Aldwych

Aldwych
Aldwych Location within Greater London
London borough	Westminster
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	WC2B
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
London Assembly	West Central
List of places UK England London 51°30′48″N 0°07′00″W / 51.5132°N 0.1167°W / 51.5132; -0.1167

Aldwych (pronounced /ˈɔːldwɪtʃ/ AWLD-witch) is a street and the name of the area immediately surrounding it, in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, and is part of the West End Theatreland. The 450 metres (1,480 ft) street starts 600 metres (2,000 ft) east-northeast of Charing Cross, the conventional map centre-point of the capital city.

The name means "old port", and in Anglo-Saxon times it was the port of the City of London.

The semi-circular design of the street of Aldwych arises from its function, making navigable the gradient of the fall in levels between the roads connected by the street: the south end of Kingsway, and the Strand.^[1] It forms part of the A4 road from London to Avonmouth, Bristol.

The Aldwych area forms part of the Northbank business improvement district.^[2] It is known for hotels, restaurants, two theatres, the High Commissions of India and Australia. It gives its name to the now-closed Underground station on the related section of the Strand (the return of the crescent), which poses as an active tube station in films and television shows. Marking the east end of the street and in the middle of the crescent return are Grade I heritage listed churches designed by Wren and Gibbs. Immediately north-east of St Clement Danes (St Clements), on Strand, is the Royal Courts of Justice, a complex of courtrooms used by the senior courts of England and Wales, including the High Court and the Court of Appeal of England and Wales.