionary plan for a ‘piazza', and how the world-famous fruit and vegetable market was nearly 'brutally' demolished in the 1970s! 

HOGARTH & HARLOTS

By the early 1700s, Covent Garden became infamous as the 'Square of Venus'. We take a deeper dive into the demi monde world of the Georgian vice industry memorably depicted by Hogarth & other artists. We meet some extraordinary (and enterprising!) characters and open the pages of Harris's infamous list of "Covent Garden Ladies”.

PUNCH, PYGMALION & PUCCINI

After lunch, in our 'finale' lecture, we raise the curtain on Covent Garden as a place of entertainment. We examine the birth of the West End with two royal theatres that thrive today, and see how the piazza itself has attracted street performers for centuries.