Hi, my name is Steve and I'll be your guide today for the Beyond the Fringe tour which takes in the area of Fitzrovia. There are a couple of things to do before we start.

Firstly I need to chec...

As we enter Tottenham Street make your way over to the large mural in front of you and stop for a while so I can tell you about it.

The Fitzrovia mural dating from 1980 was painted by Simon Barb...

Turn right into Charlotte Mews.

If you'd turned here in 1882, the two shops on either side of the alleyway would have been the workshop of William Leggett, a marquetry cutter who probably worked...

Turn left into Chitty Street which takes it's name from local resident, lawyer and legal writer Joseph Chitty, who in the early 19th century was the author of some of the earliest legal practitione...

Please stop here at the junction of Chitty and Charlotte street.

In 1917 there was a butcher's shop standing just across the street owned by Belgian Louis Voisin. Voisin was a ladies' man and es...

Before the Second World War, Fitzrovia had a highly visible German community and Charlotte Street was the principal thoroughfare named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of King George I...

Turn left here.

Had you lived in the area in the 1800s, Goodge Street would probably have been your go-to street for shopping. Trade directories of the time show that it had virtually every sho...

Stop here please at the corner.

Different shops have come and gone over the years, but an ever-present since at least 1811 is the Fitzrovia pub, known previously as the Valiant Trooper which st...

When you reach the beautiful small oasis that is Colville Place on your right stop by the entrance and I'll tell you something about the derivation of the name.

Colville Place stands on the appr...

Turn left to continue along Charlotte Street.

In the 1930s the painter Augustus John and writer Dylan Thomas both known for their adventurous spirit helped build a Bohemian reputation for the a...

Stop here please.

Both Augustus John and Dylan Thomas spent quite a lot of time inside the doors of the Fitzroy Tavern which is on your left. If you decide to pop in for some refreshment there ...

Walk down Percey's Passage. I'll meet you on the other side.

Stop here please.

Newman Arms was built in the early development of 1730, the building became a pub in 1860, previously being used for housing a tallow chandler, an ironmonger, a picture framer...

Turn right here and keep following the road as it bends.

As we step into Newman street, we’re going to be transported back to 1782 and an incident that happened here to a gentleman named Lachla...

As we move into Cleveland Street we'll jump forward almost 50 years to hear about the case of Henry Brooks in 1828. Walk along the street, keeping the red brick building on your right.

Stop here please.

Where you're now standing was the site of Henry Keats and Company, a cloth dyer. Henry Brooks was a 19-year old employed to grind cochineal used in the dying process. One even...

Please stop here.

Now, the reason I recounted the event, aside from trying to get a cheap laugh for the red handed gag, is that all the protagonists in the story: a young lad disabled in the cou...

Turn left here.

As we enter the modern Fitzroy Place, we're walking through the footprint of the old Middlesex hospital which closed in 2005 and the location turned into the modern mix of busin...

Turn right here. I'll meet you at the end of the street.

Please turn right into Nassau Street and follow the road to the junction with Riding House Street.

The street takes its name after the House of Nassau, a European dynasty that had land and conn...

Stop when you reach the corner.

Directly in front of you is a lovely Art Nouveau building, once the offices of T J Boulting & Sons. The Boultings were furnishing ironmongers and gas & electric ...

Stop here please.

On your right is York House. This street was known as York Street originally. The Boulting company modernised it to fit in with their own office premises. At the end of the str...

Keep going straight.

The modern Riding House Street, previously known as Union Street, takes it's name from the barracks and riding school occupied by the First Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards ...

When you reach the end of the street turn left. Then keep going. I'll meet you a little further ahead.

Stop here please in front of The King & Queen pub.

One the opposite side of the road, directly in front of us, formally was The Cleveland Street Workhouse. As we saw earlier Charles Dickens liv...

During the tour, at every turn, there's been one building looking over us, the BT Tower. It's been previously called the GPO Tower, the Post Office Tower and the Telecom Tower. Its on your right.
...

Bear right here and walk down Maple Street.

Please turn left into Conway Street.

There have been many literary and artist connections with the area, but here we find a branch of the arts that perhaps you would find strange situated in a residential area, however given its proxi...

We now enter the magnificent Fitzroy Square, a speculative development intended to provide London residences for aristocratic families. Keep the gardens on your right as you walk around the perimet...

Please turn left into Fitzroy Street.

Stop here please. On your right is a plaque commemorating Captain Matthew Flinders. You may ask Matthew who? but it is likely if you hail from Australia you would have grown up knowing all about hi...

Stop here please.

We’re now standing in Warren Street and very near the edge of what is considered to be Fitzrovia.

I’d like to introduce you to a local resident who plied his trade here in...

Take the first right here and enter into Grafton Mews, following the road as it bends.

We recently saw the grand houses that stand along each side of Fitzroy Square. As we turn right into Grafto...

As you exit the Mews, turn left onto Grafton Way. I'll meet you a little further ahead.

As you walk along Grafton Street you may feel that there is a definite Latin American vibe to this part of Fitzrovia, there are several cafes and bars with Latin heritage and a number of houses dis...

At the end of Grafton Way, please turn left onto Tottenham Court Road.

As we walk along Tottenham Court Road you may remember at the beginning I told you that the road led to the Manor of Tottenham Court.

As we reach the corner of Warren Street in front of you, st...