Seven Noses of Soho - Discovering London

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London’s Largest Letter Box?

Written on January 23, 2012 by Peter Berthoud in Architecture, Curiosities

I recently spotted this monster of a letter box, or more correctly letter-plate, in Manette Street, Soho.

The aperture is a massive 21 1/2″ wide by a jaw-dropping 4″ deep, that’s in the old money of course (the alternate, modern, measurement of 55cm x 10cm somehow lacks resonance for me).

To put its size into perspective; a regular domestic letter-plate normally extends for no more than 8 inches and is unlikely to be deeper than 2 inches. Well, using that scale of measurement, this one sounds like a real biggie to me and it can be found here:

Yes here, above the entrance to the lobby of the prestigious West-End offices of Linda Internet (and an associated mini-cab firm) at Number 16, Manette Street, Soho, stands this postal colossus.

But why is it above the door? And why is the thing wider than the door itself?

It’s so big one could potentially post a whole stack of LPs, even diagonally, into Linda’s void. That little knocker still works, even if the plate itself has now lost its function.

It looks and feels early to mid 19th Century to me but the staff at Linda’s were unable to offer any detailed history about this little known London oddity. Can you, dear reader, offer any proper explanation?

Or, perhaps I am wrong and an even larger letter-plate exists within our Capital, if so, please do share its location.

The author of this blog really is a fully qualified and insured City of Westminster Tour Guide. This letter-plate now features in his “Seven Noses of Soho” tour. He runs a range of unique walking tours in London, see tabs for details.

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The Seven Noses of Soho – The End of an Era

Written on October 14, 2011 by Peter Berthoud in Curiosities, Sculpture, Seven Noses of Soho

I will always remember where I was when I heard that Rick Buckley had revealed the secrets of his noses.

Last night I picked up a message on my phone, I had been eating burritos and cup-cakes and missed a call. A good friend, Jo of Westminster Walks, had called to break the news. In many ways an answer phone message was better than having a live conversation. I don’t think I would have been up for that. Her voice, loaded with emotion, tried to soften the blow. I had time to let the information begin to sink in and compose myself, before returning her call.

Earlier in the day The Evening Standard had run this article. Using the headline “That’s Blown It” the writer explained how “Rick Buckley, 45, fixed about 35 noses to landmarks that included the National Gallery, Tate Britain and South Bank Centre in 1997. Some were detected within hours or weeks. But at least 10 survive to this day.” But there was more, so many were never in Soho, they are Plaster of Paris and Polymer not resin, the legend of attaining infinite wealth upon spotting all of them isn’t true.

I was obviously devastated. I called Jo back and tried incoherently to explain my sense of loss. It was if, in tender youth, someone had told me, all in one go, that the tooth fairy, Father Christmas and other mythic figures I once held so dear were all a lie. Now as an adult, I was being forced to reassess my entire world view , brutally and without warning.

You see I probably spent 8 months tracking “all” the noses down, blogged about them, hoping to spread the love I even began running tours of them and whilst I hadn’t actually started spending any of the promised infinite wealth I felt confident that any day I would check my RBS account online and find a pleasant surprise.

Maybe I got too close to the noses, it all feels a bit odd now, doing the tours had made me feel almost like the temporary custodian of these noses and now the rightful owner has returned to reclaim his property. I hope in a little way that I have done him proud, getting the profile of his noses raised. Just last week Time Out did a short feature that I helped with.

Of course I have emailed Rick Buckley and offered him a pint and a free tour. He may have made me rewrite a tour and one with current bookings too, but I can’t begrudge him that! If he accepts my offer I will blog again on the noses. But for today I will ensconce myself in autumnal wistfulness and try to concentrate on all the good times.

As I count my blessings I realise that perhaps the infinite wealth has already arrived, and as a direct result of the noses, it just came in a different and non-financial form.

The last of the old Seven Noses tours has already taken place, the new era begins on Sunday!

You can book tickets for my next tour of the Seven Noses of Soho via Eventbrite:

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>Nose for Sale – Is it a Rick Buckley?

Written on July 15, 2011 by Peter Berthoud in Sculpture, Seven Noses of Soho, Street Art

>Paul Smith’s antique shop in Albemarle Street currently have this handsome nose for sale.

The price tag is £550 and guesses at a 1960′s US origin for the unsigned piece.

To my eye the piece is not stone but resin and seems remarkably like two of the famous Seven Noses of Soho (these were produced, in several sizes and in resin by Rick Buckley before being attached to buildings around Soho in the 1990′s, see previous posts for more on them). The tentative attribution to a US artist is based on the fact that a Paul Smith buyer found this nose in Miami.

Now as someone who has devoted a lot of time to researching the noses and even leads guided tours around them, I would bet money this nose is a Rick Buckley … but I have no proof. Can anyone help? Does anyone know if Rick Buckley produced free-standing noses for sale in addition to his building enhancements? Do you perhaps own a similar nose? Please drop me a line if you can shed any light on any of this.

The author of this blog is a qualified City of Westminster Tour Guide who runs unique walking tours throughout Westminster, including The Seven Noses of Soho, see tabs for details.

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Senior Whitehall Source Reveals New Nose in Soho!

Written on July 6, 2011 by Peter Berthoud in Curiosities, Sculpture, Seven Noses of Soho, Street Art

I was contacted this week by a Senior Whitehall civil servant regarding a new nose in Soho! Seriously I was, I am not making this one up!

For those of you who do not already know about the legend of Seven Noses of Soho please see this link to an earlier post Seven Noses of Soho Discovered . For those of you who are already afficianados, I present to you “The Roman Nose”

My Senior Civil Service source, who I shall refer to as Tony, leaked the information to me by email on Monday. His cryptic Latin clue took some unravelling but after a long slog through Soho I was thrilled to spot it myself. Naturally this new discovery has been incorporated in all my future “Seven Noses of Soho” walking tours.

You can book tickets for my next tour of the Seven Noses of Soho via Eventbrite: