Theobald's Road

Theobald's Road is a road in the Bloomsbury district of London. It is named after Theobalds Palace because King James I used this route when going between there and London, travelling with his court and baggage of some 200 carts. For this reason, it was also known as the King's Way which is now the name of the nearby road, Kingsway.

A tram tunnel was built under Kingsway in 1902–1906 which had its north-eastern entrance at Theobald's Road. When the tram network was closed in the 1950s, the Theobald's Road end was used as a flood control centre and movie location.^[1]

The road's name is usually pronounced intuitively /ˈθiəbəldz/, but traditionally it was pronounced /ˈtɪbəldz/.^[2]

Notable residents

• Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born at number 15.^[3]
• Benjamin Disraeli was born at number 22.^[4]

References

1. Andrew Duncan (2006), Secret London, p. 55, ISBN 9781845373054
2. "Hidden London - Pronunciation". Hidden London. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
3. Avril Coleridge-Taylor (1979), The Heritage of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, p. 16, According to the Entry of Birth signed by JB Goodhugh, Registrar for the District of Holborn on 27 September 1875, Samuel Coleridge Taylor (the hyphenated form was adopted later in life) was born on 15 August 1875, at 15 Theobalds Road ...
4. Katy Carter (1982), London & The Famous, p. 53

Coordinates: 51°31′14″N 0°07′01″W / 51.52055°N 0.11704°W