Robin Hood Court (St Giles)

From International Robin Hood Bibliography
Locality
Coordinate Near 51.5163, -0.1276
Adm. div. Middlesex, now Greater London
Vicinity Church Lane, St Giles; Slightly W of Dyott Street and S of Bucknall Street; between New Oxford Street and Shaftesbury Avenue
Type Area
Interest Robin Hood name
Status Defunct
First Record 1810
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Robin Hood Court was somewhere near the point indicated.
Robin Hood Court was quite close to this spot, perhaps a little south of it / Google Earth Street View.
The most likely site of the Robin Hood / Google Earth Street View.
The exact location of Robin Hood Yard is not known, but the red arrow points to what seems the most likely spot / Google Earth Street View.

By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2018-06-23. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2021-01-07.

Robin Hood Court was a small cul-de-sac not far from the southern end of Bucknall Street and thus near Dyott Street. It is known only from early 19th century topographical reference works.

When dealing with localities in this area it is good to know that street layout and nomenclature underwent considerable changes from the mid-18th century to the 20th century. For this see the page on the nearby Robin Hood pub. John Lockie in his Topography of London (1810) lists the court as "Robinhood-Court, Church-Lane, St. Giles's,—about four doors on the L. from Diot-street, near Phænix-street".[1] In the 1813 edition this has been update to take account of recent changes in street layout and nomenclature: "Robinhood Court, Church Lane,—4 doors from George-st. Bloomsbury".[2] It is also included in James Elmes's Topographical Dictionary of London (1831),[3] but without any detail that could help us locate it. Of all the maps I have consulted I think only the 25" O.S. map published 1875 and surveyed 1870 can help us pinpoint Robin Hood Court. The yard I have indicated with a red arrow on the map detail below answers rather well to Lockie's directions. I think this was Robin Hood Yard and the Robin Hood was house in the building between it and Bucknall Street (formerly Church Lane and Church Street). It seems certain, at least, that the pub and court would have been within what is now known as Central Saint Giles Piazza.

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Also see

Notes