Our stroll through the history of Soho starts at Manette Street, named after a character in Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities. We then pass The Pillars of Hercules pub in Greek Street and make our way into Soho Square, which was developed in the 1680s on the site of Soho Fields. We look at some of the fine 17th and 18th Century architecture around Soho Square.
From Soho Square, we go back along Greek Street, past the house where Thomas De Quincey lived and wrote, Jazz After Dark where Amy Winehouse performed, Josiah Wedgewood’s pottery showrooms, and L’Escargot Restaurant. We walk along Old Compton Street and also visit The Coach and Horses pub, Kettner’s, Maison Bertaux, The French House, Cafe Boheme and numerous other significant locations around Old Compton Street. Our walking tour then goes up Frith Street, past Bar Italia and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz club and then into Dean Street past the Soho Theatre and Quo Vadis restaurant. Dean Street was originally the heart of the French community in Soho, and in the 1700s French was so widely spoken in the area that people said you could imagine you were in France.

From Dean Street we pass back along Old Compton Street and then up Wardour Street, past the location of the famous Marquee Club and the Intrepid Fox pub. No walk around Soho would be complete without taking in Berwick Street with its historic street market and fantastic record shops. The final section of our walk goes through Walker’s Court to the Raymond Revuebar. We finish this wonderful Soho stroll in Rupert Street.

Watch Part 2 of my walking tour of Soho here

And this walk around Soho with Tim Arnold from Save Soho in 2015 is well worth a watch as well (this features in my forthcoming book – Welcome to New London).