 The area was fields , settled in the 7th century when it became the heart of the Anglo @-@ Saxon trading town of Lundenwic , then returned to fields after Lundenwic was abandoned at the end of the 9th century . By 1201 part of it had been walled off by Westminster Abbey for use as arable land and orchards . Referred to as " the garden of the Abbey and Convent " , and later " the Covent Garden " , it was seized by Henry VIII and granted to the Earls of Bedford in 1552 . The 4th Earl commissioned Inigo Jones to build some fine houses to attract wealthy tenants . Jones designed the Italianate arcaded square along with the church of St Paul 's . The design of the square was new to London and had a significant influence on modern town planning , acting as the prototype for new estates as London grew . 
