King Charles, Paul McCartney and Casanova
Soho has a certain reputation: a den of iniquity, full of striptease bars and the watering holes of drunken writers. A creative playground for musicians, journalists and the film industry, it might be added. The streets were laid out in the 1670s as an upper-class residential area, but soon high society moved to Mayfair, and Soho began its downward slide. Soho Square reflects its eventful history.
A severely weathered statue of Charles II in the gardens at the centre is a reminder of the original name, »King Square«. In its south-east corner, an impression of the early buildings is given by the House of St Barnabas, whose superb interiors, private garden and chapel belong to a charity for the homeless – the old metal pipe into which passers-by inserted a penny is still in place. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Soho had a sizeable French population, initially Huguenot traders and artisans, later aristocrats who had fled from revolutionary turmoil after 1789. The French Protestant church in the north-west corner of the square preserves this tradition. Another immigrant group, the Irish, are associated with the Roman Catholic Church of St Patrick, with its splendid marble and gilding, on the east side. The church occupies the site of a mansion where a celebrated Venetian singer and courtesan once received her lover Casanova. With holy mass held in Spanish and Cantonese, the church still cares for the souls of immigrants.
Info
Address Soho Square, south of Oxford Street, west of Charing Cross Road, W1D 4NQ | Public Transport Tottenham Court Road (Central, Northern Line) | Tip The Dog and Duck at the corner of Bateman Street and Frith Street has good beer, a cosy atmosphere and decor of the 1890s.
No. 1 Soho Square testifies to the creative side of Soho. Discreetly signed MPL Communications, it is the headquarters of Sir Paul McCartney’s company, and has a replica of the old EMI studio in Abbey Road in the basement.
To take a rest and muse on the colourful past of this place, sit in the gardens. A bench is dedicated to Kirsty MacColl and her song about this place: »Your name froze on the winter air, an empty bench in Soho Square«.
Back
To the online map