London Neighbourhhods:
Fitzrovia
Neatly tucked away between the wealth of Marylebone, the edgy energy of Soho and the grandeur of Bloomsbury, Fitzrovia is peaceful and attractive, home to small media organisations, small pubs and small restaurants and a smattering of decent hotels. Wide streets lined with tall buildings in Victorian brick mingle with cosy side alleys, with a variety of architectural styles from the eighteenth century to the present day, all of it dominated by the BT Tower, one of London's tallest and most iconic buildings. Tottenham Court Road is the major shopping street, and the best place in London to look for home furnishings and electronic goods. The area around Oxford Street mixes good high street shops with pubs and bars catching the overflow from Soho's nightlife.
Fitzrovia is a diverse residential area where grand 18th- and 19th-century apartments sit side by side with social housing. Handy for the West End theatres, it's dotted with hotels, galleries and old-school pubs. Charlotte Street is lined with lively bistros and cafes. The historically bohemian area was once home to such writers as Virginia Woolf, George Bernard Shaw and Arthur Rimbaud. The quiet streets are also home to new media, advertising and architectural companies. Two of London's oldest surviving residential walkways can be found in Fitzrovia. Colville Place and the pre-Victorian Middleton Buildings (built 1759) are in the old London style of a way.
The most prominent feature of the area is the BT Tower, Cleveland Street, which is one of London's tallest buildings and was open to the public until an IRA bomb exploded in the revolving restaurant in 1971. Another notable modern building is the YMCA Indian Student Hostel on Fitzroy Square, one of the few surviving buildings by Ralph Tubbs.
BT Tower
Fitzrovia is probably named after the Fitzroy Tavern, a public house situated on the corner of Charlotte Street and Windmill Street within the district. Until the end of the 19th century the area which now includes Fitzrovia belonged to the Duke of Grafton and his family; their surname is Fitzroy, which may be the source for the tavern. The name was adopted during the inter-war years initially by and later in recognition of the artistic and bohemian community habitually found at the public house.
In addition to Fitzroy Square and nearby Fitzroy Street, there are numerous locations named for the FitzRoy family and Devonshire/Portland family, both significant local landowners. Charles FitzRoy was the grandson of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, hence Grafton Way and Grafton Mews. William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland and his wife Margaret Harley lend their names to Portland Place, Great Portland Street and Harley Street. Margaret Harley was daughter of Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, for whom Oxford Street (the southern boundary of Fitzrovia) and Mortimer Street are named.
During Fitzrovia's development, immigrants from France and neighbouring countries crowded in and helped establish the district as a centre for the furniture trade by the end of the 18th century. Thomas Chippendale was among the craftsmen who set up shop here. The artist John Constable maintained a local residence, although he spent most of his time in Hampstead.
In the mid to late 1930s Augustus John and Dylan Thomas bolstered the Bohemian reputation of the area north of Oxford Street – which was regarded by many at that time as a northern extension of Soho. Before the Second World War Fitzrovia had a highly visible German community and Charlotte Street was nicknamed Charlottenstrasse. Greeks and Italians brought new vitality to the locality after the war, followed later by Nepalese and Bengalis.
Online Walks
Fitzrovia Address Book
Newton Arms Hotel, Rathbone Street, Fitzrovia
Fitzrovia was a notable artistic and bohemian centre from a period dating roughly from the mid-1920s until the present day. Amongst those known to have lived locally and frequented public houses in the area such as the Fitzroy Tavern and the Wheatsheaf are Augustus John, Quentin Crisp, Dylan Thomas, Aleister Crowley, the racing tipster Prince Monolulu, Nina Hamnett and George Orwell. The Newman Arms on Rathbone Street, features in Orwell's novels Nineteen Eighty-Four and Keep the Aspidistra Flying as well as the Michael Powell film Peeping Tom.
Thomas Paine's Rights of Man (1791) was written at and published during his residence at 154 New Cavendish Street, in reply to Edmund Burke (author of Reflections on the Revolution in France, 1790), who lived at 18 Charlotte Street. Artists Richard Wilson and John Constable lived at 76 Charlotte Street at various times. During the 19th century, painters Walter Sickert, Ford Madox Brown, Thomas Musgrave Joy and Whistler lived in Fitzroy Square.
In October 1911, the lease on Fitzroy Square was running out and Virginia and Adrian decided to give up their home on Fitzroy Square in favour of a different living arrangement, moving to a four-storied house at 38 Brunswick Square in Bloomsbury in November. She married in 1912 and the Woolfs continued to live there until October 1912, when they moved to a small flat at 13 Clifford's Inn, further to the east (subsequently demolished).
French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine lived for a time in Howland Street in a house on a site now occupied by offices. Modernist painter Wyndham Lewis lived on Percy Street. The house of Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester on Tottenham Street now shows a commemorative blue plaque. Colin MacInnes author of Absolute Beginners also resided on Tottenham Street, at number 28, with his publisher Martin Green and his wife Fiona Green.
Victorian Prime Minister Lord Salisbury occupied number 21 Fitzroy Square. Salisbury became Prime Minister in 1885 serving three times for over 13 years and was considered to be a strong and successful leader in foreign affairs.
Scottish novelist and poet Robert Stevenson also lived in Fitzroy Square. He became well-known after publishing his novels Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which are now regarded as classics. Stevenson was often criticised by other Fitzroy Square playwrights including Virginia Woolf; however today his work remains highly popular and intriguing.
It was in the basenent of 37 Goodge Street, Fitzrovia that the group, Culture Club, was formed. Bassist Mikey Craig started the Culture Club, making an invitation to Boy George in a club, to be the vocalist of the band, George accepting the proposal joins then drummer Jon Moss (formerly of The Damned and Adam and the Ants), and finally guitarist Roy Hay joined the group. The band originally called themselves Sex Gang Children, which would quickly be abandoned and adopted by another band.
Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas first visited London in 1933 and visited the highly popular Fitzroy Tavern on Charlotte Street. Thomas was inspired by Fitzrovia whilst writing and became highly successful after the publication of Deaths and Entrances and completed four US tours presenting his work through lectures and readings. Toady Thomas' work is greatly celebrated and is considered extremely influential. A festival takes place on Thomas' birthday to celebrate his greatest poems, life and work through readings and films. An exciting part of the festival includes the opportunity to visit his famous writing shed where he would often complete his work.
American rock and blues legend Jimi Hendrix became the world's top musician of 1969 and 1970 and was widely celebrated as one of the most influential electric guitarists. During one of Jimi Hendrix's UK visits in 1966 he was invited to perform with Eric Clapton and The Cream at The Polytechnic in the students union, Fitzrovia.
Pink Floyd, 1968
The UFO Club, home to Pink Floyd during their spell as the house band of psychedelic London, was held in the basement of 31 Tottenham Court Road. Many of the most important sixties bands began, or continued on their road to fame here, such as Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, The Move, Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and Soft Machine. Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix also played at the Speakeasy on Margaret Street and Bob Dylan made his London debut at the King and Queen pub on Foley Street. Oxford Street's 100 Club is a major hot-bed for music from the 1960s to the present day, and has roots in 1970s Britain's burgeoning Punk rock movement. The band Coldplay formed in Ramsay Hall, a University College London accommodation on Maple Street in Fitzrovia. Boy George lived in a squat in Carburton Street in 1981 prior to his success and Neil Howson of Age of Chance lived in Cleveland Street around the same time.
At the back of Pollock's Toy Museum and in the next block was the site in 1772 of the Scala Theatre, Tottenham Street - then known as the Cognoscenti Theatre - but it had many names over history: the King's Concert Rooms, the New Theatre, the Regency Theatre, the West London Theatre, the Queen's Theatre, the Fitzroy Theatre, the Prince of Wales and the Royal Theatre until its demolition in 1903 when the Scala Theatre was built on the site for Frank Verity and modelled on La Scala in Milan. It was home to music hall, ballet and pantomime.
Before its demolition in 1969, to make way for the office block and hotel that exists now, it was used inside for the filming in 1964 of the Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night, the Mr Universe World competitions, and Sotheby's Auction in 1968 of the Diaghilev costumes and curtains. It was also briefly in the 1970s, in the basement of the office block, the site of the Scala Cinema and later still of Channel 4 Television. The branch of Bertorelli's Italian Restaurant on Charlotte Street was prominently featured in the film Sliding Doors. Guy Ritchie more recently made RocknRolla using Charlotte Mews, which also features in the film Viva Fitzrovia by Paolo Sedazzari.
Located at 60 Cleveland Street, the BT Tower was built for the General Post Office and became operational on 8 October 1965. The tower is 174 metres tall – 189m to the top of its highest mast – and was the UK’s tallest building from its topping out until 1980.
Home to a communist club that was established in 1890. It was the meeting place of anarchists from all over Europe, many of whom had escaped from their own countries after being inolved in anti-government activities.
One of London's earliest streets, it is named after British philanthropist, merchant and traveller Jonas Hanway (1712-1786), an eccentric gentleman credited with being the first male Londoner to use an umbrella. He was initally ridiculed for doing so until the trand caught on. He also advocated the use of short strap-on stilts to be worn with normal shoes to keep them from getting wet and treading in the mud. Hanway had business premises here.
British writer Virginia Woolf was one of the female literary figures of the twentieth century, renowned for a variety of novels including Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse. Virginia focused on challenging the traditional roles of women in society. Woolf and her brother became owners of 29 Fitzroy Square in 1907 and filled the second floor with stacks of books and brightly coloured furnishings. Many Thursday nights were spent hosting parties for members of the Bloomsbury Group. The group often met at the Fitzroy Tavern and challenged old Victorian ideals and supported homosexual rights and feminism. The Bloomsbury Group began with 10 members and later expanded including E.M. Forster, John Maynard Keynes and more.
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Playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) and English writer Virginia Woolf resided at different times on Fitzroy Square, at number 29. Shaw lived at No. 29 from 1887 to 1898. Originally from Dublin, Shaw moved to London at age 20 in 1887 and become famous for his impressive writing skills. Shaw was given the opportunity to view and experience poverty first-hand and often focused on issues regarding poverty. In 1917 his play Pygmalion became extremely famous to the extent that the play was adapted into the play, My Fair Lady. Shaw left Fitzroy Square in 1898 when he met his wife. Virginia moved into 29 Fitzroy Square in April 1907.
George Bernard Shaw lived with his mother at 37 Fitzroy Street in the early 1880s and then in Fitzroy Square from 1887 until his marriage in 1898. The premises became the London base of the writer – and founder of Scientology – L. Ron Hubbard in the 1950s. The house now hosts an exhibition of Hubbard’s life and work, and is open to the public by appointment.
Captain Matthew Flinders, R.N.
(1774-1814) Australian explorer and navigator lived at 56 Fitzroy Street, Fitzrovia. A plaque was
first erected in 1961 at 53 Stanhope Street, Camden. The building was
demolished in 1965, the plaque was re-erected at the present address in
1973.
Raised in Lincolnshire, where men usually turned to agriculture for a livelihood, Matthew Flinders showed originality by choosing the sea. Flinders was born on 16 March 1774 at Donington, Lincolnshire. From a family of doctors, Flinders was expected to take up the same profession, but inspired by reports of Cook's discoveries, and the reading of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, he decided to go to sea.
In 1795 he sailed in the Reliance to the new convict settlement at Sydney Cove, New South Wales, Australia. On board Flinders befriended George Bass, of similar intrepid nature. With Bass, Flinders made a number of small boat journeys and refined the charts of the New South Wales coast. In 1798 Flinders and Bass set out in the Norfolk to explore the extent of the strait between the mainland and Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). By circumnavigating Van Diemen's Land, Flinders proved that it was a separate island.
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