Covent Garden
Historic piazza where street performers, market traders, and Mr. Punch's first English show have drawn crowds since 1630.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Covent Garden takes you back to 9 May 1662, when diarist Samuel Pepys watched an Italian puppeteer's show that became the first recorded appearance of Mr. Punch on English soil. From there it traces Inigo Jones's design for London's first public square, the market that grew up around Saint Paul's church, and the centuries of traders and performers who followed. Look up at the ironwork of Charles Fowler's old market roof as you listen.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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