Background: Robert Stallard, Soho, 1973 · The museum of Soho permanent collection

Online display

Soho timelines

People, places and stories

Four illustrated timelines arranged chronologically. Select an image to enlarge it and scroll across the detail.

The Soho History Hoardings

History in Soho Square

These boards were originally displayed around Soho Square while the Crossrail development — now the Elizabeth line — was being built. The Museum of Soho used the temporary hoardings to put the neighbourhood's history into the street, introducing passers-by to the people, places, music, nightlife and communities that shaped Soho.

The surviving boards are presented here as part of the Museum's digital archive.

Timeline 1 · from 1536

St Anne's and early Soho

From Soho Fields to St Anne's Church, Soho Square and the area's early institutions.

Timeline 2 · from 1757

Teresa Cornelys and Georgian Soho

Carlisle House and the people, institutions and businesses that reshaped Soho through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Timeline 3 · from 1896

The Colony Room and bohemian Soho

The clubs, restaurants, artists and outsiders that helped establish Soho's reputation for tolerance and bohemian life.

Panel 1

Panel 2

Timeline 4 · 1950s-2022

A sound history of Soho

From coffee bars and jazz cellars to rock, rhythm and blues, mod culture, punk and the Elizabeth line.