Dean Street
Dean Street
Main page
1839595

Dean Street

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Dean Street

Dean Street is a street in Soho, central London, running from Oxford Street south to Shaftesbury Avenue. It crosses Old Compton Street and is linked to Frith Street by Bateman Street.

Dean Street was built in 1681 in what was then open countryside; the designation Soho has been attributed to So-ho! a hare-hunting cry mentioned in Shakespeare. At first the new residential area attracted the aristocracy, but waves of refugees came and by 1711 almost half the parish was French. According to Nick Black "Soho is the best preserved area of London. Its street pattern has hardly altered in 300 years".

The French revolutionary Jacques Pierre Brissot for a time lived in poverty in Dean Street.

Later, so did Karl Marx. Early drafts of The Communist Manifesto were presented for discussion at Dean Street's Golden Lion pub by Marx and Engels.

A blue plaque at No. 28 commemorates his residence there during 1851-1856.

Alessandro Marocco, a central anarchist during the early years of illegalism and a member of the Intransigents of London and Paris, opened an umbrella shop at 160, Dean Street. This shop likely served as a place for him to fence goods stolen by illegalists during the 1880s and 1890s on the European continent. It was therefore likely a central hub for the early illegalists.

The French House at 39 Dean Street was, during World War II, the reputed headquarters of the French Resistance; it was then called the York Minster. General Charles de Gaulle is said to have composed his rallying speech "À tous les Français" there.

As the nobility started to leave the area it attracted enterprising medical professionals. By 1821 Soho had three private schools of anatomy.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.