Settling in Soho Walk

This is an informative and fun guided walk through the history of Soho, from its early days as fields to becoming one of London’s most eclectic neighbourhoods.

Sunday mornings are the perfect time to explore Soho as it’s a little calmer but no less atmospheric. City Of Westminster qualified tour guide Barbara Wright will show you how it all went down in recent centuries as well as some things worth checking out after your guided walk.

You will see how vibrant Soho has changed over the centuries. From being originally founded as Leicester Fields in 1670, it became one of London’s hotspots – a haunt for artists, authors and politicos who put the world to rights at the Turk’s Head Inn over many-a boozy tipple. Not just popular with London’s intelligentsia, the area was a magnet for immigrant communities like the French Huguenots and Chinese.

In the late 1800s new waves of immigrants followed; Italians, then Jewish, then Maltese and finally Chinese.

It was an inspiration for writers such as Robert Louis Stevenson (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) and Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities). Soho was also home to its famous immigrants such as musician and composer Mozart, socialite and womaniser Casanova and painter Canaletto.

Later Soho became known as a mecca for music-lovers due to clubs the The 2i’s, The Marquee Club and Ronnie Scott’s and recording studios Trident Studios which has recorded The Beatles, David Bowie and Bee Gees.

This London walk is not dog-friendly due to the possible remnants of Saturday night festivities