Bedford Square and its iconic neighbour, the British Museum, come together to make up this critical cultural and academic area. The British Museum gets 5.9 million visitors a year ogling at the Rosetta Stone and a redhead mummy lovingly nicknamed “ginger”, making it one of the most visited museums in the whole of the country. However, there’s even more to this area than this vast collection of artefacts. Nearby Bedford Square houses the New College of Humanities, Sotheby’s institute of Art, and the Arts Council of England. All of these are a stone’s throw away from the chaos of Tottenham Court Road Station.

Ah, the classic question; which came first – Bedford Square or the British Museum? Well, long story short – it’s the museum. It was Mr Sir Hans Sloane who first conceived of the idea of creating a museum to present all the wonders that the empire has robbed from the corners of the world. After an act of parliament in 1753, it was first opened to the public on the 15th June 1759. A decade or two later, Bedford Square, which was considered to be the most perfect square in town, was created to be a residential enclave for the London aristocracy. It’s classical Georgian architecture thus reflects the bourgeois tastes of 18th century England. Its name comes from the Duke of Bedford who owned the land it sits on.

Thomas Hodgkin, famous Victorian doctor, reformer and philanthropist, lived at 35 Bedford Square. Tommy was an iconic pathologist who was most famous for noting the first account of Hodgkin’s disease, a type of cancer of the blood that he named after himself.

There are two key downsides to living and breathing in this area. Firstly, is the 5.9million tourists, a large majority consisting of hordes of tweens with matching backpacks and shopping bags, that clog up the neighbourhood. In less biased terms, the popularity of this area makes it highly congested – with extraordinarily high pollution levels. Secondly, the area is unsurprisingly yet painfully expensive due to its architectural history and central location.

The biggest development that the area has seen in a long time is Camden Council’s West End Project, developed in conjunction with the now completed Elizabeth line that runs through nearby Tottenham Court Road Station. With a budget of £35 million, it intended to bring new public infrastructures to this highly congested junction of London. Between 2021 and 2022, most of the project’s components were completed, but it has received mixed reviews so far. On the one hand, Tottenham Court Road and Bloomsbury Street/Gower Street were converted to two-way roads, increasing vehicular activity in the area. Residents and users have complained about the increased congestion and pollution in the area caused by this change, and there have even been reports of collisions with pedestrians. On the other hand, new public spaces have been developed for visitors to enjoy: Alfred Place and Whitfield Gardens, with the latter benefiting from a strong variety of food stalls, representing different cuisines. Princes Circus, the last public space being built as part of the West End Project, is expected to be completed in mid-2023.