Great Windmill Street is a

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi- lane hig ...

running north–south in

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

, London, crossed by

Shaftesbury Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue is a major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It runs north-easterly from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. From Piccadilly C ...

. The street has had a long association with music and entertainment, most notably the Windmill Theatre, and is now home to the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum and the Trocadero shopping centre.

Early history

The street took its name from a

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in so ...

on the site which was recorded 1585 and demolished during the 1690s. In a parliamentary survey of 1658 the mill was described as "well fitted with Staves and other materials". The area was developed around 1665 but the building was speculative and of poor quality; this led to a royal proclamation in 1671 that prohibited unlicensed development in "Windmill Fields, Dog Fields and Soho". Later that year, Thomas Panton, one of the original speculators, was granted a licence to continue his scheme with the condition that it was supervised and directed by Sir

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churc ...

who was the Surveyor General of the King's Works. By 1682, maps show that both sides of the street were developed along their whole length.

Medical school

In 1767 the Scottish

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

and physician William Hunter FRS built a large house at number 16 after demolishing an earlier large dwelling. Hunter's house incorporated a large library, a museum and an

anatomical theatre An anatomical theatre (Latin: ) was a specialised building or room, resembling a theatre, used in teaching anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a b ...

. He gave lectures and anatomical demonstrations from the new house, the first taking place on 1 October 1776. After his death, in 1783 he bequeathed the school and his house to his nephew, Dr Matthew Baillie, who taught there from 1783 to 1803. The Windmill Street School of Anatomy was incorporated into King’s College London in 1829 and

Charles Bell Sir Charles Bell (12 November 177428 April 1842) was a Scottish surgeon, anatomist, physiologist, neurologist, artist, and philosophical theologian. He is noted for discovering the difference between sensory nerves and motor nerves in the spi ...

was its first professor of physiology. The house was used for medical demonstrations until 1831. It now forms part of the dressing rooms and stage of the Lyric Theatre.

Red Lion public house

The Red Lion

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

was built on the corner with Archer Street in around 1793. In November 1847, the Communist League held its second congress in a room above the bar and it was here that

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and Frederick Engels submitted their proposals for writing the

Communist Manifesto ''The Communist Manifesto'', originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (german: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), is a political pamphlet written by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Comm ...

. The Red Lion closed in around 2005 and in 2013 was the 'Be at One' Cocktail Bar and Lounge.

Entertainment

The street has had a long association with music and entertainment, most notably the Windmill Theatre where during the 1930s and 1940s Laura Henderson and Vivian Van Damm presented nude '' tableaux vivants''. The theatre is now a table dancing club. In the 1940s, the first regular paid modern jazz club for London musicians, Club Eleven, was run from a basement in Great Windmill Street featuring musicians such as Ronnie Scott, Hank Shaw,

Johnny Rogers John Bernard Rogers Bakker (born December 30, 1963) is a Spanish-American former professional basketball player. Rogers played college basketball at Stanford University and at the University of California, Irvine. Listed at a height of 6'10" and ...

, Lennie Bush, Tony Crombie and

Laurie Morgan Laurie Morgan (17 December 1930 – 18 January 2018) was a Deputy of the States of Guernsey. He was Guernsey's first Chief Minister and was elected to the post in May 2004. His term of office was due to expire in 2008, when the next General Elec ...

. In the 1960s, the

Scene Club The Scene Club was a 1960s music venue in Ham Yard, 41 Great Windmill Street, Soho, central London, England. The club opened in 1963 and was associated with the mod youth subculture. Bands that appeared at the club included the Rolling Stones ...

in Ham Yard at Number 41 was associated with the mod youth culture and bands that appeared there included the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

and

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are conside ...

. The street was also home to the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum and the Trocadero shopping centre.

References

{{Soho Streets in the City of Westminster Streets in Soho