The Seven Noses of Soho: Curious Details from the Streets of London

by Jamie Manners

Among the great cities of the world, London's inimitable character is striking. Unconstrained by a house style and strict planning, it has thrived, with each generation adding new chapters and details to its gripping story. The streets of London have always shown a tumult of different influences, just like the teeming crowds who live and work in them. Every age has left its mark and competes for your attention. In an age when the city's skyscrapers are getting bigger and bigger, it can be truly rewarding to go in pursuit of the small stuff. While the masses crowd around icons such as St Paul's and the Tower, there are other layers of London that are often overlooked. Investigate that blue plaque across the road and you may well find that one of your heroes lived there. Look up at the menacing gargoyles overhead and discover tales of revenge. Eschew the overpriced gastropubs in the leafy suburbs, and find that they back on to the ghost platform of an abandoned railway. These details are what gives London such a human face and The Seven Noses of Soho showcases some of these lesser-known oddities that hide in plain sight. Next time you are making for the nearest Tube station in rush hour, why not step beyond the crowds for a moment - you may be surprised to discover some very different London stories.

Genres: Nonfiction, London

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2015

Reviews

[Alex Sarll]

Miscellanies of London trivia are ten a penny, but you can always pick the real thing from the hack recyclings. Yes, there are a few of the old warhorses in here (the Westbourne at Sloane Square), but also an awful lot that's new to me, and I'm more into this stuff than most. It helps that Jamie draws his net wide; yes, he finds new stuff even in the centre (as per the title), but he's also happy heading out to the less tourist-friendly badlands of the DLR to take in a tower block of noteworthy awfulness. The tone assists too; wry, urbane, unimpressed by the most recent London changes without subsiding into the mere grump of recent Iain Sinclair. One surprising realisation: normally, if I read a book by someone I know (or just whose voice I know), I hear it as they'd read it. Here, despite having known the author for years and heard him read from this, I hear a patrician alternate Jamie with almost no trace of the Ulster tones he has in this reality.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you ever have time while visiting London, England and want to do something beyond watching the changing of the guard and have already visited the Victoria and Albert Museum and rode the Eye, grab a map of the London Underground, get a travel card (totally dependent on finances and how extensive you wish to explore and how long you're planning on being there) along with this book and find some of the more unusual and exotic places and decorations.

Sort of a travelogue crossed with a playground and a historic adventure. The Republic of Texas embassy. Putti fighting dragons in one place and playing in an orchestra in another. A lone robed Arab leading his 3 laden camels over the top of a door. The Kensington roof gardens. Demons glaring down at the crowds below or the building next door. Two Chinamen lounging on the Twinings tea building. The traffic light tree which has each light on a different schedule. The tunnel to the Isle of Dogs. Snob screens in The Lamb pub. Painted goldbugs - flies, lice, ticks, snake, rat.??) attached to the balconies of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Some of Napoleon's cannons made into bollards. Some original - non-working - phone boxes and postal boxes from the reign of Edward VIII. And many, many more...

Overall, a fun read and separated by what to find on which underground line.

Oh, and the seven noses. It was an artist installation of 35 casts of his nose mounted throughout SoHo and other areas. Most were removed over the years but there are still 7 - 3 in Soho, 3 in nearby areas, 1 near St. Panceas station and a rumored 8th in D'Arblay Street but the author couldn't find it. Oh, and there are a couple ear sculptures in Covent Gardens too.

2022-101

[Roo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, really interesting alternative trip round London. Some of these places I was familiar with but most were a relevation. Quirky writing style made this a fun read

[Zuzana Be · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book about London when you already saw every big tourist attraction and wants to see some smaller peculiarities. And it's funny.