Soho Square

The West End


At Soho’s northern end, this leafy square is the area’s back garden. It was laid out in 1681, and originally named King’s Square; a statue of Charles II stands in its northern half. In the centre is a tiny half-timbered mock-Tudor cottage built as a gardener’s shed in the 1870s. The space below it was used as an underground bomb shelter during WWII.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The West End attractions

1. Soho

0.12 MILES

In a district that was once pastureland, the name Soho is thought to have evolved from a hunting cry. While the centre of London nightlife has shifted…

2. St Giles-in-the-Fields

0.17 MILES

Built in what used to be countryside between the City of London and Westminster, St Giles-in-the-Fields isn’t much to look at but its history is a…

3. Phoenix Garden

0.17 MILES

A tiny patch of wilderness in the heart of London’s theatreland, Phoenix Garden is at charming odds with its surrounds. Dotted with small ponds, thick…

4. Bedford Square

0.28 MILES

Lovely Bedford Sq is the only completely Georgian square still surviving in Bloomsbury.

5. Photographers’ Gallery

0.29 MILES

With six galleries over five floors, an excellent cafe and a shop brimming with prints and photography books, the Photographers’ Gallery is London's…

6. Chinatown Gate

0.29 MILES

Northwest of Leicester Sq but a world away in atmosphere, this grand tile-roofed and red-pillared gate marks the entrance into Chinatown. Although not as…

7. New London Architecture

0.3 MILES

A large, constantly updated 1:2000-scale model of the capital highlights planned and new buildings, as well as various neighbourhood regeneration…

8. All Saints Margaret Street

0.32 MILES

In 1859, architect William Butterfield completed one of the country's most supreme examples of High Victorian Gothic architecture, with extraordinary…