Dean Street
Encyclopedia
Dean Street is a street in Soho
, London
, England
, running between Oxford Street
to the north and Shaftesbury Avenue
to the south.
in Dean Street is a public house that was the unofficial headquarters of Charles de Gaulle
and the French resistance
during World War II
. Karl Marx
lived on this street between 1851 and 1856, above what is now the Marco Pierre White
restaurant Quo Vadis
. The Marxes shared their house in Dean Street with Italian teachers and a cook and were very poor while living in the street. Their rooms were described by one visitor as One of the worst, therefore one of the cheapest, quarters of London... Three of their five children died while living here, all in infancy. Karl Marx
's collaborator, Friedrich Engels
lived in an apartment at 28 Dean Street.
Charles Dickens
was also a regular on Dean Street, though before his writing time, when he was a young actor enthusiastically participating in amateur productions at Fanny Kelly's Royalty Theatre
at number 73-74. In 1845 he starred in an adaptation of Ben Johnson's 'Every Man in his Humour', which met mixed reviews, Dickens' acting was said to be of debatable merit. Dickens's artistic contemporary George Cruikshank
was also a resident of Dean Street and it was here that he drew the illustration for Dickens's early works. Cruikshank is perhaps more widely known as a cutting caricaturist with scant regard for his targets. He was once bribed £100 for his pledge not to caricature His Majesty (George III) in any immoral situation. He obliged and instead created a humorous caricature of England which came to be known as John Bull
.
Also, notably, Admiral Nelson stayed in Dean Street the day before setting sail for the Battle of Trafalgar
. He spent the night drawing up his final battleplans, including the masterstroke of painting identifiable gold and black checks on the ships. He is said to have spent the early part of the evening at a nearby undertakers selecting the coffin he would like to be buried in, had the battle not gone according to plan, which proved useful planning, as he died in the battle, despite leading the British fleet to victory.
too had its base in Dean Street, Lock being a euphemism for venereal disease
.
Dean Street is a centre of the creative and advertising industries including film and video editing facilities, especially during the 1960s-1990s.
There have been many music and theatre venues on the street. New Romanticism, a youth fashion movement, began largely through the nightclub Billy's in Dean Street in the late 1970s. The Groucho Club
, a private club frequented by people in the arts, is located here, as is the Soho Theatre
, presenting new plays and stand up comedy.
The start of a dramatic change to Dean Street began in March 2010 with the commencement of demolition of an entire City block (Great Chapel Street / Dean Street) in preparation for a western entrance to the new Crossrail
station at Tottenham Court Road
which will have major impact on the area.
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, running between Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
to the north and Shaftesbury Avenue
Shaftesbury Avenue
Shaftesbury Avenue is a major street in central London, England, named after Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, that runs in a north-easterly direction from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus....
to the south.
Historical figures
The street has a rich history. In 1764 a young Mozart gave a recital at 21 Dean Street. The French HouseThe French House, Soho
The French House is a pub and dining room at 49 Dean Street, Soho, London. It was previously known as the York Minster, but was informally called "the French pub" or "the French house" by its regulars...
in Dean Street is a public house that was the unofficial headquarters of Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
and the French resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
lived on this street between 1851 and 1856, above what is now the Marco Pierre White
Marco Pierre White
Marco Pierre White is a British celebrity chef, restaurateur and television personality. He is noted for his contributions to contemporary international cuisine, and his exceptional culinary skills....
restaurant Quo Vadis
Quo Vadis (restaurant)
Quo Vadis is a restaurant and private club in Soho, London. It primarily serves modern British food. It was founded in 1926 by an Italian named Pepino Leoni and has passed through numerous owners since then, including celebrity chef Marco Pierre White, and is currently owned by Sam and Eddie Hart,...
. The Marxes shared their house in Dean Street with Italian teachers and a cook and were very poor while living in the street. Their rooms were described by one visitor as One of the worst, therefore one of the cheapest, quarters of London... Three of their five children died while living here, all in infancy. Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
's collaborator, Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
lived in an apartment at 28 Dean Street.
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
was also a regular on Dean Street, though before his writing time, when he was a young actor enthusiastically participating in amateur productions at Fanny Kelly's Royalty Theatre
Royalty Theatre
The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho and opened on 25 May 1840 as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938. The architect was Samuel Beazley, a resident in Soho Square, who also designed St James's Theatre, among...
at number 73-74. In 1845 he starred in an adaptation of Ben Johnson's 'Every Man in his Humour', which met mixed reviews, Dickens' acting was said to be of debatable merit. Dickens's artistic contemporary George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached an international audience.-Early life:Cruikshank was born in London...
was also a resident of Dean Street and it was here that he drew the illustration for Dickens's early works. Cruikshank is perhaps more widely known as a cutting caricaturist with scant regard for his targets. He was once bribed £100 for his pledge not to caricature His Majesty (George III) in any immoral situation. He obliged and instead created a humorous caricature of England which came to be known as John Bull
John Bull
John Bull is a national personification of Britain in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged man, often wearing a Union Flag waistcoat.-Origin:...
.
Also, notably, Admiral Nelson stayed in Dean Street the day before setting sail for the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
. He spent the night drawing up his final battleplans, including the masterstroke of painting identifiable gold and black checks on the ships. He is said to have spent the early part of the evening at a nearby undertakers selecting the coffin he would like to be buried in, had the battle not gone according to plan, which proved useful planning, as he died in the battle, despite leading the British fleet to victory.
Sectors
The street has a tradition in healthcare, over the years there have been various hospitals on the street, pioneering establishments for prevention and cure of diseases. The Royal Ear Hospital occupied number 10, an early maternity hospital was also located here and the Lock HospitalLondon Lock Hospital
The London Lock Hospital was the first venereal disease clinic, being the most famous and first of the Lock Hospitals, which opened on 31 January 1747....
too had its base in Dean Street, Lock being a euphemism for venereal disease
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
.
Dean Street is a centre of the creative and advertising industries including film and video editing facilities, especially during the 1960s-1990s.
There have been many music and theatre venues on the street. New Romanticism, a youth fashion movement, began largely through the nightclub Billy's in Dean Street in the late 1970s. The Groucho Club
Groucho Club
The Groucho Club is a well-known private social club located at Dean Street in Soho, London. Its members are mostly drawn from the media, entertainment, arts and fashion industries....
, a private club frequented by people in the arts, is located here, as is the Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre is a theatre in the eponymous Soho district of the City of Westminster. It presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret....
, presenting new plays and stand up comedy.
21st century
On 10 July 2009 a fire broke out on Dean Street. Two fire-fighters suffered minor injuries, nobody else was hurt. The building that caught fire was gutted.The start of a dramatic change to Dean Street began in March 2010 with the commencement of demolition of an entire City block (Great Chapel Street / Dean Street) in preparation for a western entrance to the new Crossrail
Crossrail
Crossrail is a project to build a major new railway link under central London. The name refers to the first of two routes which are the responsibility of Crossrail Ltd. It is based on an entirely new east-west tunnel with a central section from to Liverpool Street station...
station at Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road tube station
Tottenham Court Road is a London Underground station in central London. It is an interchange between the Central line and the branch of the Northern line.On the Central line it is between and , and on the Northern line it is between and...
which will have major impact on the area.
Intersections
From north to south:- Oxford StreetOxford StreetOxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
– terminates - Carlisle Street
- St Anne's Court
- Richmond Buildings (leading to Richmond Mews)
- Chapone Place
- Bateman Street
- Meard StreetMeard StreetMeard Street in a street in Soho, London. It runs roughly East-West , between Wardour Street to the west and Dean Street to the east...
- Bourchier Street
- Old Compton StreetOld Compton StreetOld Compton Street runs east-west through Soho, London, England.- History :The street was named after Henry Compton. who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686...
- Romilly Street
- Shaftesbury AvenueShaftesbury AvenueShaftesbury Avenue is a major street in central London, England, named after Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, that runs in a north-easterly direction from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus....
– terminates
External links
- LondonTown.com information
- Panoramic view at the junction with Old Compton StreetOld Compton StreetOld Compton Street runs east-west through Soho, London, England.- History :The street was named after Henry Compton. who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686...