Why is the "West End" called the West End when it is actually in central London?

Answer 1

It's the West End of what London was before it grew into a monster. Once upon a time, there was little beyond Marble Arch except quaint little villages (such as Highgate and Hampstead) and countryside.

Answer 2

It is actually still the West End of the centre of London - as The City is still considered to be part of the central zone. It looks central on the tube map as the underground was built to cater for homes in wealthy West London, and the docks and warehouses of East London were pretty much ignored initially.

Answer 3

It was an area to the West of Central London at the time of naming

Answer 4

There is an area of about a square mile (known colloquially as 'the square mile') which is the actual City of London. The City of London covers areas such as Blackfriars, St Pauls, the Barbican, Fleet St, Liverpool St, Moorgate etc (ie NOT the west end, Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square etc) (see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/maps/boundary_map.htm).

'Central London' which you are talking about is just a loose term that is used to describe the area roughly around the City of London. While the west end might be in the western part of 'Central London', it is actually in the City of Westminister, not the City of London.

Answer 5

Maybe because the beginning of West London is the first bit you would have to get to before getting into the Central part so I guess it would be the West End....

If that makes sense?

Answer 6

Central London is actually called "the City of London" - East of the city of London is the Docklands and areas like Stepney and Bethnal Green are called the EastEnd. West of the City is Oxford Street, Notting Hill etc - and called the WestEnd. It all revolves around the city really. There is no NorthEnd and SouthEnd is actually further North than the whole of London - wierd but I have learned how to deal with it and have got over it - it takes a while though

Answer 7

London was founded by the Rromans nearly 2,000 years ago. I have been touring London & have seen some few remains. The Roman city was a small part of the current city. When the Romans left Britain , London was not occupied . The Saxons did not like to live in cities. The middle age's city occupied roughly what is now called the Square Mile . There are still remains of bits of the wall & gates. There were even rivers which have now been built over flowing into the Thames. This is the historic centre of London & the East End & West End are named in relation to it.

Answer 8

'London' used to mean that part that is now known as the City of London, which these days is chiefly a financial sector. It was, until the early 19th Century, a walled and gated city (hence areas such as Moorgate, Aldgate etc) which is now defined (more or less) by the area between St Pauls Cathedral and the Tower of London.

The villages and settlements beyond the bounds were places such as Stepney & Clerkenwell to the East, and Covent Garden (or Lundenwic, as it was orignally known), Knightsbridge etc to the West; there was also the area of Southwark lying south of the City. When London began to expand at a huge rate, starting from the middle of the 18th Century, these settlements also expanded and were absorbed by London, but retaining their old identities of East End and West End.

Answer 9

It's not the exact centre, it's West of "The City" (the business district) which is considered the centre. As a few people have mentioned, London has grown and grown over the years, so now it's hard to tell as it's quite central.

Answer 10

It is the West End of Greater London

Think of the counties and the area London covers and stop focusing on the city centre itself.