An impressive three bedroom penthouse within a new boutique development, that offers over 1,500 sq. ft of living space, is available to rent through Dexters Fitzrovia & Covent Garden.
The name of the development, Watch House, is a nod to the 17th Century, when Soho became an important settlement of French Watchmakers, popularly known as Huguenots. They fled religious persecution in France and settled in the area, which over the ages became known for its craftspeople and later its creative and nonconformist spirit. Greeks and Italians also populated the Soho area, contributing to a multicultural but modest district.
By the 1890s many had opened eating-houses serving their native cuisines and as the market traders attempted to supply the ingredients, Berwick Street Market earned a reputation for selling a bewildering variety of fruit and vegetables. In 1880 tomatoes first appeared in London at Berwick Street Market, followed by grapefruit in 1890.
Soho has seen its fair share of celebrity thoroughfare. There is a blue plaque commemorating the English actress and dancer Jessie Matthews on the wall of The Blue Posts public house. She was born above a butchers' shop at 94 Berwick Street and was extremely popular in musical revues of the 1920s and musical films. Furthermore, the bohemian writer Virginia Woolf regularly frequented Berwick Street Market to buy 'flawed slightly' silk stockings. Berwick Street featured in her writing, and she described Soho as a space 'filled with fierce light' and 'raw' voices.
In the 1980s, Berwick Street became a destination for vinyl record collectors when it was known as ‘The Golden Mile of Vinyl’. This corner of Soho is still home to central London’s largest concentration of independent record shops with Reckless Records and Sister Ray on Berwick Street. Further cementing its importance in the music scene, Berwick Street was the location for the cover shoot of the 1995 Oasis album ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory’ and T-Rex front man Marc Bolan worked on his mum’s stall on Berwick Street market in the 1960s.
George Habergham Manager at Dexters Fitzrovia & Covent Garden says, ‘Every detail within the penthouse has been considered. Whether it be the click of a switch, the closing of a door or the tactile nature of materials used on the floors, walls, and surfaces. This south facing, triple aspect home provides exceptional living in the most creative part of London. In creating Watch House, the developers have undertaken more than just a residential scheme, they have contributed to the regeneration of Berwick Street itself, introducing new retail space and a hotel, whilst the street still retains the charm of the famous Berwick Street market.’
