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Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the
West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government build ...
. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main
entertainment district An entertainment district is a type of arts district with a high concentration of movie theaters, theatres or other entertainment venues. Such areas may be officially designated by local governments with functional zoning regulations, as well as ...
s in the capital since the 19th century. The area was developed from farmland by Henry VIII in 1536, when it became a royal park. It became a parish in its own right in the late 17th century, when buildings started to be developed for the upper class, including the laying out of
Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, and a much weathered ...
in the 1680s. St Anne's Church was established during the late 17th century, and remains a significant local landmark; other churches are the
Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory is a Catholic church on Warwick Street, Westminster. It was formerly known as the Royal Bavarian Chapel, because like several Catholic churches in London it originated as a chapel within ...
and St Patrick's Church in Soho Square. The aristocracy had mostly moved away by the mid-19th century, when Soho was particularly badly hit by an outbreak of cholera in 1854. For much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation as a base for the
sex industry The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related ...
in addition to its
night life Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
and its location for the headquarters of leading film companies. Since the 1980s, the area has undergone considerable
gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...
. It is now predominantly a fashionable district of upmarket restaurants and media offices, with only a small remnant of sex industry venues. London's gay community is centred on
Old Compton Street Old Compton Street is a road that runs east–west through Soho in the West End of London. History The street was named after Henry Compton who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686. Th ...
in Soho. Soho's reputation as a major entertainment district of London stems from theatres such as the
Windmill Theatre The Windmill Theatre in Great Windmill Street, London, was a variety and revue theatre best known for its nude '' tableaux vivants'', which began in 1932 and lasted until its reversion to a cinema in 1964. Many prominent British comedians o ...
on Great Windmill Street and the
Raymond Revuebar The Raymond Revuebar (1958–2004) was a theatre and strip club at 11 Walker's Court (now the location of The Box Soho nightclub), in the centre of London's Soho district. For many years, it was the only venue in London that offered full-fronta ...
owned by entrepreneur Paul Raymond, and music clubs such as the
2i's Coffee Bar The 2i's Coffee Bar was a coffeehouse at 59 Old Compton Street in Soho, London, that was open from 1956 to 1970. It played a formative role in the emergence of Britain's skiffle and rock and roll music culture in the late 1950s, and several ...
and the
Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed wh ...
.
Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. ...
was based in Soho, and the nearby
Denmark Street Denmark Street is a street on the edge of London's West End running from Charing Cross Road to St Giles High Street. It is near St Giles in the Fields Church and Tottenham Court Road station. The street was developed in the late 17th centu ...
has hosted numerous music publishing houses and instrument shops from the 20th century onwards. The independent British film industry is centred around Soho, including the British headquarters of
Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
and the
British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...
offices. The area has been popular for restaurants since the 19th century, including the long-standing Kettner's which was visited by numerous celebrities. Near to Soho is London's Chinatown, centred on Gerrard Street and containing several restaurants.


Name

The name "Soho" first appears in the 17th century. The name may possibly derive from a former hunting cry. James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, used "soho" as a rallying call for his men at the
Battle of Sedgemoor The Battle of Sedgemoor was the last and decisive engagement between the Kingdom of England and rebels led by the Duke of Monmouth during the Monmouth rebellion, fought on 6 July 1685, and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in Somerse ...
on 6 July 1685, half a century after the name was first used for this area of London. The Soho name has been reused by other entertainment and restaurant districts such as the Soho, Hong Kong entertainment zone and the cultural and commercial area of
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 ...
in Málaga. The
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
neighbourhood of SoHo, Manhattan, gets its name from its location South of
Houston Street Houston Street ( ) is a major east–west thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs the full width of the island of Manhattan, from FDR Drive along the East River in the east to the West Side Highway along the Hudson River i ...
, but is also a reference to London's Soho. The
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
neighbourhood of Uptown was also formerly called Soho, most likely having been named by its founder James Tustin after the London district, though it may refer to
Soho, West Midlands Soho is an area that is in Central Birmingham and Smethwick, approximately 2 miles north west of Birmingham city centre on the A41. The name is an abbreviation of South House, denoting that it was located to the south of Handsworth. The sectio ...
.


Location

Soho is about in area, bounded 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 ...
to the south,
Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...
to the north, Regent Street to the west, and Charing Cross Road to the east. However, apart from Oxford Street, all of these roads are 19th-century metropolitan improvements, and Soho has never been an administrative unit, with formally defined boundaries. The area to the west is known as Mayfair, to the north
Fitzrovia Fitzrovia () is a district of central London, England, near the West End. The eastern part of area is in the London Borough of Camden, and the western in the City of Westminster. It has its roots in the Manor of Tottenham Court, and was urban ...
, to the east
St Giles Saint Giles (, la, Aegidius, french: Gilles), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 6th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly lege ...
and Covent Garden, and to the south
St James's St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the d ...
. According to the Soho Society, Chinatown, the area between Leicester Square to the south and Shaftesbury Avenue to the north, is part of the area. Soho is part of the West End electoral ward which elects three councillors to
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 ...
. 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 Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus,
Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road t ...
, Leicester Square and Covent Garden.


History


Early history

During the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, the area that is now Soho was farmland that belonged to the Abbot and Convent of Abingdon and the master of Burton St Lazar Hospital in Leicestershire, who managed a
leper Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...
hospital in St Giles in the Fields. In 1536, the land was taken by Henry VIII as a royal park for the Palace of Whitehall. The area south of what is now Shaftesbury Avenue did not stay in the Crown possession for long; Queen Mary sold around in 1554, and most of the remainder was sold between 1590 and 1623. A small section of land remained, until sold by Charles II in 1676. In the 1660s, ownership of Soho Fields passed to
Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of Saint Albans, (25 March 1605 (baptised) – January 1684) was an English politician and courtier. He sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1625 and 1643 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Jermyn. ...
, who leased 19 out of the of land to Joseph Girle. He was granted permission to develop property and quickly passed the lease and development to bricklayer Richard Frith. Much of the land was granted freehold in 1698 by William III to
William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland Hans William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, (20 July 164923 November 1709) was a Dutch and English nobleman who became in an early stage the favourite of William, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder in the Netherlands, and future King of England. He ...
, while the southern part of Soho was sold piecemeal in the 16th and 17th centuries, partly to Robert Sidney, Earl of Leicester. Soho was part of the ancient parish of St Martin in the Fields, forming part of the
Liberty of Westminster The City and Liberty of Westminster was a unit of local government in the county of Middlesex, England. It was located immediately to the west of the City of London. Originally under the control of Westminster Abbey, the local authority for the ...
. As the population started to grow a new church was provided and in 1687 a new parish of St Anne was established for it. The parish stretched from Oxford Street in the north to Leicester Square in the south and from what is now Charing Cross Road in the east to Wardour Street in the west. It, therefore, included all of contemporary eastern Soho, including the Chinatown area. The western portion of modern Soho, around Carnaby Street, was part of the parish of St James, which was split off from St Martin in 1686.


Gentrification

Building progressed rapidly in the late 17th century, with large properties such as
Monmouth House Monmouth House was a 17th-century mansion in Soho Square (then called King’s Square) built for the Duke of Monmouth, the oldest illegitimate son of King Charles II. After the Duke's execution for attempting to lead a rebellion against the unpo ...
(built for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, Charles II's eldest illegitimate son), Leicester House, Fauconberg House, Carlisle House and Newport House.
Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, and a much weathered ...
was first laid out in the 1680s on the former Soho Fields. Firth built the first houses around the square, and by 1691, 41 had been completed. It was originally called King Square in honour of Charles II, and a statue of him was based in the centre. Several upper-class families moved into the area, including those of
Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston PC (24 September 1648 – 22 December 1695) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1675 and 1689. He became a Jacobite conspirator, but his reputation ...
and
Edward Howard, 2nd Earl of Carlisle Edward Howard, 2nd Earl of Carlisle (27 November 1646 – 23 April 1692), known as Viscount Morpeth from 1661 to 1685, was an English Whig politician. Carlisle was the eldest son of Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle, and his wife Anne, daught ...
. The square had become known as Soho Square by 1720, at which point it had fashionable houses on all sides. Only No 10 and No 15 from this period have survived into the 21st century. Though the Earls of Leicester and Portland had intended Soho to be an upper-class estate comparable to Bloomsbury,
Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...
and Mayfair, it never developed as such. Immigrants began to settle in the area from around 1680 onwards, particularly French
Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
after 1688. The area became known as London's French quarter. The French church in Soho Square was founded by Huguenots and opened on 25 March 1893, with a coloured brick and terracotta façade designed by
Aston Webb Sir Aston Webb (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in pa ...
.


Cholera outbreak

A significant event in the history of
epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evide ...
and
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
was Dr. John Snow's study of an 1854 outbreak of cholera in Soho. He identified the cause of the outbreak as water from the public pump at the junction of Broad Street (now Broadwick Street) and Cambridge Street (now Lexington Street), close to the rear wall of what is today the John Snow
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 ...
. Snow mapped the addresses of the sick and noted that they were mostly people whose nearest access to water was the Broad Street pump. He persuaded the authorities to remove the handle of the pump, thus preventing any more of the infected water from being collected. The spring below the pump was later found to have been contaminated with sewage. This is an early example of
epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evide ...
, public health medicine and the application of science—the
germ theory of disease The germ theory of disease is the currently accepted scientific theory for many diseases. It states that microorganisms known as pathogens or "germs" can lead to disease. These small organisms, too small to be seen without magnification, invade ...
—in a real-life crisis. Science writer Steven Johnson has written about the changes related to the cholera outbreak, and notes that almost every building on the street that existed in 1854 has since been replaced. A replica of the pump, with a memorial plaque and without a handle (to signify Snow's action to halt the outbreak) was erected in 1992 near the location of the original.


Decline

By the mid-18th century, the aristocrats who had been living in Soho Square or Gerrard Street had moved away, as more fashionable areas such as Mayfair became available. The historian and topographer William Maitland wrote that the parish "so greatly abound with French that is an easy Matter for a Stranger to imagine himself in France." Soho's character stems partly from the ensuing neglect by rich and fashionable London, and the lack of the redevelopment that characterised the neighbouring areas. The aristocracy had mostly disappeared from Soho by the 19th century, to be replaced by prostitutes, music halls and small theatres. The population increased significantly, reaching 327 inhabitants per acre by 1851, making the area one of the most densely populated areas of London. Houses became divided into tenements with chronic overcrowding and disease. The 1854 cholera outbreak caused the remaining upper-class families to leave the area. Numerous hospitals were built to cope with the health problem; six were constructed between 1851 and 1874. Businesses catering to household essentials were established at the same time. The restaurant trade in Soho improved dramatically in the early 20th century. The construction of new theatres along
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 ...
and Charing Cross Road improved the reputation of the area, and a meal for theatre-goers became common. Public houses in Soho increased in popularity during the 1930s and were filled with struggling authors, poets and artists.


Recent history

Since the decline of the sex industry in Soho in the 1980s, the area has returned to being more residential. The Soho Housing Association was established in 1976 to provide reasonable rented accommodation. By the 21st century, it had acquired around 400 flats. St Anne's Church in Dean Street was refurbished after decades of neglect, and a Museum of Soho was established. On 30 April 1999, the Admiral Duncan pub on Old Compton Street, which serves the gay community, was damaged by a
nail bomb A nail bomb is an anti-personnel explosive device containing nails to increase its effectiveness at harming victims. The nails act as shrapnel, leading almost certainly to more injury in inhabited areas than the explosives alone would. A nai ...
that left three dead and 30 injured. The bomb was the third that had been planted by
David Copeland The 1999 London nail bombings were a series of bomb explosions in London, England. Over three successive weekends between 17 and 30 April 1999, homemade nail bombs were detonated respectively in Brixton in South London; at Brick Lane, Spitalfiel ...
, a neo-Nazi who was attempting to stir up
ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
and
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
tensions by carrying out a series of bombings.


Properties


Theatre and film

Soho is near the heart of London's theatre area. It is home to
Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...
, built in 2000 to present new plays and comedy. The
Windmill Theatre The Windmill Theatre in Great Windmill Street, London, was a variety and revue theatre best known for its nude '' tableaux vivants'', which began in 1932 and lasted until its reversion to a cinema in 1964. Many prominent British comedians o ...
was based on Great Windmill Street, and was named after a windmill at this location that was demolished in the 18th century. It initially opened as the Palais de Luxe in 1910 as a small cinema, but was unable to compete with larger venues and was converted into a theatre by Howard Jones. It re-opened in December 1931, but was still unsuccessful. In 1932, the general manager Vivian Van Damm introduced a non-stop variety show throughout the afternoon and evening. It was famous for its nude ''
tableaux vivants A (; often shortened to ; plural: ), French for "living picture", is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrica ...
'', in which the models had to remain motionless to avoid the censorship laws then in place. The theatre claimed that, aside from a compulsory closure between 4 and 16 September 1939, it was the only theatre in London which did not close during World War II, leading to the slogan "We never closed". Several prominent comedians including
Harry Secombe Sir Harold Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, m ...
,
Jimmy Edwards James Keith O'Neill Edwards, DFC (23 March 19207 July 1988) was an English comedy writer and actor on radio and television, best known as Pa Glum in ''Take It from Here'' and as headmaster "Professor" James Edwards in ''Whack-O!''. Early lif ...
and
Tony Hancock Anthony John Hancock (12 May 1924 – 25 June 1968) was an English comedian and actor. High-profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series ''Hancock's Half Hour'', first broadcast on radio from 1954, ...
began their careers at the Windmill. It closed on 31 October 1964 and was again turned into a cinema. The
Raymond Revuebar The Raymond Revuebar (1958–2004) was a theatre and strip club at 11 Walker's Court (now the location of The Box Soho nightclub), in the centre of London's Soho district. For many years, it was the only venue in London that offered full-fronta ...
at No. 11
Walker's Court Walker's Court is a pedestrian street in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, London. The street dates from around the early 1700s and escaped modernisation in the late nineteenth century so that it retains its original narrow layout. I ...
was a small theatre specialising in striptease and nude dancing. It was owned by Paul Raymond and opened in 1958. The facade supported a brightly lit sign declaring it to be the "World Centre of Erotic Entertainment." Raymond subsequently bought the lease of the Windmill and ran it as a "nude entertainment" venue until 1981. The upstairs became known as the Boulevard Theatre and in 1980 was adopted as a comedy club called "
The Comic Strip The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The ...
" by a small group of alternative comedians including
Rik Mayall Richard Michael Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, stand-up comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Ade Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University and was a pioneer of alternative ...
, Dawn French,
Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of ...
,
Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th gre ...
and
Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. He was part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s and had roles in the television series '' The Young Ones'' (1 ...
, before they found wider recognition with the series ''The Comic Strip Presents'' on
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
. The name and control of the theatre (but not the property itself) were bought by Raymond's business associate Gérard Simi in 1996. The theatre suffered financial difficulties owing to increasing rent, leading to its closure in 2004. It became a
gay bar A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term '' gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities. Gay bars once serv ...
and cabaret venue called Too2Much; in 2005, Elton John staged a joint bachelor party there with his longtime partner
David Furnish David James Furnish (born 25 October 1962) is a Canadian filmmaker and former advertising executive. He is married to English singer, pianist and composer Sir Elton John. Early life and education David Furnish was born in Toronto, Ontario, the ...
in anticipation of their
civil partnership A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
. The venue was subsequently renamed to the Soho Revue Bar, but closed in 2009. Soho is a centre of the independent film and video industry as well as the television and film post-production industry. Audio post duo White Lightning (Robbie Weston and Rick Dzendzera) opened two audio post facilities in different parts of Soho in 1986: Silk Sound at 13
Berwick Street Berwick Street is a street in the Soho district of the City of Westminster built between 1687 and 1703. Berwick Street runs between Oxford Street to the north and Peter Street at the south. History Berwick Street was built between 1687 and 1 ...
, and The Bridge Facilities at 55-57
Great Marlborough Street Great Marlborough Street is a thoroughfare in Soho, Central London. It runs east of Regent Street past Carnaby Street towards Noel Street. Originally part of the Millfield estate south of Tyburn Road (now Oxford Street), the street was named ...
. Silk Sound is still in operation, but The Bridge was sold to
Miloco Studios Miloco Studios are a group of recording studios based in London, England. History Miloco was formed out of the merging of three former London recording studios: Milo Music, The Garden and Orinoco Studios. Milo Music began in 1984 as a small stu ...
in 2009, and relocated to the Orinoco Complex at 36 Leroy Street in Greater London. White Lightning also opened a third studio at 16 Dufours Place, called Space Facilities, in late 1995, but it closed the same year The Bridge was sold. Twentieth Century House in Soho Square was built in 1937 for
Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
. The
British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...
, formerly known as the British Board of Film Censors, has been based in the square since 1950. Soho's key fibre communications network has been managed by
Sohonet Sohonet is a community-of-interest network for the television, film and media production community based in the Soho area of London. Founded in 1995 by a group of post-production companies, Sohonet links many of the British film studios to Lo ...
since 1995, which connects the
Soho media and post-production community Much of the British independent film, television and post-production industry is based in London's Soho area. Many of the people who work in the industry form a village-like community, with the various companies hiring and re-hiring one another's ...
to
British film studios This is a list of notable British film studios. * 3 Mills Studios – Bow, London * Aardman Animations – Bristol * Beaconsfield Film Studios – Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire * Bray Studios – Windsor, Berkshire * Bushey Stud ...
such as Pinewood and
Shepperton Shepperton is an urban village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, approximately south west of central London. Shepperton is equidistant between the towns of Chertsey and Sunbury-on-Thames. The village is mentioned in a document of 959 AD ...
, along with other locations worldwide include HBO and
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
. In the 2010s, research commissioned by Westminster City Council showed 23 per cent of the workforce in Soho works in the creative industries.


Restaurants and clubs

Many small and easily affordable restaurants and cafes were established in Soho during the 19th century, particularly as a result of Greek and Italian immigration. The restaurants were not looked upon favourably at first, but their reputation changed at the start of the 20th century. In 1924, a guide reported "of late years, the inexpensive restaurants of Soho have enjoyed an extraordinary vogue." Arthur Ransome's ''
Bohemia in London ''Bohemia in London'' (1907) was Arthur Ransome's seventh published book, and his first success. The book is about literary and artistic London in the 1900s, and the area of London covered is Chelsea, Soho, and Hampstead. He had moved to London in ...
'' (1907) mentions Old and New Soho, including details about Soho coffee-houses including The Moorish Café and The Algerian. Kettner's was a restaurant on Romilly Street, established in 1867 by
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
's chef Auguste Kettner. It was frequently visited by Albert, Prince of Wales (where he is alleged to have dined with his mistress,
Lillie Langtry Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe (née Le Breton, formerly Langtry; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer. Born on the isla ...
) and Oscar Wilde. The restaurant survived both World Wars without incident, and was regularly visited by Agatha Christie and Bing Crosby. In the 20th century, several Soho pubs and private members clubs gained notoriety for both their proprietors and clientele. Clive Jennings says of regular clientele such as Jeffrey Barnard and
Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
that "the lethal triangle of The French, The Coach & Horses and The Colony were the staging points of the
Dean Street Dean Street is a street in Soho, central London, running from Oxford Street south to Shaftesbury Avenue. Historical figures and places In 1764 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then a young boy, gave a recital at 21 Dean Street. Admiral Nelson stayed ...
shuffle, with occasional forays into other joints such as The Gargoyle or the Mandrake ...
The Groucho The Groucho Club is a private members' club formed in 1985 located on Dean Street in London's Soho. Its members are mostly drawn from the publishing, media, entertainment and arts industries. The club has rooms on several floors, including th ...
or Blacks". Christopher Howse notes of the coterie of bohemian heavy drinkers that "There was no worry about pensions in Soho. People didn't live that long." The Gargoyle Club opened at 69 Dean Street in 1925. It was founded by the socialite the Hon
David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show ''Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...
as a place where writers, artists and musicians could mingle with the upper crust and eat and drink at affordable prices for the next three decades. In May 1979 the Gargoyle's uppermost room started hosting a weekly club-night on Saturdays called the
Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy S ...
, which made the reputations of many of the UK's upcoming " alternative comedians". Among the original lineup here were
Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th gre ...
,
Rik Mayall Richard Michael Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, stand-up comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Ade Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University and was a pioneer of alternative ...
and
Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. He was part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s and had roles in the television series '' The Young Ones'' (1 ...
who broke away in 1980 to establish
The Comic Strip The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The ...
team at Raymond's Revue Bar, before they found wider recognition with the series ''The Comic Strip Presents'' on
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
. The Gargoyle's success and Bohemian clientele led to other restaurants being founded around Soho, including the Eiffel Tower and Bellotti's. During the 1970s the building at 69 Dean Street housed another nightspot in its cellars, initially known as Billy's and run by Soho's only Jamaican club owner, Vince Howard. The
Blitz Kids The Blitz Kids were a group of people who frequented the Tuesday club-night at Blitz in Covent Garden, London in 1979-80, and are credited with launching the New Romantic subcultural movement. History Steve Strange and Rusty Egan co-hosted th ...
, a group of London clubgoers who spearheaded the New Romantic movement in the early 1980s, originally met at Billy's. The club changed its name to Gossip's and became part of London's clubland heritage by spawning several weekly club-nights that influenced British music and fashion during the 1980s. Gerrard Street is the centre of London's Chinatown, and along with Lisle Street and Little Newport Street, house a mix of import companies, oriental food shops and restaurants. Street festivals are held throughout the year, particularly on the Chinese New Year. In March 2022, Cadbury opened a temporary vegan chocolate shop at 15 Bateman Street.


Radio

Soho Radio Soho Radio is an independent online radio station that broadcasts over two channels, Soho and NYC + Culture. The studios are based in Soho, London, and on Lexington Avenue in New York It was founded in 2014, with the New York branch opening in N ...
is an
internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...
station on Great Windmill Street, next to the
Windmill Theatre The Windmill Theatre in Great Windmill Street, London, was a variety and revue theatre best known for its nude '' tableaux vivants'', which began in 1932 and lasted until its reversion to a cinema in 1964. Many prominent British comedians o ...
. Since May 2014 it has been streaming live and pre-recorded programming from its premises, which also function as a retail space and coffee shop. The station states on its website that it aims "to reflect the culture of Soho through our vibrant and diverse content." There is no playlist policy, and presenters are allowed to play any music they like. In 2016, it was voted the world's best radio station at
Mixcloud Mixcloud is a popular British online music streaming service that allows for the listening and distribution of radio shows, DJ mixes and podcasts, which are crowdsourced by its registered users. In April 2018, Mixcloud announced that it raised ...
's Online Radio Awards.


Religion

Soho is home to numerous religious and spiritual groups. St Anne's Church on Wardour Street was built between 1677 and 1686, possibly to the design of
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 churches ...
or William Talman. An additional tower was built in 1717 by Talman and reconstructed in 1803. The church was damaged by a
V1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...
during World War II in 1940, but the tower survived. In 1976, John Betjeman campaigned to save the building. The church was fully restored in the late 1980s and formally re-opened by the
Princess Royal Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been se ...
on 12 March 1990. The
Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory is a Catholic church on Warwick Street, Westminster. It was formerly known as the Royal Bavarian Chapel, because like several Catholic churches in London it originated as a chapel within ...
on Warwick Street was built in 1788 and is the only remaining 18th-century Roman Catholic embassy chapel in London and principal church of the
Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England and Wales is a personal ordinariate in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church immediately exempt, being directly subject to the Holy See. It is within the territory of the Catholic B ...
. St Patrick's Church in
Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, and a much weathered ...
was built in 1792 to accommodate Irish immigrants who had moved to the area. Other religious buildings in Soho include the
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna may refer to: * International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a group commonly known as "Hare Krishnas" or the "Hare Krishna movement" * Hare Krishna (mantra) The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the (" ...
Temple off Soho Square, which was part-funded by George Harrison and opened in 1979. A small mosque on Berwick Street attracted controversy in 2016 when it stopped admitting women owing to its capacity problems. The
French Protestant Church of London The French Protestant Church of London (''Église protestante française de Londres'') is a Reformed / Presbyterian church that has catered to the French-speaking community of London since 1550. It is the last remaining Huguenot church of Londo ...
, the only one of its kind in the city and constructed in the Flemish Gothic style, has been at Nos. 8–9 Soho Square since 1893.


Music

The music scene in Soho can be traced back to 1948 and
Club Eleven Club Eleven was a nightclub in London between 1948 and 1950 which played a significant role in the emergence of the bebop jazz movement in Britain. The club was so named because it had 11 founders – business manager Harry Morris and ten Britis ...
, generally regarded as the first venue where modern jazz, or
bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...
, was performed in the UK. It closed in 1950 following a drugs raid. The Harmony Inn was a hang-out for musicians on Archer Street operating during the 1940s and 1950s. The
Ken Colyer Kenneth Colyer (18 April 1928 – 8 March 1988) was an English jazz trumpeter and cornetist, devoted to New Orleans jazz. His band was also known for skiffle interludes. Biography He was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, but grew up i ...
Band's 51 Club, a venue for
traditional jazz Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, played by musicians such as Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer and Monty Sunshine, based on a reviva ...
, opened on Great Newport Street in 1951. Blues guitarist and harmonica player
Cyril Davies Cyril Davies (23 January 1932 – 7 January 1964) was an English blues musician, and one of the first blues harmonica players in England. Biography Born at St Mildred's, 15 Hawthorn Drive, Willowbank, Denham, Buckinghamshire, he was the son ...
and guitarist Bob Watson launched the London Skiffle Centre, London's first
skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United State ...
club, on the first floor of the Roundhouse pub on Wardour Street in 1952. It was renamed the
London Blues and Barrelhouse Club The London Blues and Barrelhouse Club ran between 1957 and 1961 at the Round House public house at the junction of Wardour Street and Brewer Street in Soho, London. Established by Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner, it hosted many visiting Americ ...
in the late 1950s, and closed in 1964. In the early 1950s, Soho became the centre of the beatnik culture in London. The first coffee bar to open was Moka at No. 29 Frith Street. It was formally opened in 1953 by the film star
Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As o ...
, and the frothed coffee produced from stainless steel machines was pioneering in British culture. ''Le Macabre'' on Wardour Street, had coffin-shaped tables, fostered beat poetry, jive dance and political debate. The Goings On, in Archer Street, was a Sunday afternoon club organised by the beat poet Pete Brown, active in the mid-1960s. For the rest of the week, it operated as an illegal
gambling den Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elem ...
. Pink Floyd played at the club at the beginning of their career.
The 2i's Coffee Bar The 2i's Coffee Bar was a coffeehouse at 59 Old Compton Street in Soho, London, that was open from 1956 to 1970. It played a formative role in the emergence of Britain's skiffle and rock and roll music culture in the late 1950s, and several maj ...
was one of the first rock clubs in Europe. It initially opened on No. 44 Gerard Street in 1956, but soon moved to its more famous venue of No. 59 Old Compton Street. Soho quickly became the centre of the fledgling rock scene in London. Clubs included the Flamingo Club, a regular gig for
Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...
,
Ronan O'Rahilly Aodogán Ronan O'Rahilly (21 May 1940 – 20 April 2020) was an Irish businessman best known for the creation of the offshore radio station, Radio Caroline and the band Sheep On Drugs. He also became manager of George Lazenby, who played James ...
's The Scene, which opened in 1963 and catered for the Mod movement with regular attendees including
Steve Marriot Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted pos ...
and
Andrew Loog Oldham Andrew Loog Oldham (born 29 January 1944) is an English record producer, talent manager, impresario and author. He was manager and producer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 to 1967, and was noted for his flamboyant style. Early life Loog Oldha ...
, and jazz clubs like
Ronnie Scott's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sco ...
, which opened in 1959 at 39 Gerrard Street and moved to 47 Frith Street in 1965. Soho's Wardour Street was the home of the
Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed wh ...
, which opened in 1958. In the 1960s, numerous major rock bands played at the venue, including early performances from the Rolling Stones in July 1962 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 considered ...
in late 1964, Jimi Hendrix,
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, AC/DC and
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
. Eric Clapton and
Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...
both lived for a time in Soho, sharing a flat with future rock publicist, Tony Brainsby.
Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. ...
was based at 17
St Anne's Court St Anne's Court is an alley, alleyway that connects Dean Street and Wardour Street in London's Soho district. Parts of it can be dated back to the late 17th century. Sites in St Anne's Court included the "model lodgings" designed by William B ...
, Soho and was a major London recording studio. It was established by Norman and Barry Sheffield in 1968, who wanted expand from the small studio they had above their music shop. It became immediately successful after
The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
decided to record several tracks on ''
The White Album ''The Beatles'', also referred to colloquially as the White Album, is the ninth studio album and only double album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968. Featuring a plain white sleeve, the cover conta ...
'' there, as the facilities were better than Abbey Road studios.
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
were originally managed by the Sheffields, and recorded their first four albums and filmed the video for
Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack o ...
at Trident. Other artists who recorded at Trident include
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, Elton John, Free and
Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or som ...
. It closed as a general-purpose recording studio in 1981, but has since reopened in various guises, including providing sound and mixing services for television. Although technically not part of Soho, the adjacent
Denmark Street Denmark Street is a street on the edge of London's West End running from Charing Cross Road to St Giles High Street. It is near St Giles in the Fields Church and Tottenham Court Road station. The street was developed in the late 17th centu ...
is known for its connections with
British popular music British popular music and popular music in general, can be defined in a number of ways, but is used here to describe music which is not part of the art/classical music or Church music traditions, including folk music, jazz, pop and rock mu ...
, and is nicknamed the British
Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...
due to its large concentration of shops selling musical instruments. The Sex Pistols lived beneath No. 6 and recorded their first demos there. Jimi Hendrix,
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
and
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
have all recorded at studios on Denmark Street and Elton John wrote his hit "
Your Song "Your Song" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single. "Your Song" was first released by American rock band Three Dog Night in M ...
" in the street.
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
's first rehearsal in 1968 was in a basement studio on Gerrard Street.


Sex industry

The Soho area has been at the heart of London's
sex industry The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related ...
for more than 200 years; between 1778 and 1801, 21 Soho Square was location of the White House, a brothel described by the magistrate
Henry Mayhew Henry Mayhew (25 November 1812 – 25 July 1887) was an English journalist, playwright, and advocate of reform. He was one of the co-founders of the satirical magazine ''Punch'' in 1841, and was the magazine's joint editor, with Mark Lemon, in ...
as "a notorious place of ill-fame". Shortly before World War I, two rival gangs, one led by Chan Nan (also called "Brilliant Chang") and the other by Eddie Manning, controlled drugs and prostitution in Soho. Both were eventually arrested and imprisoned; Manning died midway through a three-year sentence in 1933. Following World War II, gangs set up rings of prostitutes in the area, concentrated around Brewer Street and Rupert Street. Photographers also visited Soho in the hope of being able to blackmail people caught in the act of visiting prostitutes. When the
Street Offences Act 1959 The Street Offences Act 1959 (7 & 8 Eliz 2 c 57) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning street prostitution. It was passed following the publication of the Wolfenden report which discussed the rise in street prostitution a ...
drove prostitution off the streets, many clubs such as the Blue Lagoon at No. 50 Carnaby Street became fronts for it. Gangs controlled the clubs and the prostitutes, and the police were bribed. In 1960 London's first sex cinema, the Compton Cinema Club (a members-only club to get around the law), opened at 56 Old Compton Street. It was owned by
Michael Klinger Michael Klinger (born 4 July 1980) is an Australian former first-class cricketer, who held the record for the most runs scored in the Big Bash League when he retired in 2019. Until the 2008–09 season, Klinger played for Victoria and for ...
and
Tony Tenser Samuel Anthony Tenser (10 August 1920 – 5 December 2007)Gavin Gaugha"Obituary: Tony Tenser" ''The Guardian'', 13 March 2008 was an English-born film producer of Lithuanian-Jewish descent. He began as the producer of low budget exploitation f ...
who later produced two early
Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...
films, including '' Repulsion'' (1965). As post-war austerity relaxed into the "swinging '60s",
clip joint A clip joint or fleshpot is an establishment, usually a strip club or night club (often claiming to offer adult entertainment or bottle service) in which customers are tricked into paying far above market prices for low-grade goods or services—or ...
s also surfaced; these unlicensed establishments sold coloured water as champagne with the promise of sex to follow, thus fleecing tourists looking for a "good time."
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, ...
, a "glamour photographer" and girlie magazine publisher, had a photographic gallery on Gerrard Street and published several magazines in the 1950s and '60s. The model
Pamela Green Phyllis Pamela Green (28 March 1929 – 7 May 2010) was an English glamour model and actress, best known at the end of the 1950s and early 1960s. She modeled for Zoltán Glass and his brother Stephen, Horace Roye, Jean Straker, Bill Brandt, ...
prompted him to take up nude photography, and she remained the creative force in their business. By the 1970s, the sex shops had grown from the handful opened by Carl Slack in the early 1960s. From 1976 to 1982, Soho had 54 sex shops, 39 sex cinemas and cinema clubs, 16 strip and peep shows, 11 sex-oriented clubs and 12 licensed massage parlours. The proliferation of sex shops dissuaded some people from visiting Soho. The growth of the sex industry in Soho during this time was partly caused by corruption in the Metropolitan Police. The
vice squad A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tr ...
at the time suffered from police officers enforcing against
organised crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
in the area, while simultaneously accepting bribes. This changed following the appointment of
Robert Mark Sir Robert Mark (13 March 1917 – 30 September 2010) was a senior British police officer who served as Chief Constable of Leicester City Police, and later as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1972 to 1977. Mark was the first Metr ...
as chief constable, who began to crack down on corruption. In 1972 local residents started the
Soho Society The Soho Society is a community association for the London district of Soho. It was founded in 1970 by local residents such as Bryan Burroughs and had over 1000 members. It campaigned against the domination of the area by sex shops and was suc ...
in order to control the increasing expansion of the sex industry in the area and improve it with a comprehensive redevelopment plan. This led to a series of corruption trials in 1975, following which several senior police officers were imprisoned. This caused a small recession in Soho which depressed property values at the time Paul Raymond had started buying freeholds there. By the 1980s, purges of the police force along with pressure from the Soho Society and new and tighter licensing controls by the City of Westminster led to a crackdown on illegal premises. The number of sex industry premises dropped from 185 in 1982 to around 30 in 1991. By 2000, substantial relaxation of general
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
, the ready availability of non-commercial sex, and the licensing or closing of unlicensed sex shops had reduced the red-light area to just a small area around Berwick Street. Much of the business has been reported to have been run by Albanian gangs. By the end of 2014,
gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...
and competition from the internet had reduced the number of flats in Soho used for prostitution, but the area remains a red-light district and a centre of the sex industry in London.


Health and welfare

The National Hospital for Diseases of the Heart and Paralysis was established at No. 32 Soho Square in 1874. The property had previously been owned by the naturalist and botanist
Sir Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James C ...
. It moved to Westmoreland Street in 1914, and then to
Fulham Road Fulham Road is a street in London, England, which comprises the A304 and part of the A308. Overview Fulham Road ( the A219) runs from Putney Bridge as "Fulham High Street" and then eastward to Fulham Broadway, in the London Borough of Hamme ...
in 1991. In July 2019, Soho was reported to be the unhealthiest place to live in Britain. Researchers from the
University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
found that the area had the greatest access to takeaways, pubs and off-licences and these were combined with high levels of air pollution and low levels of parks and green spaces.


Streets

Berwick Street Berwick Street is a street in the Soho district of the City of Westminster built between 1687 and 1703. Berwick Street runs between Oxford Street to the north and Peter Street at the south. History Berwick Street was built between 1687 and 1 ...
was built between 1687 and 1703, and is probably named after
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica, 1st Duke of Fitz-James (21 August 1670 – 12 June 1734) was an Anglo-French military leader, illegitimate son of King James II of England by Arabella Churchill, sister o ...
, the illegitimate son of
James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
. It has held a
street market A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from the Arabic lang ...
since the early 18th century, which has been formally organised since 1892.
Carnaby Street Carnaby Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in Soho in the City of Westminster, Central London. Close to Oxford Street and Regent Street, it is home to fashion and lifestyle retailers, including many independent fashion boutiques. S ...
was laid out in the late 17th century. It was named after Karnaby House, built on the street's eastern side in 1683. It was a popular residence for Huguenots at first, before becoming populated by shops in the 19th century. In 1957, a fashion boutique was opened, and Carnaby Street became the fashion centre of 1960s Swinging London, although it quickly became known for poor quality "
kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation wi ...
" products.
D'Arblay Street D'Arblay Street is a street in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, London, named after Frances Burney (Madame d'Arblay). It was formerly known as Portland Street and was built on land owned by the Dukes of Portland known as Doghouse C ...
was laid out between 1735 and 1744. It was originally known as Portland Street after
William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland (1 March 1709 – 1 May 1762), styled Viscount Woodstock from 1709 to 1716 and Marquess of Titchfield from 1716 to 1726, was a British peer and politician. Portland was the son of Henry Bentinck, 1s ...
and given its current named in 1909 in commemoration of
Frances Burney Frances Burney (13 June 1752 – 6 January 1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post as "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Mecklen ...
, Madame D'Arblay, who had lived in Poland Street nearby, when she was young. The George public house at No. 1 was opened in 1889, but there has been a tavern on this site since 1739. Several of the original houses have survived into the 21st century.
Dean Street Dean Street is a street in Soho, central London, running from Oxford Street south to Shaftesbury Avenue. Historical figures and places In 1764 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then a young boy, gave a recital at 21 Dean Street. Admiral Nelson stayed ...
was built in the 1680s and was originally settled by French immigrants. It is home to the
Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...
, and a pub known as The French House which during World War II was popular with the French Government-in-exile.
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 ...
lived at No. 64 Dean Street around 1850. The Colony Club was founded by
Muriel Belcher Muriel Belcher (1908–1979) was an English nightclub owner and artist's model who founded and managed the private drinking club The Colony Room. The club opened in 1948 at 41 Dean Street, Soho, London and became known as "Muriel's". Its long ter ...
and based at No. 41 Dean Street from 1948 to 2008. It was frequented by several important artists including
Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
,
Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. He was born in Berlin, the son of Jewis ...
and
Frank Auerbach Frank Helmut Auerbach (born 29 April 1931) is a German-British painter. Born in Germany, he has been a naturalised British subject since 1947. He is considered one of the leading names in the School of London, with fellow artists Francis Bacon ...
.
Frith Street Frith Street is in the Soho area of London. To the north is Soho Square and to the south is Shaftesbury Avenue. The street crosses Old Compton Street, Bateman Street and Romilly Street. History Frith Street was laid out in the late 1670s an ...
was named after Richard Frith, a local builder. On Roque's Map of London it is marked as Thrift Street. It was a popular aristocratic residence, although without as many foreign residents as some other streets. A plaque above the stage door of the Prince Edward Theatre identifies the site where Mozart lived as a child between 1764 and '65.
John Logie Baird John Logie Baird FRSE (; 13 August 188814 June 1946) was a Scottish inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator who demonstrated the world's first live working television system on 26 January 1926. He went on to invent the first publicly dem ...
first demonstrated television in his laboratory at No 22 in 1926. The premises is now the location of
Bar Italia Bar Italia is an Italian café located on Frith Street in the Soho district of London. Location and notable events On 26 January 1926, John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of television at 22 Frith Street, the building where ...
.
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sc ...
is located at No 46 Frith Street having moved there from Gerrard Street in 1965.
Greek Street Greek Street is a street in Soho, London, leading south from Soho Square to Shaftesbury Avenue. The street is famous for its restaurants and cosmopolitan nature. History It is thought to take its name from a Greek church that was built in ...
was first laid out around 1680 and was named after a nearby Greek church. It initially housed several upper-class tenants including
Arthur Annesley, 5th Earl of Anglesey Arthur Annesley, 5th Earl of Anglesey PC, PC (Ire) ( – 31 March 1737), of Farnborough, Hampshire, Bletchingdon, Oxfordshire, and Knockgrenan, near Camolin, county Wexford, was an Anglo-Irish Tory politician who sat in the English and British ...
and
Peter Plunket, 4th Earl of Fingall Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a ...
.
Thomas De Quincey Thomas Penson De Quincey (; 15 August 17858 December 1859) was an English writer, essayist, and literary critic, best known for his '' Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'' (1821). Many scholars suggest that in publishing this work De Quinc ...
lived in the street after running away from
Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...
in 1802.
Josiah Wedgwood Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indus ...
ran his main pottery warehouse and showrooms at Nos. 12–13 between 1774 and 1797. The street now mostly contains restaurants, and several historical buildings from the early 18th century are still standing. Gerrard Street was built between 1677 and 1685 on land owned by
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 ...
called the Military Ground. The initial development contained a large house belonging to the
Earl of Devonshire The title of Earl of Devonshire has been created twice in the Peerage of England, firstly in 1603 for the Blount family and then recreated in 1618 for the Cavendish family, in whose possession the earldom remains. It is not to be confused with ...
, which was subsequently occupied by Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester,
Baron Wharton Baron Wharton is a title in the Peerage of England, originally granted by letters patent to the heirs male of the 1st Baron, which was forfeited in 1729 when the last male-line heir was declared an outlaw. The Barony was erroneously revived in 1 ...
and
Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough (1650 – 17 December 1721), was an English soldier and statesman best known for his role in the Glorious Revolution. Origins Lumley was the son of John Lumley and Mary Compton, and the grandson of Richar ...
. Several foreign restaurants had become established on Gerrard Street by the end of the 19th century, including the Hotel des Etrangers and the Mont Blanc.
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sc ...
opened at 39 Gerrard Street in 1959 and remained there until its move to No 47 Frith Street in 1965. Scott kept 39 Gerrard Street open for up and coming British Jazz musicians (referred to as 'the Old Place') until the lease ran out in 1967. The
43 Club The 43 Club or "The 43" was a nightclub at 43 Gerrard Street in Soho, London that became notorious during the Jazz Age for outrageous parties frequented by the decadent rich and famous. Local myth provides many tales of provocative, licentious an ...
was based on Gerrard Street. It was one of the most notorious clubs in Soho, run as a cover for
organised crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
and illegal after-hours selling of alcohol and following a police investigation, the owner
Kate Meyrick Kate Meyrick (7 August 1875 – 19 January 1933) known as the 'Night Club Queen' was an Irish night-club owner in 1920s London. During her 13 year career she made, and spent, a fortune and served five prison sentences. She was the inspiration fo ...
was jailed in 1928. During the 1950s, the cheap rents on Gerrard Street attracted Chinese Londoners, many who moved from Poplar. By 1970, the street had become the centre of London's Chinatown, and it became pedestrianised and decorated with a Chinese gateway and lanterns. It continues to host numerous Chinese restaurants and shops into the 21st century.
Golden Square Golden Square, in Soho, the City of Westminster, London, is a mainly hardscaped garden square planted with a few mature trees and raised borders in Central London flanked by classical office buildings. Its four approach ways are north and sou ...
is a garden square to the southwest of Soho. Built over land formerly used for grazing, its name is a corruption of gelding. Building began in 1675 and it was complete by the early 18th century. It was originally home to several upper class residents including
Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Castlemaine (née Barbara Villiers, – 9 October 1709), was an English royal mistress of the Villiers family and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of ...
, James Brydges (later to become 1st Duke of Chandos), and
Henry St John, 1st Viscount St John Henry St John, 1st Viscount St John (baptized 17 October 1652 – died 8 April 1742), of Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire; Battersea, Surrey; and Berkeley Street, Westminster, Middlesex, was an English politician. In 1685 he was pardoned for a ...
. By the mid-18th century, the aristocracy had moved west towards Mayfair, and a number of foreign embassies were established around the square. In the 19th century, it became a popular residence for local musicians and instrument makers, while by the 20th it had become an established centre of woollen merchants. A statue of King George II sits in the centre of the square, designed by John Van Nost and constructed in 1753.
Great Marlborough Street Great Marlborough Street is a thoroughfare in Soho, Central London. It runs east of Regent Street past Carnaby Street towards Noel Street. Originally part of the Millfield estate south of Tyburn Road (now Oxford Street), the street was named ...
was first laid out in the early 18th century, and named after the military commander
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...
. The street was initially fashionable and was home to numerous peers. The London College of Music was based at No. 47 from 1896 to 1990, while the department store
Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
is on the corner with Regent Street. The street was the location of Philip Morris's original London factory and gave its name to the
Marlboro Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Mar ...
brand of cigarettes.
Marlborough Street Magistrates Court Marlborough Street Magistrates Court was a court of law at 19–21 Great Marlborough Street, Soho London, between the early 19th and late 20th centuries. It was designed by the Surveyor to the Metropolitan Police, John Dixon Butler. The court saw ...
was based at No. 20–21 and had become one of the country's most important magistrates courts by the late 19th century. The
Marquess of Queensbury Marquess of Queensberry is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title has been held since its creation in 1682 by a member of the Douglas family. The Marquesses also held the title of Duke of Queensberry from 1684 to 1810, when it was in ...
's libel trial against Oscar Wilde took place here in 1895. The Rolling Stones'
Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
and
Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
were tried for drugs possession at the court in 1967, with fellow band member
Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...
being similarly charged a year later.
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 ...
was named after a 17th-century windmill on this location. The Scottish anatomist William Hunter opened his anatomical theatre at No. 16 in 1766, running it until his death in 1783. It continued to be used for anatomical lectures until 1831. The principles of
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 Commu ...
were laid out by Karl Marx in 1850 at a meeting in the Red Lion pub.
Old Compton Street Old Compton Street is a road that runs east–west through Soho in the West End of London. History The street was named after Henry Compton who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686. Th ...
is named after the Bishop of London Henry Compton, and was first laid out in the 1670s, fully developed by 1683. During the late 18th and 19th centuries, it became a popular meeting place for French exiles. The street was the birthplace of Europe's rock club circuit (
2i's The 2i's Coffee Bar was a coffeehouse at 59 Old Compton Street in Soho, London, that was open from 1956 to 1970. It played a formative role in the emergence of Britain's skiffle and rock and roll music culture in the late 1950s, and several ma ...
club) and contained the first adult cinema in England (The Compton Cinema Club).
Dougie Millings Arnold "Dougie" Millings (30 July 1913, in Manchester – 20 September 2001, in London) was a London-based tailor known as "the Beatles' tailor". Millings' shop was located on 63 Old Compton Street in Soho and began designing for British pop sta ...
, who was the famous tailor for
The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
, had his first shop at 63 Old Compton Street, which opened in 1962. Old Compton Street is now the core of London's main
gay village A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establis ...
, where there are several businesses catering for the gay community.
Poland Street Poland Street is a street in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, London. It runs from Oxford Street in the north to Broadwick Street in the south. It was named after the "King of Poland" pub, which was renamed in honour of Poland's ...
was named for the King of Poland pub which stood at one end. It was destroyed by a bomb in 1940.
Henry Howard, 6th Earl of Suffolk Henry Howard, 6th Earl of Suffolk, 1st Earl of Bindon PC (1670 – 19 September 1718) was an English nobleman, styled Lord Walden from 1691 to 1706. Lord Howard was born in London, the son of Henry Howard, 5th Earl of Suffolk. He was admitted to ...
lived at No. 15 in 1717, while Percy Bysshe Shelley briefly lodged in the street in 1811.
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
lived at No. 28 from 1785 to 1791, and wrote several works there, including ''
Songs of Innocence ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience'' is a collection of illustrated poems by William Blake. It appeared in two phases: a few first copies were printed and illuminated by Blake himself in 1789; five years later, he bound these poems with a ...
'' and ''
The Book of Thel ''The Book of Thel'' is a poem by William Blake, dated 1789 and probably composed in the period 1788 to 1790. It is illustrated by his own plates, and compared to his later prophetic books is relatively short and easier to understand. The metre ...
''. The street was the site of the St James Workhouse whose infirmary is believed to be the predecessor to the St. James Infirmary. The first
multi-storey car park A multistorey car park ( British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a bui ...
in London opened on Poland Street in 1934.
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, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street. Throughout the 20th century the street became a ...
dates back to 1585, when it was known as Commonhedge Lane and connected Oxford Street to the King's Mews (now part of
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...
). It began to be built up in the 1680s and was named after local landowner Edward Wardour. Most of the original houses were rebuilt in the 18th century, and the street became known for antiques and furniture dealers. Several music publishers were established along Wardour Street in the early 20th century, including Novello and Co at Nos. 152–160. The most famous location of the
Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed wh ...
was at No. 90 Wardour Street between 1964 and 1988. Another seventies rock hangout was
The Intrepid Fox The Intrepid Fox was a pub at 97–99 Wardour Street, Soho, London, established in 1784 by the publican Samuel House, who named it after the prominent British Whig statesman Charles James Fox. The pub was located on the corner of Wardour Street ...
pub (at 97/99 Wardour Street), originally dedicated to
Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-riv ...
(who is featured on a relief on the outside of the building). It subsequently became a haven for the Goth subculture before closing in 2006.


Cultural references

A detailed mural depicting Soho characters, including writer Dylan Thomas and jazz musician
George Melly Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for ''The Observer''; he also lectured on art history, with an ...
, is in Broadwick Street, at the junction with Carnaby Street. In fiction,
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
had Dr. Henry Jekyll set up a home for Edward Hyde in Soho in his novel, ''
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...
''.
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
referred to Soho in several of his works; in ''
A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in ...
'', Lucie Manette and her father Dr. Alexandre Manette live on Soho Square, while Golden Square is mentioned in ''
Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...
'', in which Ralph Nickleby has a house on the square, and the George II statue in the centre is described as "mournful". Joseph Conrad used Soho as the home for ''
The Secret Agent ''The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale'' is a novel by Joseph Conrad, first published in 1907.. The story is set in London in 1886 and deals with Mr. Adolf Verloc and his work as a spy for an unnamed country (presumably Russia). ''The Secret Agent ...
'', a French immigrant who ran a pornography shop. Dan Kavanagh (
Julian Barnes Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with '' The Sense of an Ending'', having been shortlisted three times previously with '' Flaubert's Parrot'', ''England, England'', and '' A ...
)'s 1980 novel '' Duffy'' is set in Soho. Lee Ho Fook's, formerly in Gerrard Street, is mentioned in
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 Th ...
's 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 ...
".
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 considered ...
song " Pinball Wizard", also covered by Elton John, contains the line "From Soho down to Brighton, I must've played them all", in reference to the locations frequented by the title character. The area is the setting for the 2021 film ''
Last Night in Soho ''Last Night in Soho'' is a 2021 British psychological horror film directed by Edgar Wright and co-written by Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns. It stars Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Rita Tushingham, Michael Ajao, Terence Stam ...
'' by
Edgar Wright Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zooms and a ...
.


See also

*
List of schools in the City of Westminster This is a list of schools in the City of Westminster in London. Westminster Children's Services administers many primary and secondary schools. In addition there are several Church of England (CE), Roman Catholic (RC), and Christian non-denomina ...
*
Street names of Soho This is a list of the etymology of street names in the London district of Soho, in the City of Westminster. The following utilises the generally accepted boundaries of Soho viz. Oxford Street to the north, Charing Cross Road to the east, Shaftesbur ...


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


The museum of Soho

Soho memories

The Soho Society
{{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the City of Westminster Red-light districts in England Entertainment districts in the United Kingdom