Editing Soho (section)

==History==

===Early history===
During the [[Middle Ages]], the area that is now Soho was farmland that belonged to the Abbot and Convent of Abingdon and the master of [[Burton Lazars|Burton St Lazar]] Hospital in [[Leicestershire]], who managed a [[leprosy|leper]] hospital in [[St Giles in the Fields]].{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=845}} In 1536, the land was taken by [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] as a royal park for the [[Palace of Whitehall]]. The area south of what is now Shaftesbury Avenue did not stay in the Crown possession for long; [[Mary I of England|Queen Mary]] sold around {{convert|7|acre|ha}} in 1554, and most of the remainder was sold between 1590 and 1623. A small {{convert|2|acre|ha|adj=on}} section of land remained, until sold by [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] in 1676.<ref name=sol33-34_20-26>{{cite journal|title=Estate and Parish History|journal=Survey of London|volume=33–34: St Anne Soho|editor1-first=F H W|editor1-last=Sheppard|location=London|year=1996|pages=20–26|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols33-4/pp20-26|access-date=10 April 2017}}</ref>

In the 1660s, ownership of Soho Fields passed to [[Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans]], who leased 19 out of the {{convert|22|acre|m2}} of land to Joseph Girle. He was granted permission to develop property and quickly passed the lease and development to bricklayer Richard Frith.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=846}} Much of the land was granted freehold in 1698 by [[William III of England|William III]] to [[William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland]], while the southern part of Soho was sold piecemeal in the 16th and 17th centuries, partly to [[Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester|Robert Sidney, Earl of Leicester]].<ref name=sol33-34_20-26/>

Soho was part of the ancient parish of [[St Martin in the Fields (parish)|St Martin in the Fields]], forming part of the [[Liberty of Westminster]]. As the population started to grow, a new church was provided, and in 1687 a new parish of [[St Anne Within the Liberty of Westminster|St Anne]] was established for it. The parish stretched from Oxford Street in the north to Leicester Square in the south and from what is now Charing Cross Road in the east to Wardour Street in the west; it therefore included all of contemporary eastern Soho, including the Chinatown area.<ref>{{cite map|title=Map of the Parish of St. Anne, Soho|work=Survey of London|volume=33–34: St Anne Soho|editor=F H W Sheppard|location=London|year=1966|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols33-4/map-of-st-anne-soho|access-date=3 July 2017}}</ref> The western portion of modern Soho, around Carnaby Street, was part of the parish of [[Westminster St James|St James]], which was split off from St Martin in 1686.<ref name=sol33-34_20-26/>

===Gentrification===
Building progressed rapidly in the late 17th century, with large properties such as [[Monmouth House]] (built for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, Charles II's eldest illegitimate son), [[Leicester Square|Leicester House]], Fauconberg House, [[Carlisle House, Soho|Carlisle House]] and Newport House.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=845}}

[[Soho Square]] was first laid out in the 1680s on the former Soho Fields; by 1691, 41 houses had been completed there. It was originally called King Square in honour of Charles II, and a statue of him was based in the centre. Several upper-class families moved into the area, including those of [[Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston]], and [[Edward Howard, 2nd Earl of Carlisle]].{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|pp=130,846}} The square had become known as Soho Square by 1720, at which point it had fashionable houses on all sides.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=846}} Only No&nbsp;10 and No&nbsp;15 from this period have survived into the 21st century.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=847}}

Though the Earls of Leicester and Portland had intended Soho to be an upper-class estate comparable to [[Bloomsbury]], [[Marylebone]] and [[Mayfair]], it never developed as such. Immigrants began to settle in the area from around 1680 onwards, particularly French [[Huguenots]] after 1688. The area became known as London's French quarter.<ref>{{cite book |last=Baker |first=Henry Barton |title=Stories of the streets of London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vmQvAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA229 |publisher=Chapman and Hall Ltd. |year=1899 |page=229}}</ref> The French church in Soho Square was founded by Huguenots and opened on 25 March 1893, with a façade of terracotta and coloured brick designed by [[Aston Webb]].{{sfn|Girling|2012|p=104}}

===Cholera outbreak===
{{see also|1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak}}
{{anchor|Broad_Street_pump}}
[[File:John Snow memorial and pub.jpg|thumb|[[John Snow (physician)|John Snow]] memorial, with the pub shown in the background]]
A significant event in the history of [[epidemiology]] and [[public health]] was [[John Snow (physician)|John Snow]]'s study of an [[Broad Street cholera outbreak|1854 outbreak]] of [[cholera]] in Soho. He identified the cause of the outbreak as water from the public [[water pump|pump]] at the junction of Broad Street (now [[Broadwick Street]]) and Cambridge Street (now Lexington Street), close to the rear wall of what is today the [[John Snow (public house)|John Snow]] [[public house]].{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=101}}{{sfn|Johnson|2006|p=229}}

Snow mapped the addresses of the sick and noted that they were mostly people whose nearest access to water was the Broad Street pump. He persuaded the authorities to remove the handle of the pump, thus preventing any more of the infected water from being collected. The spring below the pump was later found to have been contaminated with sewage. This is an early example of epidemiology, public health medicine and the application of science—the [[germ theory of disease]]—in a real-life crisis.{{sfn|Johnson|2006|p=299}} Science writer [[Steven Johnson (author)|Steven Johnson]] has written about the changes related to the cholera outbreak, and notes that almost every building on the street that existed in 1854 has since been replaced.{{sfn|Johnson|2006|pp=227–228}} A replica of the pump, with a memorial plaque and without a handle (to signify Snow's action to halt the outbreak) was erected in 1992 near the location of the original.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.lshtm.ac.uk/2015/03/02/gone-not-forgotten-dr-john-snow-memorial-pump-broadwick-street/|title=Gone for a while but not forgotten: the Dr. John Snow memorial pump on Broadwick Street|publisher=Centre for History in Public Health|date=2 March 2015|access-date=31 October 2017|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107003907/http://history.lshtm.ac.uk/2015/03/02/gone-not-forgotten-dr-john-snow-memorial-pump-broadwick-street/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Decline===
By the mid-18th century, the aristocrats who had been living in Soho Square or Gerrard Street had moved away, as more fashionable areas such as [[Mayfair]] became available.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=847}} The historian and topographer [[William Maitland (historian)|William Maitland]] wrote that the parish "so greatly abound with French that is an easy Matter for a Stranger to imagine himself in France."{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=845}} Soho's character stems partly from the ensuing neglect by rich and fashionable London, and the lack of the redevelopment that characterised the neighbouring areas.<ref name=sol33-34_37-41>{{cite journal|title=The Portland Estate in Soho Fields|journal=Survey of London|volume=33 and 34, St Anne Soho|editor=F H W Sheppard|location=London|year=1966|pages=37–41|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols33-4/pp37-41|access-date=31 October 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Area around Golden Square during Cholera Epidemic. Wellcome L0005796.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Map showing cholera deaths around Soho in 1854]]

The aristocracy had mostly disappeared from Soho by the 19th century, to be replaced by [[prostitutes]], music halls and small theatres. The population increased significantly, reaching 327 inhabitants per acre by 1851, making the area one of the most densely populated areas of London. Houses became divided into tenements with chronic overcrowding and disease. The 1854 cholera outbreak caused the remaining upper-class families to leave the area. Numerous hospitals were built to cope with the health problem; six were constructed between 1851 and 1874.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=845}} Businesses catering to household essentials were established at the same time.{{sfn|Girling|2012|p=106}}

The restaurant trade in Soho improved dramatically in the early 20th century. The construction of new theatres along [[Shaftesbury Avenue]] and [[Charing Cross Road]] improved the reputation of the area, and a meal for theatre-goers became common.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=845}} Public houses in Soho increased in popularity during the 1930s and were frequented by struggling authors, poets and artists.{{sfn|Conte|2008|p=208}}

===Recent history===
[[File:AdmiralDuncan.jpg|thumb|upright|175px|The [[Admiral Duncan pub]], Soho landmark and site of the Soho nail-bombing]]
Since the decline of the sex industry in Soho in the 1980s, the area has returned to being more residential. The Soho Housing Association was established in 1976 to provide reasonable rented accommodation. By the 21st century, it had acquired around 400 flats. St Anne's Church in Dean Street was refurbished after decades of neglect, and a Museum of Soho was established.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=846}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Placing London: From Imperial Capital to Global City|first=John|last=Eade|page=70|publisher=Berghahn Books|year=2000|isbn=978-1-571-81803-4}}</ref>

On 30 April 1999, the [[Admiral Duncan (pub)|Admiral Duncan]] pub on Old Compton Street, which serves the gay community, was damaged by a [[nail bomb]] that left three dead and 30 injured. The bomb was the third that had been planted by [[David Copeland]], a [[neo-Nazi]]  who was attempting to stir up [[ethnic minority|ethnic]] and [[homophobia|homophobic]] tensions by carrying out a series of bombings.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/30/newsid_2499000/2499249.stm|title=On this day – 1999: Dozens injured in Soho nail bomb|publisher=BBC News|date=30 April 2005|access-date=18 May 2017}}</ref>

In early February 2020, parts of an unexploded [[Second World War]] bomb was discovered by construction workers developing a new mixed residential building in Richmond Mews, near [[Dean Street]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Picheta |first=Rob |title=Unexploded World War II bomb found in central London prompts evacuations |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/03/uk/soho-ww2-bomb-gbr-scli-intl/index.html |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Unexploded bomb on Dean St, Soho. |url=https://www.westminster.gov.uk/news/unexploded-bomb-dean-st-soho |publisher=City of Westminster}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Soho WW2 bomb: Dean Street on lockdown twice in 24 hours as another part explosive is discovered |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/soho-world-war-two-bomb-dean-street-lockdown-a4353336.html |access-date=24 February 2023 |publisher=Evening Standard}}</ref> Residents, employees, and pedestrians on Richmond Mews, [[Dean Street]], [[Meard Street]] and [[St Anne's Court]] were evacuated on both the 3 and 4 February 2020. All road junctions connecting to the streets closed during retrieval of the bomb fragments as well.<ref>{{cite web |title=MP Soho Updates on WWII Bomb Finding |url=https://twitter.com/MPSSoho/status/1224690034374254592 |website=Twitter |publisher=Metropolitan Police Soho |access-date=24 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Soho WW2 bomb: Streets closed for second time in 24 hours |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-51376282 |access-date=24 February 2023 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref>