Finsbury Circus - London

This photo of Finsbury Circus is part of one of the panoramic images found on The London Map from Panoramic Earth. There are over 100 images taken from around London linked to an interactive map.

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Full 360° Panorama of Finsbury Cirus

Finsbury Circus is tucked away in the near to the City of London and definitely not on the beaten track for those visiting London. It is unusual in more ways than one. Unlike many other squares in London this one is elliptical, and in the centre is an immaculate bowling green used by the City of London Bowls Club, as evidenced by the people in white shown in this picture. The nearest Tube Station is Mooregate and it is also near to the Museum of London.

Finsbury Circus is a quiet place to let time pass in the summer. Much of the square is occupied by the bowling green, but there is plenty of seating area around this and some beautiful planted areas. While this image shows the bowling green, the full panoramic image also shows the bed behind where the plantations form the crest for the City of London. Finsbury Circus also contains a band stand and it is not uncommon to hear live jazz or other music drifting across the square in the summer.

The history of Finsbury Gardens goes back a long way, to Roman times, when the area, known as ‘Fesnbury’ and effectively a moor. In the early 15C the city wall was breached at this point and nearby Moorgate was completed. By the early 17C the area had been raised and planted with trees becoming a public park, the first in London, in 1606. The land of Finsbury Circus was acquired by the Corporation of London in 1900 and the bowling green laid in 1904.

None of the buildings around Finsbury Circus are original (William Montegue built some fine houses here around 1815), but those that do now surround the oval square are graceful curved terraces typically occupied by banks, insurance companies and the like. The HQ of British Petroleum is also currently located on Finsbury Circus.

An enlargement of this photo can be found on Flickr.

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