Soho

• 1. Origins And Aristocratic Development

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  Henry VIII seized the land that became Soho in 1536, turning it into a royal park for his Palace of Whitehall. The area remained Crown property until Queen Mary sold portions of it starting in 1554. Most of the remaining land changed hands between 1590 and 1623 as private owners took control. A small section stayed with the Crown until Charles II sold it in 1676. Ownership passed to Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans, who leased out 19 acres to Joseph Girle in the 1660s. Girle quickly transferred the development rights to bricklayer Richard Frith. William III granted freehold status to William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, in 1698. Building accelerated rapidly during the late 17th century. Large properties like Monmouth House rose on the site. James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, commissioned this house as his residence. Leicester House and Fauconberg House followed suit. Soho Square appeared in the 1680s as the first planned layout. It originally bore the name King Square to honor Charles II. A statue of the king stood in its center. By 1691, forty-one houses had been completed there. Upper-class families such as those of Richard Graham moved into these new homes. Edward Howard, 2nd Earl of Carlisle, also established a presence. The square became known as Soho Square by 1720. Only numbers ten and fifteen from that era survive today.

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• 2. The Cholera Epidemic Of 1854

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  John Snow conducted an epidemiological study during an 1854 cholera outbreak in Soho. He identified water from the public pump at Broad Street and Cambridge Street junction as the source of infection. This location sits near the rear wall of what is now the John Snow public house. Snow mapped the addresses of the sick and found most lived closest to that specific pump. He persuaded authorities to remove the handle of the pump to stop collection of contaminated water. The spring below the pump was later discovered to be contaminated with sewage. Science writer Steven Johnson has documented changes related to this event. Almost every building on the street existing in 1854 has since been replaced. A replica of the pump stands nearby with a memorial plaque and no handle. The replica was erected in 1992 to signify Snow's action to halt the outbreak. The population reached 327 inhabitants per acre by 1851. Houses were divided into tenements causing chronic overcrowding and disease. Six hospitals were constructed between 1851 and 1874 to cope with the health crisis. The remaining upper-class families left the area after the 1854 cholera outbreak.

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• 3. Immigration And Cultural Shifts

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  French Huguenots began settling in the area around 1680, particularly after 1688. Soho became known as London's French quarter during this period. The French church in Soho Square opened on the 25th of March 1893 with a façade of terracotta and colored brick designed by Aston Webb. Chinese immigrants started moving from Poplar to Gerrard Street during the 1950s due to cheap rents. By 1970, the street had become the center of London's Chinatown. It features numerous Chinese restaurants and shops into the 21st century. The street was pedestrianized and decorated with a Chinese gateway and lanterns. Greek and Italian immigration led to many small affordable restaurants being established in the 19th century. These establishments initially lacked favor but gained reputation at the start of the 20th century. A 1924 guide reported that inexpensive restaurants enjoyed extraordinary vogue. Arthur Ransome's Bohemia in London mentioned coffee houses like The Moorish Café and The Algerian. Kettner's restaurant opened on Romilly Street in 1867 by Napoleon III's chef Auguste Kettner. Albert, Prince of Wales allegedly dined there with his mistress Lillie Langtry. Oscar Wilde also visited frequently. Agatha Christie and Bing Crosby regularly ate at the establishment. The area includes establishments associated with Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines alongside Italian and French communities.

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• 4. Entertainment And The Sex Industry

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  The Windmill Theatre opened as the Palais de Luxe cinema in 1910 before Howard Jones converted it to a theatre. Vivian Van Damm introduced non-stop variety shows starting in December 1931. Models had to remain motionless to avoid censorship laws then in place. The theatre claimed to be the only one not closing during World War II except for compulsory closure between 4 and the 16th of September 1939. Harry Secombe, Jimmy Edwards, and Tony Hancock began careers there. It closed on the 31st of October 1964. Paul Raymond owned the Raymond Revuebar at No. 11 Walker's Court from 1958. The facade declared it the World Centre of Erotic Entertainment. Raymond bought the lease of the Windmill and ran it as nude entertainment until 1981. The upstairs became known as the Boulevard Theatre and adopted as comedy club The Comic Strip by Rik Mayall and Dawn French. The venue suffered financial difficulties leading to closure in 2004. Between 1778 and 1801, 21 Soho Square housed the White House brothel described by Henry Mayhew as notorious. Two rival gangs controlled drugs and prostitution shortly before World War I. Chan Nan and Eddie Manning led these groups. Manning died midway through his three-year sentence in 1933. From 1976 to 1982, Soho contained 54 sex shops and 39 sex cinemas. Gangs controlled clubs while police accepted bribes. Robert Mark cracked down on corruption after appointment as chief constable. Local residents started the Soho Society in 1972 to control expansion. Corruption trials in 1975 imprisoned several senior officers. Property values depressed when Paul Raymond began buying freeholds. By 1991, premises dropped from 185 to around 30.

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• 5. Music Scene And Recording Studios

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  Club Eleven opened in 1948 as the first venue for modern jazz or bebop in the UK. It closed following a drugs raid in 1950. The Harmony Inn operated on Archer Street during the 1940s and 1950s. Moka coffee bar at No. 29 Frith Street formally opened in 1953 with frothed coffee produced by stainless steel machines. Gina Lollobrigida opened it. Le Macabre on Wardour Street had coffin-shaped tables fostering beat poetry and jive dance. Pink Floyd played at Goings On club organized by Pete Brown in the mid-1960s. The 2i's Coffee Bar initially opened on No. 44 Gerard Street in 1956 before moving to No. 59 Old Compton Street. Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club opened at 39 Gerrard Street in 1959 then moved to 47 Frith Street in 1965. The Marquee Club opened on Wardour Street in 1958. Rolling Stones performed there in July 1962 while The Who appeared in late 1964. Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, and Iron Maiden all played the venue. Eric Clapton and Brian Jones lived in Soho sharing a flat with Tony Brainsby. Trident Studios based at 17 St Anne's Court was established by Norman and Barry Sheffield in 1968. The Beatles recorded tracks for The White Album there because facilities exceeded Abbey Road studios. Queen recorded their first four albums at Trident. Elton John wrote his hit Your Song in Denmark Street. Led Zeppelin held their first rehearsal in 1968 in a basement studio on Gerrard Street.

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• 6. Gentrification And Modern Identity

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  Soho underwent considerable gentrification since the 1980s. It is now predominantly a fashionable district of upmarket restaurants and media offices. Only a small remnant of sex industry venues remains today. London's most prominent gay village centers on Old Compton Street. 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 on Wardour Street fully restored in the late 1980s reopened formally by Princess Royal on the 12th of March 1990. A Museum of Soho was established after decades of neglect. On the 30th of April 1999, the Admiral Duncan pub on Old Compton Street suffered damage from a nail bomb leaving three dead and thirty injured. David Copeland planted the third bomb attempting to stir ethnic and homophobic tensions. Parts of an unexploded Second World War bomb discovered in February 2020 led to evacuations on Richmond Mews near Dean Street. All road junctions connecting to streets closed during retrieval of fragments. In July 2019 researchers found Soho reported as unhealthiest place to live in Britain. Area had greatest access to takeaways, pubs and off-licences combined with high air pollution levels. Low levels of parks and green spaces characterized the region. Twenty-three percent of workforce in Soho worked in creative industries according to Westminster City Council research commissioned in the 2010s.

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