Holborn, Administrative district in central London, United Kingdom
Holborn runs through the southeastern edge of Camden Borough and links the old legal quarter around the Inns of Court with shops along High Holborn. Brick buildings from the 1800s stand beside modern office towers, and wide streets meet narrow alleys behind the court buildings.
The name comes from the Holebourne stream, a tributary of the Fleet that ran openly through the Middle Ages. The district took shape over centuries through law chambers and printing workshops that settled near the royal courts.
The College of Arms on Queen Victoria Street designs coats of arms for royal ceremonies and keeps most of the country's heraldic records. Just nearby, cobbled lanes in some side streets recall the time when this section formed part of the City of London.
The district sits between Holborn, Chancery Lane and Farringdon tube stations and is easy to walk around during the day. Many offices close early in the evening, but cafés and pubs usually stay open around High Holborn.
Staple Inn on Holborn Street is one of the last timber-framed buildings left in central London and dates to the 1500s. Its frontage survived the Great Fire and was later damaged during World War II but rebuilt true to its original form.
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