Origin of the "West End."

Progress, Volume VI, Issue 5, 1 March 1911, Page 575

Origin of the "West End."

Explanations of the tendency towards the formation of a " West-end,'' so clearly marked in almost every city (where the natural formation of the site does not forbid it), have been frequently attempted; the most usual is to regard it as a question of the prevailing wind, a solution which I have always felt to be doubtful. My own conclusion is that, the time of leisure and recreation coming towards the latter end of the day, man naturally turns his steps towards the brightness of the evening sky. Try the experiment; place yourself at four or five o'clock where the conditions in .all directions are fairly similar without any preconceived intention, and see which. way you feel naturally inclined to move. .Will it not be westward?—. 11. V. Lanchester, F.R.1.8.A. ... ■-