Under Oxford Street

Just watched / wizzed through the film to try and find some stills to put up but there isn't much in there than can be either classed as a film set or not.

The film it's self is quite good as a documentary but some of the musical interludes does spoil it.

x

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Robert Elms is discussing this topic in his notes and queries section today on BBC Radio London.
Cheers

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Interesting!

This reminds me of Seattle. They had problems there with sewage and pumping waste, so they raised the city up at least one floor, and you can go on guided tours along the old city, one level below street level!

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Hi there, I was listening to the Robert Elms show yesterday and this was the very topic of conversation yesterday - BBC Radio London broadcast 01/10/08! (maybe it's on iPlayer?)

Several people called in with their description of an old Subterranean shopping street that exists under oxford street 2-3 floors below one of the shops on Oxford Street (then a large shoe shop - maye Dolcis), possibly near HMV. This was corroborated by a surveyor who contacted the show to say he'd visited the space and confirmed that the street existed with cobbled street, arched doorways, and old shop fronts.

The theory is that the old street was on the bank of the river that once flowed across Oxford Street (you can still see the river in the basement of Gray's Antiques on South Molton/Davis Street under a glass floor). Which is why it is so low down compared to the other buildings on Oxford Steet.

I have emailed subbrit.org.uk to see if they have any records of this. But if you can find a recording of yesterday's Elms show then you'll have all the low down. (UPDATE: have added the audio link of the show below which I assume is active until the next wednesday broadcast so listen now while you can).

Just out of interest there was also talk of "Tiles Street" which was an underground "arcade of shops (fashion shops, a beauty parlour, a coffee bar) situated within the old (now defunct) Tiles Club, a 60s basement discotheque on Oxford Street. The club, which was open on weekdays at lunchtime, and its clientele, are documented by Tom Wolfe in The Noonday Underground (The Pump House Gang, 1968). The club closed when its owners lost money investing in a pop festival at Woburn Abbey. In the 70s the premises became an aquarium. The site was further redeveloped (as offices, I believe) in the 80s".

Best regards, Ian.

Kingston.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/networks/london/aod.shtml?london/robertelms_wed

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Hi Ian,

Welcome to All In London :wave: and thank you for providing an overview of the radio program.

We'll have a listen to the show today, here's the clickable link Ian provided above:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/networks/london/aod.shtml?london/robertelms_wed



This is a very interesting topic. I'd like to get a full write up put into our features section as I'm sure lots of other people would like to read about it.

Everyone please keep posting here with anything you can find out, a source of pictures would be excellent.

All the best,
AIL Staff

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Yes I think there is a lot of interest in this fascinating subject - this is undocumented history so it's pretty important to capture it.

the subbrit.org.uk website is also full of interesting Subterranean features in the city.

Info on the Tyburn River under Grays - http://www.graysantiques.com/tyburn_river.php

Thanks for the welcome.

Best regards, Ian.

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Hello,
I am new to the site, my office is buzing with the topic about the secret street under Oxford Street. If Chasamatazz is still about on the site we would love a copy of the film. Please let us know hjowto contact you.
Many thanks
Jacqs

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Hi, it's me you're after, I contacted Robert Elms when i first found out about this thread and i was very pleased to find that he did pop it on his show, I listened through ' real player ' all be a day later. It was good to hear so much interest !!!

Anyway, if you want the film you can have it, just drop me a message through my website and give me your details.

I will try to pop a couple of stills up. There is one scene where John Altman is speaking and i am pretty sure this is from below oxford street.

x

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Hi there,
I have sent a message via your website and lookforward to hearing from you.
I can't wait to have a look at the stills. A member of our office remembers an article several years ago, stating that the street had been demolished during some building works. I hope this is not the case.

Does anyone have any other information about this?

Why is there so much mystery surrounding this topic! If true is must surley be one of the most fantasitc links to our history, why is this not being investigated and preserved?

What can be done to get to the bottom of this!

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Good question jacqs.

This has really got us all interested now. I really want to publish an article about it on All In London, a kind of round-up of all the facts that exist.

Shall we jot down what we all know about it here?

I'll start (just copy and paste the list into a new post and we'll build it up).



1. There are rumours that a subterranean shopping street exists under Oxford Street 2-3 floors below one of the shops on Oxford Street.

2. The entrance is supposedly through a basement hole in Selfridges.

3. Malcolm Mclaren wrote The Ghosts of Oxford Street, made for Channel 4 in 1991. This musical history of London's Oxford Street was directed and narrated by McLaren and included musical numbers by The Happy Mondays, Tom Jones, Rebel MC, Kirsty MacColl, John Altman, and Sinéad O'Connor. (from wikipedia).

The street was apparantly used in this film (no picture evidence yet).







AIL Staff

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