Trocadero Long Bar: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 13:11, 10 July 2026

Trocadero's Long Bar was a magnificent bar opened by Lyons in 1896 on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Piccadilly Circus. Lyon's ran the successful Lyon's Corner House chain. The Trocadero, as well as many of the Corner Houses, was popular with gay men. M. Joseph said:

"the most famous bar in London... It was all marble with pillars supporting arches down each side and it had a kind of mosaic roof. The bar ran the entire length and there were plenty of tables."

Robert Hutton ^[1] said:

"Sunday morning at the Trocadero Long Bar... Was a recognized gathering place... one heard news of friends, swapped experiences of the previous evening and usually ended up in a luncheon party, going on afterwards to pass a lazy afternoon at Alex's hotel in Coventry Garden. There was nothing in the nature of an orgy about these Sunday afternoons. Many of the company would be on leave and wanted to enjoy the comforts of civilization and the company of their fellows." ^[2]

James Agate, the theatre critic, frequented this exclusive and expensive gentlemen-only bar.

See Timeline of West End Bars and Clubs.

References

↑ Alias of Horace Charles Forbes Cheston who wrote 'Of Those Alone' published in 1958
↑ quoted in Matt Houlbrook's Queer London

[1] Alias of Horace Charles Forbes Cheston who wrote 'Of Those Alone' published in 1958

[2] quoted in Matt Houlbrook's Queer London

[1]

[2]

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-'''Tocodero's Long Bar''' was a magnificent bar opened by Lyons in 1896 on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Piccadilly Circus. It was popular with gay men. M. Joseph said:
+'''Trocadero's Long Bar''' was a magnificent bar opened by Lyons in 1896 on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Piccadilly Circus. Lyon's ran the successful [[Lyon's Corner House]] chain. The Trocadero, as well as many of the Corner Houses, was popular with gay men. M. Joseph said:
-''the most famous bar in London... It was all marble with pillars supporting arches down each side and it had a kind of mosaic roof. The bar ran the entire length and there were plenty of tables''.
+:"the most famous bar in London... It was all marble with pillars supporting arches down each side and it had a kind of mosaic roof. The bar ran the entire length and there were plenty of tables."
+[[Robert Hutton]] <ref> Alias of Horace Charles Forbes Cheston who wrote 'Of Those Alone' published in 1958 </ref> said:
+:"Sunday morning at the Trocadero Long Bar... Was a recognized gathering place... one heard news of friends, swapped experiences of the previous evening and usually ended up in a luncheon party, going on afterwards to pass a lazy afternoon at Alex's hotel in Coventry Garden. There was nothing in the nature of an orgy about these Sunday afternoons. Many of the company would be on leave and wanted to enjoy the comforts of civilization and the company of their fellows." <ref> quoted in [[Matt Houlbrook]]'s ''[[Queer London]]'' </ref>
 [[James Agate]], the theatre critic, frequented this exclusive and expensive gentlemen-only bar.
-Other clubs and pubs popular with homosexuals at the time were the [[York Minster]], the [[Swiss]] and the [[Marquis of Granby]] in [[Soho]]. [[Peter Wildeblood]] called them "less [than] discreet", rough and cruisy. Throughout the 1930s respectable men in evening dress and camp queans solicited sailors and workmen in the [[Running Horse]]. Other venues included the [[Billi's Club]], the [[Hungry Horse]], [[Gerano's]] in New Compton Street, [[Chez Victor]] in Wardour Street. The downstairs bar at the [[Ritz Hotel]] was frequented by men from high society, nicknamed l’Abri (the shelter).
+See [[Timeline of West End Bars and Clubs]].
 == References ==
-''Queer London – Perils and Pleasures in the Sexual Metropolis, 1918-1957'' Matt Houlbrook, The University of Chicago Press, 2005.
+<references/>
 [[Category:West End]]
-[[Category:London]]
+[[Category:Soho]]
-[[Category:Bars]]
+[[Category:Pubs and bars]]
+[[Category:Articles with no pictures]]