The Hoxton Mob was an independent street gang based in London's Soho

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...

 district during the interwar years

Interwar period

Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....

. They were one of several gangs which fought against Charles "Darby" Sabini

Charles Sabini

Charles Sabini commonly known as Darby Sabini, was a British criminal of mixed Italian and English parentage who, as leader of the Sabinis and 'king of the racecourse gangs', dominated the London underworld and racecourses throughout the south of England for much of the early twentieth century...

 and the "Italian Mob", specifically over control of gambling clubs or "spielers".

During the 1930s, the gang was among many who struggled for control of racetracks and "protection" rackets and, in June 1936, around 30 gang members attacked a bookmaker and his clerk with hammers and knuckle-dusters

Brass knuckles

Brass knuckles, also sometimes called knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, or knuckledusters, are weapons used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles are pieces of metal, usually steel despite their name, shaped to fit around the knuckles...

 at the Lewes

Lewes

Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...

 racetrack before police arrived, with at least 16 gang members being convicted at Lewes Assizes and sentenced to serve over 43 years.

In the spring of 1941, two gang members were involved in an altercation with the doorman when they were denied entry to the Palm Beach Bottle Party, a small basement pub housed on Soho's Wardour Street

Wardour Street

Wardour Street is a street in Soho, London. It is a one-way street south to north from Leicester Square, up through Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street.-History:...

 and a known hangout for members of the "Italian Mob". As the bouncer began brawling with gang member Edward Fletcher

Edward Fletcher

Edward Fletcher may refer to:* Edward Fletcher * Edward Fletcher * Edward Fletcher portrayed James Paul Moody in the 1997 movie blockbuster Titanic*Ed Fletcher, U.S. politician...

, its manager mobster Antonio Mancini barred both Fletcher and his friend from the club despite threats that they would "get [Mancini] for this".

The play West by Steven Berkoff

Steven Berkoff

Steven Berkoff is an English actor, writer and director. Best known for his performance as General Orlov in the James Bond film Octopussy, he is typically cast in villanous roles, such as Lt...

features a character Ken, a leader of the Hoxton Gang.

Further reading

• Ayto, John and Ian Crofton. Brewer's Britain & Ireland. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005. ISBN 0-304-35385-X
• Donaldson, William. Brewer's Rogues, Villains, and Eccentrics: An A-Z of Roguish Britons Through the Ages. London: Orion Books Ltd., 2004. ISBN 0-7538-1791-8
• Huggins, Mike. Horseracing and the British, 1919-39. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-7190-6529-1
• Linnane, Fergus. London's Underworld: Three Centuries of Vice and Crime. London: Robson Books, 2003. ISBN 1-86105-548-X