Holborn (pronounced 'ho-bun') is a place in London, England, named after a tributary to the river Fleet that flowed through the area, the Hole-bourne (the stream in the hollow). Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, straddling the borders of the London Borough of Camden, the City of Westminster and the City of London.
The area is traditionally the stamping ground for journalists and lawyers. Historically Fleet Street, running west-east in the southern half of Holborn, was the home of almost all the national newspapers, although these have all now moved to more spacious surroundings towards the east of the city. This area is still the home of the legal system. The Royal Courts of Justice (the Law Courts) and the Inns of Court (Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple), home to the top barristers in the country, are located in the area.
It is also the location of Barnard's Inn, the current home of Gresham College, the first college in London.
In the eighteenth century, Holborn was the location of the infamous Mother Clap's molly house.
The Metropolitan Borough of Holborn only included the part now part of the London Borough of Camden, and does not include the Strand, the Royal Courts of Justice, Inner Temple, Middle Temple, or Fleet Street.
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