Seven Dials Covent Garden is a unique quarter of London whose star-shaped layout remains as constructed in the early 1690s. By 1974 the Seven Dials area was in a state of dereliction. It was brought back to life largely through the dedication of the Seven Dials Trust, working in partnership with the local authorities and landowners for nearly forty years.

The long-lasting lodging house called Tom Farmer's was better known as 'The Kip'. Here, until the end of the 19th century, residents slept 'on the rope' (sitting down leaning on a rope which was untied at dawn).