Call me a pedant*, but a quarter = one fourth of the whole, such that each part is the same size as the other three. As per on a clock where a quarter of the hour is 15 minutes.
Yet in London we have many quarters, many more than four, none of them touching and all different sizes and shapes. This is likely an attempt to sound all cosmopolitan inspired by Paris where each of the arrondissements is sub-divided into four 'quartiers' (where you can likely buy a Cartier watch) the French Quarter in New Orleans (or in Newcastle Upon Tyne!)
Here in London we have zones such as Regents Quarter, a little enclave of historical buildings at the southern end of York Way near KX station, not to be confused with Kings Cross Quarter, a block of 119 luxury homes on nearby Pentonville Rd. Then there's The International Quarter, a mixed use development in Newham near the Olympic park, Soho's Photography Quarter in and around Ramillies Street, the Chelsea Heritage Quarter and the prospect of Camden Film Quarter in Kentish Town.
Most of the other London's quarters are BIDs (Business Improvement Districts) such as The Knowledge Quarter in the Kings Cross/StPancras area) and The Fleet Street Quarter shown below, adding a bit of Christmas twinkle to Chancery Lane
On the subject of banners and marketing, a couple of years ago I noticed banners like this one along the Embankment near Somerset House. At first glance they appear to be advertising a men's clothing range available at London Heathrow, but on closer inspection it they are promoting LHQ which turns out to be London's Heritage Quarter, a quarter which I have recently discovered stretches all the way along Victoria station. The LHQ site tells us that this zone covers 'the most precious part of London, steeped in history and overflowing with galleries, theatres, restaurants and bars... nestled between The Royal Parks, Buckingham Palace, Somerset House and the Thames...' Ah, so that's what the rest of us call Central London or The West End. It's hardly 'nestled'?!
To confuse matters further, this LHQ has four subsections called 'London Heritage Quarter Districts' – the mini-quarter districts being Victoria (look at the shape of it!), Victoria Westminster, Whitehall and Northbank. Snappy names eh?
Oh Northbank. You might recall that name being sploshed around the area between Covent Garden and the river about ten years ago as some kind of alternative to the Southbank. Yet the logo, especially on the Christmas banners across the Strand, looked like an US investment company.
Picture: Matt Brown I'd love to have been present for the meetings when they decided on this guff and, subsequently, how they come up with the naff ways of promoting these silly ideas. After ll, those LHQ banners tell us nothing at all. Perhaps it's indeed the same people who came up with the idea of Midtown, a re-branding of Holborn. Bonkers.
A tally... That's nine quarters that spring to my mind right now. I've just realised they are all north of the river. Surely there must be some in Southwark, Lambeth and Wandsworth that I'm not aware of – do me know of any others.
Ooh, here's a thought – another word for quarter is trimestre/trimester, a word that sounds like it has three parts as per triangle, but actually means a three-month period, hence a quarter of the year. Oh grunt. I've opened another can of worms. I don't know where I am going with this. I'll stop. I'm all quartered out. I am going to my quarters for a snooze.
*Jane, you're a pedant.
