Facts about Camden
Camden History
Camden Town is named after Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden. His earldom was styled after his estate, Camden Place near Chislehurst in Kent, formerly owned by historian William Camden. The name, which appears on the Ordnance Survey map of 1822, was later applied to the early-20th-century Camden Town Group of artists and the London Borough of Camden, created in 1965.
Sir Charles Pratt, a radical 18th-century lawyer, and politician acquired the manor through marriage. In 1791, he started granting leases for houses to be built in the manor. In 1816, the Regent’s Canal was built through the area. Up to at least the mid-20th century, Camden Town was considered an “unfashionable” locality. The Camden markets, which started in 1973 and have grown since then, attract many visitors.
General Info
Camden Town, often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, 2.5 miles north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative center of the London Borough of Camden and identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centers in Greater London.
Laid out as a residential district from 1791 and originally part of the manor of Kentish Town and the parish of St Pancras, Camden Town became an important location during the early development of the railways, which reinforced its position on the London canal network. The area’s industrial economic base has been replaced by service industries such as retail, tourism and entertainment.
