Old Compton Street is a road that runs east–west through Soho.
The street was named after Henry Compton who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne’s Church in 1686. The area in general and this street in particular became the home of Huguenots, French Protestant refugees who were given asylum in England by Charles II in 1681.
George Wombwell kept a boot and shoe shop on the street between 1804 and 1810. Of short statue and an alcoholic, he nonetheless built up three hugely successful menageries from a starting point of two snakes bought at a bargain price. The menageries travelled around England and made him a wealthy man before his death in 1850.
Today, the street is the main focal point for London’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
An interesting local feature can be found in the middle of Charing Cross Road at its junction with Old Compton Street. Beneath the grill in the traffic island in the middle of the road, can be seen the old road signs for the now-vanished Little Compton Street, which once joined Old Compton Street with New Compton Street.
