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Aldwych is a broad crescent-shaped street forming the south-eastern boundary of the Covent Garden district, curving between the Strand at both ends and enclosing the ground around the church of St Mary le Strand. It was created in the early twentieth century as part of a large redevelopment scheme, cleared and laid out with Kingsway to open a grand new thoroughfare through this part of London. The name derives from an old term for the medieval Danish settlement once associated with the area, one of the few genuinely ancient place-names surviving here. Aldwych is defined by its large, imposing Edwardian buildings, including major institutional and academic frontages, and by the theatres set along and near its curve. The Aldwych Theatre and the neighbouring playhouses give the street a strong theatrical presence, continuing the performance character that runs through Covent Garden. Present use is a mix of offices, higher education premises, hotels and cultural venues, with heavy through-traffic on the road itself. Somerset House and the wider Strand frontage lie close by. For visitors, Aldwych marks where the intimate market lanes give way to a monumental scale of planning, and it serves as a principal link between the eastern edge of Covent Garden, the river and the approach to the City.