Shorts Gardens

Shorts Gardens is a street in the St Giles area of Central London.

[1] The eastern stretch was named Shorts Gardens after William Short, the gardener of Gray's Inn who purchased the land in 1590 when it was still open countryside outside London and was owned by his descendants until 1690 when it was sold off for development.

The eastern stretch had poorer inhabitants from the beginning and at one point became a centre for Italian organ grinders.

This gave way over time to warehouses servicing the fruit trade in nearby Covent Garden market.

At Seven Dials on the corner between Shorts Gardens and Monmouth Street is The Crown pub, dating back as tavern to at least 1700.