Estate Agents Soho Guide to the Area

Soho estate agents Kubie Gold Associates are pleased to bring this information to you. We hope you find it useful. 

Location and History

Soho is a district in the city of Westminster, part in West End of London, England. Famous for its, restaurants, pubs, bars, clubs and sex-shops. It is bordered by Oxford Street to the north, Charing Cross to the east, Shaftesbury Avenue to the south and Regent Street to the west. Its neighbouring area to the north is known as Fitzrovia, to the east are Holborn and Covent Garden, to the south is St. James's Chinatown, and to the west is Mayfair.

Long time ago, Soho was a grazing farmland, until it was taken by Henry VIII in 1536 to be made as a park for the Palace of Whitehall. Most authorities believed that, Soho got its name from hunters hunting call 'So Ho!', to call in the hounds as they rode through the fields('So Ho!' There goes the fox!, etc.).

In the 1670's and 80's, a 17th-century urban developer named, Gregory King created the Soho of today, in order to lessen the over-crowding population in the centre of London. During that period many settlers moved in, most of them were refugees fleeing from persecution in Europe including Greek Christians, French Protestants, Ottoman, as well as Russians, Italians, Germans and Poles. Due to its vibrant, and energetic atmosphere, Soho was established as the most cosmopolitan neighborhood of London in this period.

In the early 1900s cheap rents, cheap eating houses, theaters and music-halls, became a fashionable haven for writers, artists, poets and intellectuals. And by mid 19th-century, the district of Soho attracted many pubs, clubs and prostitutes. Until in 1959, the Government decided to ban street prostitution, sex-shops, and nefarious businesses. But that didn't stop Soho to grow and retain its vibrant cosmopolitan charm.

One of Soho's known history is the cholera outbreak in 1854, which recorded five hundred deaths in just a span of ten days. And on April 30, 1999 a well known gay pub, the Admiral Duncan pub on Old Compton Street was bombed. Three people were killed in the blast (two of whom were heterosexual)and many were also injured. The reports said that a neo-Nazi, Dave Copeland planted the nail bomb. He is now serving three life sentences in prison for those people he killed and injured. 

Borough 

The Metropolitan Borough of Westminster was a metropolitan County of London. A Metropolitan Borough pertains to the characteristics of a chief town. They existed from 1900 to 1965, until it was abolished in1965, after which its area became part of the City of Westminster along with the Metropolitan Borough of Padding ton and the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone. 

This area guide is brought to you by Kubie Gold Associates, local Soho Estate Agents. 

Local Medical Services 

Local Schools 

Soho Family Centre runs five main projects projects: a Bengali community project, a family drop-in, Chinese community project, and also includes child minding project which provides daycare in a group setting that allows local people to become child minders. And lastly is the pre-school education project, that serves twenty 3-5 year olds., and gives them a positive experience of group learning and equips them with confidence, self-esteem, language and math skills necessary to allow them to successfully transfer to formal schooling. 

Library 

The City of Westminster Archives extends from Marylebone and Paddington in the north to Pimlico in the south, and from Hyde Park and Knightsbridge in the west to Covent Garden in the east. It also includes Bayswater and Queen's Park, St John's Wood and Maida Vale, Belgravia and Mayfair, and St James's and Soho. Extensive collections relating to Westminster past and present can be found there.

Local Associations & Societies 

Leisure Facilities

Helpful Web Sites