Our second online issue of Bloomsbury News follows rather closely on the heels of the first, but this restores our original timing and future issues will be posted on the website at regular three-monthly intervals from now on – Spring/Easter, Summer, Autumn and Winter/Christmas.
I like to take this opportunity to introduce new tenants to our readers and welcome them to the Estate. The latest to join us, at the recently refurbished 18 Bloomsbury Square, is The History of Parliament Trust. HoPT is a fascinating organisation, founded in 1940 with the purpose of creating a national dictionary of parliamentary biographies. It researches and produces biographies of every person who sat as a member of the Houses of Parliament during the period concerned and descriptions of each election during the period in each constituency. So far twenty-eight volumes have now been published, covering eight periods: 1386-1421, 1509-1558, 1558-1603, 1660-1690, 1690-1715, 1715-1754, 1754-1790 and 1790-1820. They have plenty more to do and I hope that they will find that Bloomsbury Square provides just the right environment in which to continue their research. We will be running a feature on them in the Spring issue.
Nearby, the refurbishment of 21 and 22 Bloomsbury Square has been completed. We have broken with the traditional style of interiors here and provided ultra-modern lighting, polished timber floors and vibrant colours to give an exciting 21st century look to the insides of these elegant period buildings. Details can be seen on the property section of the website. We already have interest from potential tenants and I hope to be able to welcome another newcomer to the Estate in the next edition of Bloomsbury News.
Tenants in and around Bedford Square will have received consultation papers recently about the long-awaited improvements to the hard landscaping, roadway and pavements around the Square. Funding is in place and all being well, this work will get under way in the early part of 2006. We will be reporting further on this in our Spring issue.
It just remains for me to wish you all a very happy Christmas and best wishes for 2006.
The Duke of Bedford
