Warren Street, Camden
A 400-yard-long Georgian street running westwards off the northern end of Tottenham Court Road
This is the (more interesting) Warren Street in New York’s Tribeca district, a blood relative of London’s Warren Street
In the latter part of the 18th century this was an access road for the newly built properties on what is now Euston Road. Warren Street was laid out with three-storey terraces in 1799 by Charles Fitzroy, first Baron Southampton. Variations in architectural detail have led to suggestions that several speculative builders may have been involved in the project. Fitzroy named the street after his wife, Anne Warren (1737–1807). Anne was the daughter of Admiral Sir Peter Warren, who founded New York’s Greenwich Village and gave his name to more than one Warren Street in America.
The new street soon became a popular place of residence for artists, especially engravers. During the 19th century Warren Street was in the news when the radical MP Sir Charles Dilke was accused of conducting an adulterous affair here, and when a gunman murdered a resident and a pursuing policeman.
The Northern Line station opened in 1907, originally as Euston Road, but this was changed to Warren Street within a year. The station’s 1930s stone façade is by Charles Holden. The street deteriorated in the second half of the 20th century as used car dealers operated premises at street level while leaving the upper floors empty. Other properties were neglected by absentee landlords.
In 1967 Warren Street became the Victoria Line’s southern terminus for the first three months of the line’s existence. The street now possesses a diverse mixture of retailers and providers of professional services. Among the specialist shops are a couple of noteworthy booksellers.
