Wardour Street

Throughout the 20th century the West End street became a centre for the British film industry and the popular music scene.

There has been a thoroughfare on the site of Wardour Street on maps and plans since they were first printed, the earliest being Elizabethan.

The road now ends at Pall Mall East, and the boundary between Wardour and Princes streets may have moved north a little.

In the late 19th century, Wardour Street was known for (sometimes slightly shoddy) furniture stores, antique shops, and dealers in artists' supplies.

[2] The phrase "Wardour Street English" denotes the use of near-obsolete words purely for effect.

During this period, it became a centre of the British film industry, with the big production and distribution companies having their headquarters in the street.

Based in the discothèque Crackers, in 1977 the club hosted early concerts by punk bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Slits and Adam and the Ants.

[4] The Eric Gilder School of Music was at 195 Wardour Street (its original building is now demolished).

South of Shaftesbury Avenue there are many well-known Chinese restaurants including the large Wong Kei at 41–43.

A London County Council blue plaque on Wong Kei's commemorates costume designer and wigmaker Willy Clarkson whose business was based in the building.