 |
Location Profile: HOLBORN |
One of the most frequently visited locations in the series is the area around Holborn and the surrounding Bloomsbury district of Central London. It appears in all bar the first novel in the series and of course gives its name to the second novel.
 |
 |
 |
Holborn Underground Station, served by the Piccadilly and Central
Lines appears frequently and in the series has played host to 'one under's', wedding
parties, armed robbers and even occasionally some people just catching a train! Holborn was also once the junction station for the closed Aldwych branch. Much of the old infrastructure remains however and plays a part in the seriesl. More about 'Hidden Holborn' can be found on the excellent website Disused Stations on London Underground |
Above left is the westbound Central Line platform at Holborn looking east (towards Chancery Lane) with the long closed British Museum Station the next (former) stop onwards behind the camera (See also below). Above right the westbound Piccadilly Line platform looking west towards Covent Garden (see below). Just be aware its not usually this quiet especially in rush hour!
 |
Another location in the High Holborn area that appears is the
former British Museum Underground Station that used to be served by the Central Line until
new platfoms where built at nearby Holborn itself. The station closed in 1936, the site, approximately a couple of hundred yards from Kingsway adjacent to Bloomsbury Court, now has a tasteful modern building playing host to a building society. |
 |
One of the main reasons Holborn is passed through so often is
because of this building, Aviation House located on the corner of Kingsway and High
Holborn, directly opposite the station entrance. In the novels, it is the headquarters of the Transport Division of the Security Service but in real life plays host to a supermarket on the ground floor (suppliers of excellent double chocolate chip muffins!) whilst the rest of the building is home to the Government's Food Standards Agency. |
 |
The BBC in association with the Metropolitan
Police Traffic Management Unit have a live webcam (or 'JamCam') of this very location
updated roughly every five minutes. You can view it by visiting: In the middle of the picture of Aviation House above, you can see the actual camera!! It does move around occasionally, the view I captured on the left for example is actually watching in the opposite direction looking up High Holborn in the direction of Chancery Lane and Holborn Circus/Viaduct. You can also see the full list of available Central London 'Jam Cam's' by clicking here |
 |
The road that leads directly south from High Holborn and
Southampton Row where Holborn Station is located is Kingsway. Whilst High Holborn and the station feature prominently throughout the series, Kingsway had to wait until 'Victoria' before it featured properly in a key incident. |
| This is the north end of Kingsway with Holborn Station immediately ahead along side the unfathomable High Holborn junction traffic lights. |
 |
 |
Kingsway runs from High Holborn over the border into City of
Westminster territory to Aldwych. The barriers in the middle of the road you see on
the left are where the road underpass dives down into and uses the south half of the old
Kingsway Tram Underpass. In a key scene in 'Victoria', the Commander and Sir Richard Crowthorne have a nasty experience whilst walking up the left hand side of Kingsway towards Holborn. |