Drury Lane

Drury Lane is depicted in Corbridge's map of 1723 and follows the grain of the medieval burgage properties that ran off the Bigg Market (now Cloth Market) towards Lort Burn. From 18th century map evidence it is clear that Drury Lane was fully built up from an early date. The first Theatre Royal (HER 6845) was constructed across the eastern end of the lane in 1788 creating the dog leg of the lane. The first and second edition plans show Drury Lane as being split into six separate properties. An archive drawing c.1900 shows the character of the street at the time - a terrace formed by separate buildings between 3-5 storeys high, the ground floor contained three shops. All buildings on the lane were demolised in 1901/2 and rebuilt.