Seven secrets salvaged from Soho's shady past

Sep 15
07:43

2009

Max Brockbank

Max Brockbank

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Soho in London's trendy West End has had many residents over the years, from European immigrants -- including Karl Marx -- to sex workers and celebrities. Here are seven deadly secrets from Soho's sordid past and the better times too.

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There are few parts of Britain with as big a reputation -- for good or ill -- as Soho in the West End. The area has a rich,Seven secrets salvaged from Soho's shady past Articles albeit shady, past so if you're planning a holiday, perhaps staying at one of the cheap hotels London has to offer, consider the following facts -- if only for your amusement. 

  1. When Soho was originally founded, the landowners did so with the  intention of attracting other wealthy individuals to the area. To their  dismay, however, the village was settled by poor European immigrants in the 17th and 18th centuries. By 1900 all of the area’s wealthiest citizens had  moved out, leaving little more than a community of prostitutes, crooks, and other undesirables. The name is said to come from a hunting cry -- Henry VIII took the former farm land as a royal hunting ground for the Palace of Whitehall in 1536.
  2. There was a time in Soho’s history -- and not so long ago -- when prostitutes ran rampant on the streets. While there are still a few strip clubs, sex shops and even the odd "house of ill repute", they are not as prominent as they once were, being replaced by gay and lesbian bars and clubs, high street lingerie chains and trendy eating places, as well as the offices of London's media community. Many film companies have their base in Soho.
  3. Despite its seedy reputation -- or perhaps because of it -- Soho has long been a popular haunt of actors and musicians. Many legendary nameshave walked the streets and supped at some of the pubs  there -- including John Lennon, Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger, Keith Moon and others -- but even with famous names frequenting the area, cheap London hotels can still be found there.
  4. All of the different pubs and inns throughout Soho have their own  interesting history, and some of their stories are legendary: they include the French House on Dean Street, which was a meeting place for  French resistance forces in World War II. 
  5. Early planning of Karl Marx’s "Communist Manifesto" was carried out in Soho's Red Lion Pub on Great Windmill Street. Marx lived nearby, above what is now the swanky Quo Vadis restaurant in Dean Street. Quo Vadis is latin for "who rules?"
  6. The very first adult cinema in England, The Compton Cinema Club, opened for buiness in 1960 on Old Compton Street. Today the street is the heart of London’s gay and lesbian community with many bars, clubs and shops flying the rainbow flag. They include Compton’s, one of the  first exclusively gay bars to open in the 1980s and Admiral Duncan, the site of a hate-bombing on April 30, 1999, which killed three people.
  7. A cholera outbreak in 1854 killed more than 600 residents of Soho and  forced many more to flee the district. The epidemic was blamed on a public water pump located on what is now called Broadwick Street. A nearby pub, The John Snow, is named after the local doctor who made the connection and "ended" the spread of the disease by having the pump's handle physically removed.

If you’re looking for cheap hotels in London, Soho might just the place  for your next holiday. Keeping in mind its reputation and atmosphere, you might be pleasantly surprised.