This area covers parts of the wards of St. James, Vincent Square, and Queenstown. Nestled between Victoria Station and the neighbourhood of Pimlico, it is only a few short steps from multiple tube stops. Due to its prime transit location, the area is predominantly known for its commercial and tourist attractions like Westminster Cathedral, and various corporate headquarters. Still, there are some humble Georgian style residential pockets throughout. Locals love the neighbourhood for its close proximity to the Thames as well as major museums and theatres.

Prior to Westminster Cathedral and associated buildings being erected in the neighbourhood, the land was marshland during medieval times. Eventually, the marshland was converted to a pleasure garden and bull-baiting ring. Later on, during the English Civil War, the area served as a jail, confining Scottish prisoners. It wasn’t until 1877, that the prison closed and was replaced with the cathedral that locals know and love today. However, due to the land’s imprisonment history, Scotland continues to be the only part of the UK to not recognise Westminster Cathedral as the head of their Roman Catholic Church.

The late Bishop of Westminster, Cardinal Henry Edward Manning, lived in the neighbourhood until his death in 1892. Originally a member of the Church of England, Manning eventually converted to Roman Catholicism.

When John Bentley, the architect of Westminster Cathedral, died in 1902, he hadn’t finished any of the mosaics. The mosaic drawings and designs that exist there today are still being completed by architects and designers.

A part of the Alfred Hitchcock movie “Foreign Correspondent” was filmed in Westminster Cathedral. During this scene, the character, Rowley, falls from the cathedral tower.

Crime rates in the neighbourhood are unfortunately higher than London’s averages. However, the majority of these crimes are not violent, and are classified mostly as personal theft and shoplifting. Even with these higher crime rates, residents report feeling safe in the area.

As of 2011, the area around Victoria station, part of which sits in this neighbourhood, has been identified as a London opportunity area, which will continue to lead to transit station improvements as well as improved pedestrian connections. It was recently announced that the main Victoria station will be receiving a £30 million upgrade, intended to start work on enhancing its capacity and improving its accessibility. More ticket barriers will be placed and the halls expanded to accommodate the increased number of users and passengers the station is now serving. Food halls and outlets will be removed but new outlets will be constructed on platform level elsewhere to compensate. In addition, newer developments have already been completed adjacent to the station, to provide more office, retail and commercial, as well as residential space.

Victoria Nova, which was completed in 2017 and strategically located beside the station, is expecting another building to be added to the block, as part of owner Land Securities’ n2 scheme. The Nova development as a whole is set across 897,000 sq ft. and three buildings – Nova North, Nova South and The Nova Building. Nova Food, which is two minutes from Victoria station, features 17 restaurants and three pop-up kiosks. The n2 scheme will be the next addition in the Nova portfolio, with office space with a terrace on each floor, opening-up the public realm and connecting Nova to Cardinal Place. Additionally, Westminster City Council adopted a new local plan in 2019, which aims to develop an ambitious 4,000 new jobs and 1,000 new homes in the area.