London is packed with incredible areas that welcome between 20 million and 30 million visitors every year, and Soho rightly claims its place as one of the most visited, with fabulous shopping and entertainment to be enjoyed by all who visit.
While modern Soho continues to attract crowds throughout the year, its fascinating history is something that often goes under the radar. From its humble farmland beginnings to becoming a fashion mecca during the swinging ‘60s, and its adult and gambling industries that brought underworld figures to its streets, there is a lot to learn about this west end location.
Times have obviously changed, with online shopping impacting regular retail businesses and betting offices and traditional casinos being slowly replaced by popular verified sites that offer customers greater convenience, more security and a wider choice of gaming options. Despite this, Soho is still an in-demand location in London with visitors keen to learn more about its interesting past.
Soho’s Beginnings
Soho started life on the outskirts of old London as farmland, deriving its name from an old hunting rallying cry. The area remained as farmland throughout the Middle Ages, with ownership passing hands a number of times. Most of Soho was part of St Martin in the Fields, an ancient parish that covered from Wardour Street in the west to Oxford Street, while the area surrounding Carnaby Street was part of the St James parish.
Urban Growth from the 17th to the 19th Century
Development continued into the 18th century, with more of the farmland giving way to housing and the construction of Soho Square in 1720. A large French population saw the area become trendy, before a cholera outbreak in 1854 signalled the start of the area’s decline.
While the aristocracy that had made Soho their home moved on to other areas, like Mayfair, the area soon became well populated among the working class. The need for public amenities grew with its population, and several hospitals were built to cope with the public.
Soho’s 20th Century Infamy
The early 20th century saw a boom in the restaurant business in Soho, and Shaftesbury Avenue’s new theatre industry helped to improve the reputation of Soho and increase trade.
The area was also known for its sex trade, with prostitution booming in the area until it was outlawed in 1959. This saw a lot of trade move from the streets to private quarters, alongside cinemas that catered to certain tastes, sex shops, and strip clubs.
To add to the seedy nature of the area during the mid-20th century, the area was also known for its gambling. This might not seem too shocking to the modern reader, but gambling was illegal before the introduction of the Betting and Gaming Act in 1960.
Even then, the criminal hold on private gambling clubs in the area was significant until the 1968 Gambling Act closed loopholes and ensured gaming premises were licensed before they could operate. This helped to curb the London gangland’s hold on the area to some extent.
Perhaps the most famous gangsters to come out of the UK, the Krays, conducted a lot of their criminal empire from locations like The Hideaway Club on Gerrard Street, as well as Esmeralda’s Barn and El Morocco.
Soho wasn’t all vice and danger, and the 1960s saw Carnaby Street become the centre of the swinging ‘60s, with shops like Lord John, Lady Jane, Cecil Gee, Kleptomania, and more. The area became synonymous with fashion, made popular by the musicians of the day.
As fashions changed, so did Carnaby Street, appealing to subcultures like skinheads, punks, and new romantics.
Another area of Soho that attracts a lot of visitors is Chinatown, where the city’s Chinese population congregated and transformed in the early 20th century.
Modern Soho
London is constantly evolving, but there are signs of its history and tradition everywhere you turn. These days, Soho is popular among visitors looking to make the most of the famous West End theatre shows, as well as its live music venues, restaurants, and bars.
Carnaby Street might not be what it used to be, but there are still lots of boutique shopping experiences in and around the area. The area has also kept true to its roots with a selection of betting facilities, including casinos in the area.
Soho has also enjoyed significant fame from cultural references, with the world of literature often using the atmospheric setting as a prime location. Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Dickens, and Joseph Conrad all made mention of Soho, while The Kinks, The Who, The Pogues, and Warren Zevon all mentioned it in their songs.
In terms of musical references, there can’t be many areas in the world that have a better namedrop than that in Zevon’s ‘Werewolves of London’ from 1978, when he mentioned Lee Ho Fook, a famous Chinese restaurant on Gerrard Street that remained open until 2008.
