Great Windmill Street
Encyclopedia
Great Windmill Street is a thoroughfare
running north-south in Soho
, London
, England
. It is dissected by Shaftesbury Avenue
. The street took its name from the windmill
on the site which was first recorded 1585 and was demolished during the 1690s. In a parliamentary survey of 1658 the mill was described as "well fitted with Staves and other materials".
The area was first developed around 1665 but the building was speculative and of poor quality; this led to a royal proclamation in 1671 which prohibited unlicensed development in "Windmill Fields, Dog Fields and Soho". Later that year Thomas Panton, who was one of the original speculators, was granted a licence to continue his scheme with the condition that it was supervised and directed by Sir Christopher Wren
who was then the Surveyor General of the King's Works. By 1682 maps show that both sides of the street were developed along their whole length.
The Red Lion public house
was built on the corner of Great Windmill Street and Archer Street circa 1793. In November 1847 the Communist League
held their second congress in a room above the bar and it was here that Karl Marx
and Frederick Engels submitted their proposals for writing the Communist Manifesto.
In 1767 the Scottish anatomist and physician
William Hunter
FRS, built a large house at number 16 Great Windmill Street, demolishing an earlier large dwelling to do so. Hunter's house incorporated a large library
, a museum
and an anatomical theatre
. Hunter gave lectures and anatomical demonstrations from the new house, the first taking place on 1 October 1776. After Hunter's death the house continued to be used for medical demonstrations until 1831. The house now forms part of the dressing rooms and stage of the Lyric Theatre
.
Great Windmill Street has had a long association with music and entertainment, most notably being the site of the Windmill Theatre
where during the 1930s
and 1940s
Laura Henderson
and Vivian Van Damm
presented nude tableau vivant
s. The theatre is now a table dancing club. In the 1940s the first regular paid modern jazz club for London musicians, Club Eleven
, was run from a basement in Great Windmill Street involving musicians such as Ronnie Scott
, Hank Shaw
, Johnny Rogers
, Lennie Bush
, Tony Crombie
and Laurie Morgan
.
Thoroughfare
A thoroughfare is a place of transportation intended to connect one location to another. Highways, roads, and trails are examples of thoroughfares used by a variety of general traffic. On land a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a rough trail to multi-lane highway with grade separated...
running north-south in Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is dissected by Shaftesbury Avenue
Shaftesbury Avenue
Shaftesbury Avenue is a major street in central London, England, named after Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, that runs in a north-easterly direction from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus....
. The street took its name from the windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
on the site which was first recorded 1585 and was demolished during the 1690s. In a parliamentary survey of 1658 the mill was described as "well fitted with Staves and other materials".
The area was first developed around 1665 but the building was speculative and of poor quality; this led to a royal proclamation in 1671 which prohibited unlicensed development in "Windmill Fields, Dog Fields and Soho". Later that year Thomas Panton, who was one of the original speculators, was granted a licence to continue his scheme with the condition that it was supervised and directed by Sir Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
who was then the Surveyor General of the King's Works. By 1682 maps show that both sides of the street were developed along their whole length.
The Red Lion public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
was built on the corner of Great Windmill Street and Archer Street circa 1793. In November 1847 the Communist League
Communist League
The Communist League was the first Marxist international organization. It was founded originally as the League of the Just by German workers in Paris in 1834. This was initially a utopian socialist and Christian communist group devoted to the ideas of Gracchus Babeuf...
held their second congress in a room above the bar and it was here that Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and Frederick Engels submitted their proposals for writing the Communist Manifesto.
In 1767 the Scottish anatomist and physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
William Hunter
William Hunter (anatomist)
William Hunter FRS was a Scottish anatomist and physician. He was a leading teacher of anatomy, and the outstanding obstetrician of his day...
FRS, built a large house at number 16 Great Windmill Street, demolishing an earlier large dwelling to do so. Hunter's house incorporated a large library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
and an anatomical theatre
Operating theatre
An operating theater was a non-sterile, tiered theater or amphitheater in which students and other spectators could watch surgeons perform surgery...
. Hunter gave lectures and anatomical demonstrations from the new house, the first taking place on 1 October 1776. After Hunter's death the house continued to be used for medical demonstrations until 1831. The house now forms part of the dressing rooms and stage of the Lyric Theatre
Lyric Theatre (London)
The Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster.Designed by architect C. J. Phipps, it was built by producer Henry Leslie with profits from the Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson hit, Dorothy, which he transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre to open...
.
Great Windmill Street has had a long association with music and entertainment, most notably being the site of the Windmill Theatre
Windmill Theatre
The Windmill Theatre, later The Windmill International, was a variety and revue theatre in Great Windmill Street, London. The theatre was famous for its nude tableaux vivants...
where during the 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...
and 1940s
1940s
File:1940s decade montage.png|Above title bar: events which happened during World War II : From left to right: Troops in an LCVP landing craft approaching "Omaha" Beach on "D-Day"; Adolf Hitler visits Paris, soon after the Battle of France; The Holocaust occurred during the war as Nazi Germany...
Laura Henderson
Laura Henderson
Laura Henderson rose to prominence in the 1930s when, as a wealthy and eccentric widow, she founded the Windmill Theatre in London's Great Windmill Street in partnership with Vivian van Damm; they went on to turn it into a British institution, famed for its pioneering tableaux vivants of...
and Vivian Van Damm
Vivian Van Damm
Vivian van Damm was a prominent London theatre impresario from 1932 until 1960, managing the Windmill Theatre in London's Great Windmill Street, which was a British institution, famed for its pioneering tableaux vivants of motionless female nudity and for the myth of having 'never closed' during...
presented nude tableau vivant
Tableau vivant
Tableau vivant is French for "living picture." The term describes a striking group of suitably costumed actors or artist's models, carefully posed and often theatrically lit. Throughout the duration of the display, the people shown do not speak or move...
s. The theatre is now a table dancing club. In the 1940s the first regular paid modern jazz club for London musicians, Club Eleven
Club Eleven
Club Eleven was a nightclub located in London between 1948 and 1950. Despite being in business for only two years, the club played a significant role in the early history of British bebop, a form of modern jazz....
, was run from a basement in Great Windmill Street involving musicians such as Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott was an English jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner.-Life and career:Ronnie Scott was born in Aldgate, east London, into a family of Russian Jewish descent on his father's side, and Portuguese antecedents on his mother's. Scott began playing in small jazz clubs at the age of...
, Hank Shaw
Hank Shaw
Henry Shalofsky, better known as Hank Shaw was an English bebop jazz trumpeter.Shaw played with Teddy Foster's band during World War II at the age of 15...
, Johnny Rogers
Johnny Rogers
John Bernard Rogers Bakker is a retired American professional basketball player. Listed at 6'10" and 225 lbs he played the power forward position and played collegiately at Stanford University and the University of California, Irvine.- NBA :Rogers was selected with the 10th pick of the second...
, Lennie Bush
Lennie Bush
Leonard Walter "Lennie" Bush was an English jazz double-bassist.Bush contracted polio as a child and as a result possessed a limp for the rest of his life...
, Tony Crombie
Tony Crombie
Anthony John "Tony" Crombie was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest jazz drummers and bandleaders, and occasional but very capable pianist and vibraphonist, to emerge in Britain, and as an energising influence on the British jazz scene...
and Laurie Morgan
Laurie Morgan
Laurie Morgan From , is a Deputy of the States of Guernsey. He was Guernsey's first Chief Minister and was elected to the post in May 2004. His term of office was due to expire in 2008, when the next General Election is due...
.