Strand

Strand is the main street in London that connects the districts of Westminster (the center of political life) and City (the center of business activity). It starts on Trafalgar Square and leads east parallel to the Thames in the direction of Fleet Street .

Strand in front of Saint Mary-le-Strand (XIX century).

On the south side, many aristocratic residences (like Somerset House ) go out onto the street, the southern windows of which, before the construction of the embankment in the 19th century, protruded directly onto the Thames. Two churches stand out among the street buildings with their elegant spiers - St. Clement Danes (architect Christopher Rehn , 1682) and St. Mary-le-Strand (architect James Gibbs , 1717). Other impressive buildings are the Charing Cross station and the neo-Gothic ensemble of the Royal Court of Justice (1868-82). Strand is also famous for its many theaters.

Famous Victorians living on and around Strand include Thomas Carlyle , Charles Dickens , Thackeray , John Stuart Mill , Herbert Spencer and Thomas Henry Huxley .