Soho's Greek Street Mystery Explored
A historical feature examines why Greek Street in London's Soho has neither a Greek restaurant nor a Greek church, despite its name. The street's name derives from a small Greek church once located nearby, now buried under Charing Cross Road. The piece highlights the layering of London's urban history and how naming conventions shape our experience of city neighborhoods.
- The original Greek church was built with permission granted in 1675 to serve a community of Greeks, many of whom were refugees from Ottoman rule. The main figure behind its establishment was the Metropolitan of Samos, Joseph Georgerinis. - The church was located on what was then called Hog Lane, and its presence led to the naming of the newly developed "Greek Street" around 1679. - The Greek congregation was short-lived; the church was sold to French Protestant Huguenots in 1682, only a few years after it was completed. This was because the location was too far from the main Greek population, who mostly lived and worked in the City and port areas of London. - The building itself was finally demolished in 1934. However, a stone inscription commemorating the church's foundation was preserved and can now be seen at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Bayswater. - The artist William Hogarth captured an image of the building in his 1738 print "Noon," by which time it was serving as a French chapel. - Over the centuries, Greek Street has been home to notable figures and establishments, including the Italian adventurer Casanova, writer Thomas De Quincey, and the Pillars of Hercules pub, which has been in operation since 1733. - Potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood opened a showroom on Greek Street in 1774, which remained there until 1797. The House of St Barnabas at No. 1 is one of the street's oldest buildings, dating to the 1670s.
