Manette Street Explained

Manette Street is a small street in the Soho area of London, linking the Charing Cross Road to Greek Street. Dating from the 1690s, and formerly named Rose Street, it is now named after the fictional character of Dr Manette in Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities,^[1] who is described in the book as living on a quiet street corner "not far from Soho Square".

Buildings on the street include the Pillars of Hercules pub. The House of St Barnabas has a chapel and garden facing onto Manette Street, and an entrance to The Borderline nightclub is accessed from Manette Street. The street was home to the now-demolished Foyles Building and also Goldbeater's House, which had an arm-and-hammer sign outside it, a replica of the original described by Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities.^[2]

The street was associated with anarchism in the 19th century,^[3] in particular in association with the Rose Street Club, known for its popularity with radicals of all nationalities.^[4]

External links

• View down Manette Street from the Greek Street end
• View of entry to Greek Street from the Manette Street end

51.5148°N -0.1305°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Greek Street Area: Portland Estate, Manette Street . British History Online. 2016-09-08.
2. Book: The London Encyclopaedia. Hibbert. Christopher. Christopher Hibbert. Weinreb. Ben. Ben Weinreb. Macmillan. 2010. 9781405049252. 524 . 3rd .
3. Web site: Manette Street, Soho – once known as Rose Street, an anarchist hot-bed of the late 19th century – Anarchy in the UK – No Future: The Great Anarchist Scare, Terror Through Time – BBC Radio 4. BBC. 2016-09-08.
4. Web site: Paths to Utopia: Anarchist Counter-Cultures in Late Victorian and Edwardian Britain 1880–1914. Matthew James Thomas . July 1998 . 2016-09-08. University of Warwick.