Tour Locations | Finding Fitzrovia: The Neighbourhood on the Fringe of Soho

-
LOCATION 1
Fitzrovia: on the fringes of developed London in the 1740s
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...
-
LOCATION 2
Fitzrovia Mural painted by Simon Barber and Mike Jones
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...
-
LOCATION 3
1964 Beatles film A Hard Days Night
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...
-
LOCATION 4
Chitty St named after local resident, lawyer and legal writer Joseph Chitty
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...
-
LOCATION 5
Louis Voison and his deadly love triangle
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...
-
LOCATION 6
The site of the former Scala Theatre which featured in a Hard Days Night
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...
-
LOCATION 7
Goodge Street where trade took place in the 1800s
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...
-
LOCATION 8
Fitzrovia pub and London's ‘stoned’ hippie lifestyle
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...
-
LOCATION 9
Colville Place: the site of an 18th-century windmill
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...
-
LOCATION 10
How Fitzrovia got its name
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...
-
LOCATION 11
Fitzrovia Tavern: where novelist Patrick Hamilton frequented
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 ...
-
LOCATION 12
Percey Passage
Walk down Percey's Passage. I'll meet you on the other side.
-
LOCATION 13
Newman's Passage and the pub featured in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty Four
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...
-
LOCATION 14
Lachlan Mackintosh and the hanging of Michael Ranton
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...
-
LOCATION 15
The Cleveland Street Scandal
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.
-
LOCATION 16
Henry Keats and Company
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...
-
LOCATION 17
Charles Dickens' former home and the Cleveland Street Scandal
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...
-
LOCATION 18
Pearson Square and Fitzrovia Chapel
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...
-
LOCATION 19
Mortimer St
Turn right here. I'll meet you at the end of the street.
-
LOCATION 20
House of Nassau, a European dynasty
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...
-
LOCATION 21
TJ Boulting & Son
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 ...
-
LOCATION 22
York House and the Window Tax of the 1700s and 1800s
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...
-
LOCATION 23
Riding House Street: named after the First Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards
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 ...
-
LOCATION 24
Cleveland St
When you reach the end of the street turn left. Then keep going. I'll meet you a little further ahead.
-
LOCATION 25
The Cleveland Street Workhouse: The inspirations for Charles Dickens' one in Oliver Twist
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...
-
LOCATION 26
BT Tower and its many names
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.
... -
LOCATION 27
-
LOCATION 28
-
LOCATION 29
Omega Workshop and the members of the Bloomsbury Group
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...
-
LOCATION 30
Fitzroy Square and London's aristocratic families
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...
-
LOCATION 31
-
LOCATION 32
Captain Matthew Flinders who led the first inshore circumnavigation of Australia
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...
-
LOCATION 33
Stan the Spiv and his deadly and dodgy dealings
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...
-
LOCATION 34
Grafton Mews and its 18th century coachmen cottages
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...
-
LOCATION 35
Grafton Way
As you exit the Mews, turn left onto Grafton Way. I'll meet you a little further ahead.
-
LOCATION 36
Francisco de Miranda, the Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary
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...
-
LOCATION 37
Grafton Way 2
At the end of Grafton Way, please turn left onto Tottenham Court Road.
-
LOCATION 38
Dukes of Grafton
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...