Other

Little Compton Street

Inscription

{On an enamel sign, white letters on blue background:}
Little Compton Street

{Painted onto the brick, black letters on white background:}
Little Compton Street

The grill is above a brick-walled tunnel which carries a mass of cables. The signs allow anyone working in the tunnels to navigate without having to stick their heads up to get their bearings. Our colleague Jamie Davies has sent this link to a much better photo of the signs.

2016: We thank Chris Harry who contacted us via Facebook with a good explanation of what we are seeing through this grill, as follows....

These brick vaults were purpose-built beneath the streets to carry pipes so that roads would not have to be repeatedly excavated to access the utilities. An ideal situation, but one that would be expensive to implement in existing streets. However, where the Metropolitan Board of Works and later the LCC built new roads in central London in the late 1800s and early 1900s the opportunity was usually taken to incorporate a pipe subway. Gas mains, water mains, electric cables, telecoms cables and fibre data links make good use of them today. Such gratings can still be seen in many streets, but this rare glimpse of a street name through one is a gem.

The legislation that transferred responsibility to local authorities gives a schedule of the pipe subways. There are others - the City for example already had several pipe subways that were its responsibility and are therefore not mentioned in the Order.

Site: Little Compton Street (1 memorial)

WC2, Charing Cross Road

Up until 1896 what is now the eastern section of Old Compton Street (east of Greek Street) was called Little Compton Street. All that remains are these signs which can be seen below a vent grill in the middle of Charing Cross Road, below this island. Not a true memorial we know, but interesting, we hope you agree.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Little Compton Street

Subjects commemorated i

Little Compton Street

From British History: In 1896 the street was renamed to join the street to it...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Metropolitan Police - Eternal flame

Metropolitan Police - Eternal flame

SW1, Victoria Embankment, New Scotland Yard, Curtis Green Building

This building is the new New Scotland Yard. In our photo the flame can be seen between the tree and the people to the right. The Roll of ...

1 subject commemorated
Margaret Roper - Woolwich Town Hall

Margaret Roper - Woolwich Town Hall

SE18, Wellington Street, Greenwich Town Hall

In 1906 this building replaced the previous, also purpose-built, 1842 Woolwich town hall which still survives, nearby, on the corner of C...

4 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Blackfriars Bridge - underpass

Blackfriars Bridge - underpass

SE1, Blackfriars Bridge underpass

This south-bank pedestrian tunnel is decorated with prints from the Guildhall Library.  At the western end of the tunnel some spoof text ...

2 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
First City bomb in WW2 - lost

First City bomb in WW2 - lost

EC2, Fore Street, Roman House

The black and white photo showing the lost commemorative board comes from A London Inheritance, a great post covering the area, with many...

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Oliver Plunkett

Oliver Plunkett

SW12, Nightingale Lane, 13, Oliver Plunkett Chapel

We think this chapel is/was closely associated with the school, St Francis Xavier College, behind.  Plunkett himself had no connection to...

1 subject commemorated