![Pagoda in Chinatown, London (16935093110)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Pagoda_in_Chinatown%2C_London_%2816935093110%29.jpg)
Chinatown is an
ethnic enclave
In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...
in the
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...
, London, bordering
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 develop ...
to its north and west,
Theatreland
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...
to the south and east. The enclave currently occupies the area in and around
Gerrard Street. It contains a number of Chinese restaurants,
bakeries
A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish ...
, supermarkets, souvenir shops, and other Chinese-run businesses. The first Chinatown was located in
Limehouse
Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throug ...
in the
East End
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
.
History
The first area in London known as Chinatown was located in the
Limehouse
Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throug ...
area of the
East End of London
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
. At the start of the 20th century, the Chinese population of London was concentrated in that area, setting up businesses which catered to the Chinese sailors who frequented in
Docklands. The area was known through exaggerated reports and tales of
slum housing
A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...
and (the then-legal)
opium
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
dens, rather than the Chinese restaurants and supermarkets of the current Chinatown. However, much of the area was damaged by aerial bombing during
the Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, although a number of elderly Chinese still choose to live in this area. After the Second World War, however, the growing popularity of
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many ot ...
and an influx of immigrants from
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
led to an increasing number of Chinese restaurants being opened elsewhere.
The present Chinatown, which is off
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 Cir ...
did not start to be established until the 1970s. Previously, it was a regular Soho area, run-down, with
Gerrard Street the main thoroughfare. It was dominated by the Post Office, facing Macclesfield Street, and other major establishments were The Tailor & Cutter House, at 43/44, now a Chinese supermarket and restaurant, the Boulogne Restaurant, near the Wardour Street end, and by Peter Mario's Restaurant at the other end. Other businesses included a master baker's, the Sari Centre, Lesgrain French Coffee House,
Harrison Marks
George Harrison Marks (6 August 1926 – 27 June 1997) was an English glamour photographer and director of nudist, and later, pornographic films.
Personal life
Born in Tottenham, Middlesex in 1926, Marks was 17 when he married his first wife ...
' Glamour Studio, an Indian restaurant and various brothels. Probably the first Chinese restaurants opened in Lisle Street, parallel to Gerrard Street, and more opened gradually; one of the first restaurants was Kowloon Restaurant. The Tailor & Cutter did not close down until around 1974. The area now has more than 80 restaurants.
In 2005, the property developer
Rosewheel proposed a plan to redevelop the eastern part of Chinatown. The plan was opposed by many of the existing retailers in Chinatown, as they believe that the redevelopment would drive out the traditional Chinese retail stores from the area and change the ethnic characteristic of Chinatown. In October 2013 and July 2018, the London Chinatown Community Centre (LCCC) organised a one-day shutdown in
protest
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.
Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
of violent tactics by immigration officers from the
Home Office.
The London Chinatown Community Centre (LCCC) has been housed in the Chinatown area since it was founded in 1980 by Dr Abraham Lue. The Centre claims to have received 40,000 people for help and assistance since its foundation. Located since 1998 on the second floor of 28-29 Gerrard Street, the Centre relocated to 2 Leicester Court in 2012, above the
Hippodrome Casino
The hippodrome ( el, ἱππόδρομος) was an ancient Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The term is used in ...
.
On 25 July 2016, a new Chinatown gate on
Wardour Street
Wardour Street () is a street in Soho, City of Westminster, London. It is a one-way street that runs north from Leicester Square, through Chinatown, London, Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street. Throughout the 20th century the ...
was opened by
Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. It was made by Chinese artisans and assembled in London. The gate is in the style of the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
.
There was a Chinese-style
pavilion
In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings:
* It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
at Newport Place from the 1980s which was a popular
meeting point
Meeting Point (Chinese: 匯點) was a liberal political organisation and party in Hong Kong formed by a group of former student activists in the 1970s and intellectuals for the discussion for the Sino-British negotiation on the question of Hong ...
, but it was demolished in 2016 after more than thirty years, despite protests. The development authorities had plans to renovate and enlarge the square. The construction of a new pavilion at a different location was announced.
Geography
Chinatown has no officially defined size, but it has commonly been considered to approximately encompass Gerrard Street, the bottom half of
Wardour Street
Wardour Street () is a street in Soho, City of Westminster, London. It is a one-way street that runs north from Leicester Square, through Chinatown, London, Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street. Throughout the 20th century the ...
,
Rupert Street
Rupert Street is a street in London's Soho area, running parallel to Wardour Street and crossing Shaftesbury Avenue.
Rupert Street is first mentioned in records in 1677, and named for Prince Rupert of the Rhine.
The northern part of Rupert Str ...
and Rupert Court, a section of
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 Cir ...
and
Lisle Street, Macclesfield Street and Newport Place, Newport Court and Little Newport Street.
*
Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street) and then becomes Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direction of ...
– built 1887, and named as it led to the cross at Charing, from the Old English word "cierring", referring to a bend in the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
*
Coventry Street
Coventry Street is a short street in the West End of London, connecting Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square. Part of the street is a section of the A4, a major road through London. It is named after the politician Henry Coventry, secretary ...
– after Henry Coventry, Secretary of State to
Charles II, who lived near here in Shaver's Hall
* Cranbourn Street – built in the 1670s and named after local landowner the Earl of Salisbury, Viscount Cranbourn (or Cranbourne) after the
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in Dorset
* Dansey Place – unknown; formerly named George Yard, after a pub adjacent called the George and Dragon
* Gerrard Place and
Gerrard Street – after
Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield
Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, PC (c. 16187 January 1694) was an English aristocrat, soldier and courtier.
Early life
The eldest son of Sir Charles Gerard, he was a member of an old Lancashire family, his great-grandfather having ...
, who owned this land when the street as built in the 1680s; the form ‘Gerrard’ developed in the 19th century
*
Great Windmill Street
Great Windmill Street is a thoroughfare running north–south in Soho, London, crossed by Shaftesbury Avenue.
The street has had a long association with music and entertainment, most notably the Windmill Theatre, and is now home to the Ripley' ...
– after a windmill that formerly stood near here in Ham Yard in the 16th-17th century; the ‘great’ prefix was to distinguish it from Little Windmill Street, now Lexington Street
* Horse and Dolphin Yard – after the Horse and Dolphin inn which stood here in the 17th – 19th centuries
* Leicester Court, Leicester Place,
Leicester Square
Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...
and Leicester Street – in the 17th and 18th centuries on the north side of the square was
Leicester House, built by
Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester (1 December 1595 – 2 November 1677) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1625 and then succeeded to the peerage as Earl of Leicester.
Life
Sidney was born a ...
and later the residence of
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fath ...
; Leicester Court was formerly Ryder Court, after a local leaseholder, Richard Ryder, but was renamed in 1936
* Lisle Street – after Philip, Viscount Lisle, who succeeded to the earldom of Leicester in 1677
* Macclesfield Street – after
Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield
Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, PC (c. 16187 January 1694) was an English aristocrat, soldier and courtier.
Early life
The eldest son of Sir Charles Gerard, he was a member of an old Lancashire family, his great-grandfather having ...
, local landowner in the 17th century
* Newport Court, Newport Place and Little Newport Street – after Mountjoy Blount, Earl of Newport (
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
), who owned a house on this street (then just Newport Street) in the 17th century. Following the construction of Charing Cross Road, Newport Street was split in two and the two sections renamed as they are today
* Rupert Court and Rupert Street – after
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
, noted 17th century general and son of
Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
; he was First Lord of the Admiralty when this street was built in 1676
*
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 Cir ...
– after
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (28 April 1801 – 1 October 1885), styled Lord Ashley from 1811 to 1851, was a British Tory politician, philanthropist, and social reformer. He was the eldest son of The 6th Earl of Shaftesbury ...
, Victorian politician and philanthropist
*
Wardour Street
Wardour Street () is a street in Soho, City of Westminster, London. It is a one-way street that runs north from Leicester Square, through Chinatown, London, Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street. Throughout the 20th century the ...
– named after local 17th century landowners the Wardour family, and formerly called Colman Hedge Lane/Close after a nearby field; the section south of Brewer Street was formerly Prince Street prior to 1878, in parallel with Rupert Street
Education
The City of Westminster operates the Charing Cross Library with the Westminster Chinese Library.
Transport
The nearest
London Underground stations
The London Underground is a metro system in the United Kingdom that serves Greater London and the home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire. Its first section opened in 1863, making it the oldest underground metro system in the ...
are
Leicester Square
Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...
and
Piccadilly Circus.
Popular culture
![Lee Ho Fook in London's Chinatown, 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Lee_Ho_Fook_in_London%27s_Chinatown%2C_2008.jpg)
The song lyrics to
Warren Zevon
Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician.
Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Tho ...
's 1978 hit song "
Werewolves of London
"Werewolves of London" is a rock song performed by American singer-songwriter Warren Zevon. It was composed by Zevon, LeRoy Marinell and Waddy Wachtel and was included on ''Excitable Boy'' (1978), Zevon's third solo album. The track featured Fl ...
": "He was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fook‘s / Gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein" refer to
Lee Ho Fook
Lee Ho Fook was a Chinese restaurant located in Chinatown, London at 15–16 Gerrard Street. It was previously located at 4 Macclesfield Street. In 1974, it became the first Chinese restaurant in the United Kingdom to be awarded a Michelin Star. ...
, a Chinese restaurant that stood on 15
Gerrard Street.
The films ''
Ping Pong
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
'' (1986) and ''
Soursweet
''Soursweet'' is a 1988 British film directed by Mike Newell. The screenplay was written by Ian McEwan from the 1982 novel '' Sour Sweet'' by Timothy Mo.
Plot
The story, set in the 1960s, is a comedy drama about a young Hong Kong Chinese co ...
'' (1988) are set in Chinatown; they are regarded as the first British-Chinese films, and make extensive use of Chinatown locations.
Car park
There is a China Town car park, which is underneath Vale Royal House, a large residential block in Newport Court, both built in the 1980s and managed by
Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...
.
Vale Royal House
at wikimapia.org, accessed 20 May 2020
Gallery
File:chinatownlon.jpg, Chinatown, New Year 2009
File:Chinatown2013.jpg, The corner of Gerrard Street, 2013
File:Bilingual StreetSign in LondonChinaTown.jpg, Bilingual street sign
File:Gerrard Street London.jpg, A stone lion on Gerrard Street. Note the bilingual English/Chinese street sign in the background.
See also
* Brick Lane
Brick Lane (Bengali: ব্রিক লেন) is a street in the East End of London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest ...
* Chinese community in London
There are 120,250 Chinese people in London, comprising 1.5% of the city's population. 33% of ethnic Chinese people in the United Kingdom reside in London.
As of 2000, more recent ethnic Chinese arrivals originated from Mainland China, Taiwan, ...
* British Chinese
British Chinese (also known as Chinese British or Chinese Britons) are people of Chineseparticularly Han Chineseancestry who reside in the United Kingdom, constituting the second-largest group of Overseas Chinese in Western Europe after France. T ...
* Wong Kei
Wong Kei () is a Chinese restaurant in London's Chinatown, once described as "the rudest restaurant in London". It is one of the largest Chinese restaurants in the UK with seating for around 500 diners.
Restaurant
Wong Kei was once known for the ...
References
Notes
Further reading
"London's first Chinatown"
portcities.org.uk. Accessed 11 April 2011.
External links
The official Chinatown London website
London Chinatown Community Centre (LCCC)
New Google 360 degree tour of Chinatown
The official London Chinatown Chinese Association website
Reassessing what we collect website – Chinese London
- history of Chinese London with objects and images
{{ Restaurants in London
Areas of London
Districts of the City of Westminster
Chinese community in the United Kingdom
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
Chinatown, London
Chinatown is an ethnic enclave in the City of Westminster, London, bordering Soho to its north and west, Theatreland to the south and east. The enclave currently occupies the area in and around Gerrard Street. It contains a number of Chin ...
Soho, London
City of Westminster