Vine Street is a short dead-end street running east from Swallow Street and is parallel to Piccadilly.
Vine Street was once longer before being shortened by Regent Street construction in the early 1800s.
Vine Street takes its name from an 18th-century pub called The Vine, possibly named after a vineyard dating back to Roman times at this site. In 1675, records listed it as Little Swallow Street. The street was laid out around 1686, originally extending farther along what is now Man in the Moon Passage. John Rocque’s 1746 map depicts Vine Street stretching northeast from Piccadilly to Warwick Street. By 1720, a brewery and carpenter’s yard were the main properties on Vine Street.
Construction of Regent Street between 1816-1819 split Vine Street into two sections. Man in the Moon Passage was created then, referencing a former pub. The northern part towards Warwick Street became Great Vine Street, then Warwick Street itself, before disappearing after 1920 Regent Street Quadrant rebuilding.
In 1853, Charles Moreign bought small houses at Vine Street’s end to redevelop into St James’s Hall, backing onto the street. After the hall’s 1905 demolition, it was replaced by Piccadilly Hotel, also backing onto Vine Street.
Until the 20th century, Vine Street was home to the Vine Street Police Station, growing from a watch-house into one of London’s busiest stations where the Marquess of Queensberry was charged with libelling Oscar Wilde in 1895. A magistrate’s court also operated here in the 18th-19th centuries.
The street’s law associations led to its inclusion on the British Monopoly board. However, the police station closed in 1997 and was demolished in 2005 for redevelopment.
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