![VineStreetSign](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/VineStreetSign.JPG)
Vine Street is a street in
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
, London, running from
Swallow Street
Swallow Street is a small street in the West End of London, running north from Piccadilly. It is about long.
History
The street was previously much longer and stretched as far north as Oxford Street. The first section of the street was built ...
, parallel to
Regent Street and
Piccadilly. It is now a dead end that was shortened from a longer road in the early 18th century owing to the building of Regent Street.
From the 18th to 20th century, it was home to Vine Street Police Station, which grew from a watch-house into one of the busiest police stations in the world. The
Marquess of Queensberry
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 ...
was charged with
libel against
Oscar Wilde here in 1895. There was also a court house in the 18th and early 19th century. The street's association with law has led to it being grouped with
Bow Street
Bow Street is a thoroughfare in Covent Garden, Westminster, London. It connects Long Acre, Russell Street and Wellington Street, and is part of a route from St Giles to Waterloo Bridge.
The street was developed in 1633 by Francis Russell, 4 ...
and
Marlborough Street on the standard British
Monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
board.
Geography
The street is approximately long and is a
dead end
Dead End or dead end may refer to:
* Dead end (street), a street connected only at one end with other streets, called by many other official names, including ''cul-de-sac''.
Film and television
* ''The Dead End'' (1914 film), directed by Davi ...
, running east and parallel to
Piccadilly near
Piccadilly Circus. It consists mainly of the rear facades of buildings facing onto other streets. It connects to
Swallow Street
Swallow Street is a small street in the West End of London, running north from Piccadilly. It is about long.
History
The street was previously much longer and stretched as far north as Oxford Street. The first section of the street was built ...
at its western end and an alleyway, Piccadilly Place halfway along. At the eastern end, the Man in the Moon Passage provides foot access to
Regent Street. The nearest tube station is
Piccadilly Circus.
History
![Vine Street Police Station, London](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Vine_Street_Police_Station%2C_London.jpg)
The street is named after The Vine, an 18th-century
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 ...
,
which in turn may have been named after a
vineyard
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...
that existed at this location in Roman times. It was documented on ratebooks as Little Swallow Street in 1675.
[ It was laid out around 1686 and originally ran further, along what is now the Man in the Moon Passage.][ ]John Rocque's Map of London, 1746
John Rocque's Map of London, 1746 can refer to two different maps. The better known of these has the full name ''A plan of the cities of London and Westminster, and borough of Southwark'': it is a map of Georgian London to a scale of 26 inches t ...
shows Vine Street extending from Piccadilly northeast to Warwick Street. In 1720, the main properties on the street were a brewery and a carpenter's yard.[
Vine Street was split into two sections following the construction of Regent Street between 1816 and 1819. The Man in the Moon Passage was created at this time, named after a former pub at this location. The northern section towards Warwick Street was renamed Great Vine Street, and then a branch of Warwick Street itself. It ceased to exist after the reconstruction of the Regent Street Quadrant in 1920.][
In 1853, Charles Moreign purchased several small houses at the end of Vine Street so they could be redeveloped into ]St James's Hall
St. James's Hall was a concert hall in London that opened on 25 March 1858, designed by architect and artist Owen Jones, who had decorated the interior of the Crystal Palace. It was situated between the Quadrant in Regent Street and Piccadilly, ...
, Piccadilly. A rear entrance to the hall backed onto the street. The hall was demolished in 1905 and replaced by the Piccadilly Hotel, which also backs onto Vine Street.
Police and law
Vine Street has long been associated with the police and law. Around 1751–52, a court house was built at the western end of the street, on the corner of what is now Piccadilly Place. It closed in 1836 following the reorganisation of the court system around Westminster and was subsequently occupied by the lawyer Edward Gaffin.[
The Vine Street Police Station was at No. 10.][ It was originally built as a watch-house around 1767, and rebuilt following a fire in 1786 that destroyed several properties on and around the street. A school operated on the first floor, and two cells were in the basement. A further storey was added to the building in 1816. It was renamed Vine Street Police Station in 1829 following the establishment of the Metropolitan Police District. The school moved from the building to Swallow Street in 1836, where it stayed before closing in 1881.][ The police station went on to become one of the main stations in Central London.][ In 1850, it was extended over the 18th century courthouses.][ At one point in the 19th century it was one of the busiest police stations in the world.][ An Arts and Crafts extension wing was built on the station in 1897, that faced onto Swallow Street. The Man in the Moon pub, adjacent to the station, was bought by the police receiver in 1931.][
The station closed in 1940 (along with nearby ]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 ...
) to be replaced with an integrated West End Central Police Station at Savile Row
Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...
, with the street being renamed Piccadilly Place. A subsequent rise in foot traffic around the area, and associated crime, led to the station being re-opened in 1966, with the street being renamed back to Vine Street in 1972. The police station closed in 1997 and the building was demolished in 2005 for redevelopment.
Events and incidents
The Dutch artist Peter Scheemakers
Peter Scheemakers or Pieter Scheemaeckers II or the Younger (10 January 1691 – 12 September 1781) was a Flemish sculptor who worked for most of his life in London. His public and church sculptures in a classicist style had an important influenc ...
moved into a house on the western edge of Vine Street around 1741. He stayed there until 1769, when he returned to Antwerp.[
On 2 September 1791, composer ]Frantisek Kotzwara
František Kočvara, known later in England as Frantisek Kotzwara (1730 – September 2, 1791), was a Czech violist, virtuoso double bassist
and composer.
His death was one of the first recorded instances of death by erotic asphyxiation.
Life ...
died at prostitute Susannah Hill's house at No. 5 Vine Street from erotic asphyxiation
Erotic asphyxiation (variously called asphyxiophilia, hypoxyphilia or breath control play) is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for the purposes of sexual arousal. The term autoerotic asphyxiation is used when the act is done b ...
following a sexual act that involved tying his neck to a doorknob. Hill was charged with Kotzwara's murder but later acquitted.
In 1895, 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 ...
was charged at Vine Street Police Station with libel against Oscar Wilde. This ultimately led to Wilde's arrest and subsequent imprisonment.[ On 29 May 1901, the stonemason James Schulty reported he had information about the murder of Mary Ann Austin but refused to reveal details anywhere except the Vine Street Police Station. The information was discarded by the Metropolitan Police as of little value.
In 1928, an officer working at the station was sacked after it was revealed he had been gathering bribes from local nightclubs and brothels, acquiring over £17,000 (now £) in the process. The officer subsequently committed suicide and the station is believed to be haunted by his ghost. Related incidents include reports of papers being inexplicably moved, and an officer hearing footsteps despite knowing he was the only one in the station.]
The street and station are mentioned in the Pogues
The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse" ...
' song "The Old Main Drag" on their 1985 album '' Rum Sodomy & the Lash''. It refers to the station and street's unpopularity with some of London owing to their distrust of the police force. Because of its relatively hidden location and proximity to Piccadilly Circus, the street suffers from crime, which has led to Westminster City Council gating off the Man in the Moon Passage so service vehicles can access connecting buildings safely.
The street features as a property with a purchase price of £200 on the British Monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
board. It is one of a group of three, coded orange, with connections to law, and is named after the police station. The other two orange properties, Bow Street
Bow Street is a thoroughfare in Covent Garden, Westminster, London. It connects Long Acre, Russell Street and Wellington Street, and is part of a route from St Giles to Waterloo Bridge.
The street was developed in 1633 by Francis Russell, 4 ...
and Marlborough Street, which are both valued at £180, are named after the Bow Street Runners
The Bow Street Runners were the law enforcement officers of the Bow Street Magistrates' Court in the City of Westminster. They have been called London's first professional police force. The force originally numbered six men and was founded in ...
and Marlborough Street Magistrates Court respectively. Since the Man in the Moon is now closed, students on a Monopoly board pub crawl
A pub crawl (sometimes called a bar tour, bar crawl or bar-hopping) is the act of visiting multiple pubs or bars in a single session.
Background
Many European cities have public pub crawls that serve as social gatherings for local expatriates a ...
drink in one of the nearby pubs, such as those on Swallow Street, instead.
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
{{Good article
Streets in the City of Westminster
Former Metropolitan Police stations