Soho The Heart of Bohemian London

From humble beginnings, Soho developed into a fashionable center for London’s nobility in the 18th century. Yet this same area was to become a poverty-stricken and decaying Victorian hub of cheap lodging houses. This was the Soho of the devastating cholera outbreak of 1854. However, a new focus on business and manufacturing transformed Soho in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Alongside this, bars and restaurants flourished, encouraging artists and artisans to the area. In the 1960s, Carnaby Street briefly became the fashion and retail center of the world. The nightclubs of Soho played host to the Teddies, Mods, Rockers, Punks and New Romantics of post-war British youth culture.

Peter Speiser is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Westminster.