|
(Quarter Mile Section - K 14) |
BRIEF HISTORY DURING THE SNOW ERA (1813-58)
Soho Square was first laid out in the 1680's on land formerly known as the Soho Fields. While the origin of the name is uncertain, it likely comes from the ancient hunting cry, "So-ho", yelled by hunters when they sighted their prey. In the mid-1700s, the area was inhabited by nobility and gentry. By the 1800s most of the aristocratic residents had left, to be replaced by doctors, lawyers, dentists and other professionals, including persons dependent on the written word such as Thomas Barnes of The Times (1837-41) and George Routledge, publisher of Uncle Tom's Cabin (1843-58). Commercial enterprises also appeared on the Square.
Hospital for Women
The first general hospital in London for women was started by Dr. Protheroe Smith in 1843 and relocated to a more spacious facility at No. 30 Soho Square, purchased in 1851 and occupied in 1852. The objective was to treat "those maladies which neither rank, wealth, nor character can avert from the female sex." At first the hospital had 20 beds, but expanded to 50 beds by 1862. In 1865, some years after the death of Dr. John Snow, the hospital acquired No. 29 Soho Square just to the east. In 1867-9 the two buildings were rebuilt in red brick with two extra stories, adding further presence and prominence to the Hospital for Women (click here for location)
Linnean Society
The Linnean Society of London leased space on Soho Square from 1821 to 1851. The Society was named after the great Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus (1707-78), and was formed to promote the study of natural history in the British isles (click here for location).
Most likely John Snow regularly walked through the square, since he lived first at Bateman's Buildings (1836-38), and then several blocks south on Frith Street (1838-1852). He left the Soho area in 1858 and moved to Sackville Street, closer to Golden Square.
For a view of the buildings on the square and discussion of their occupants, see below (Buildings facing Soho Square in 1828-40).
|
(Quarter Mile Section - K 14) |
Source:
Sheppard FHW (ed.), Survey of London. The Parish of St. Anne Soho, Vol. 33, 1966.
Weinreb B, Hibbert C (eds). The London Encyclopaedia, 1993.
New Building for Hospital for Women
Click here to see the purchased building in 1851
