William Hodge's extraordinary painting of Seven Dials, created in 1776, just after the Sundial Pillar's removal, looking towards Mercer Street with the Crown public house on the right hand side. (Courtesy of the Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre Library, London Borough of Camden).

Circa 1910. A view of the corner of Earlham Street (west) and Mercer Street (north). On the left of the picture some of the Earlham Street market stalls are visible. On the right, buildings of the original scale of Thomas Neale's plan meet the Victorian larger-scale redevelopment following the construction of Shaftesbury Avenue.

1874 print. In mid-Victorian times Seven Dials was well known for its Bird Fair and the sale of animals. (Courtesy of the Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre Library, London Borough of Camden).

Circa 1880 photograph looking north up Monmouth Street. The Crown public house has hardly changed except for the removal of its dome, topped by a large crown. The Grapes public house is now a shop unit at the apex of the Thomas Neal's development, completed in 1992.