LONDON 2014 FANNISH WALKING TOUR

A surprising amount of London's early SF pro and fannish history happened within a relatively small area centred on Holborn. With the Worldcon in town this year, I've decided to run a somewhat more formal version of the fannish walking tour I've given for various visitors over the past quarter century. I will be running this twice, once before Worldcon and once after. On both occasions the tour begins at:

2.30pm Wednesday 13th August
2.30pm Tuesday 19th August
4.00pm Thursday 21st August - EXTRA TOUR ADDED

on the triangular island bordered by New Oxford St, Shaftesbury Ave., and Shaftesbury Ave. - seriously! - photo below. This lies midway between Holborn and Tottenham Court tube stations on the Central Line.


The meeting place

For another view go here: Google Street View.

Please note the following:

  • This tour is not officially associated in any way with the 2014 Worldcon. I am doing this free of charge because I think it might interest a few people. As such everyone is responsible for their own safety on the walk. Taking part in the tour means accepting this condition. We will endeavour to cross major roads only at pedestrian crossings.

  • The walk should take somewhere in the region of two hours. We will be walking at a relatively sedate pace but it follows that if you are not physically capable of being on your feet for that length of time (or do not have a motorised invalid scooter) this tour is not for you. We may well stop to rest for ten to fifteen minutes at the mid point of the walk if people need to.

  • It can be very hot in August. Carrying water with you will probably be vital. An umbrella's not a bad idea either, just in case.

  • The tour starts at 2.30pm or 4.00pm. This means you need to be at the meeting place before then. The island is well shaded by trees and there is a bar with tables outside should you wish to use this, and several cafes across the road from it should you wish to get there early and grab a light snack first.

  • If for whatever reason you do arrive after the tour begins, we will be heading up Bloomsbury Way, stopping briefly on Sicilian Avenue, then turning north up Southampton Row, before turning down Bernard Street. If you're too late to catch us along this route, you've already missed a third of the walk.

  • I will be showing a number of photos on a portable device as the tour progresses. Those wishing to view these on their own devices will need to go here:

  • IMAGES (link disabled)

  • The tour ends at the One Tun pub near Farringdon underground and rail station.

Here's a site of interest not included on the tour because though it's close to Holborn tube station it was just a bit too far off the line of the walk, which is already long enough:


The current bandstand.

Lincoln's Inn Fields is one of the largest parks in central London. It has also in the past been the scene of public beheadings. It was put to rather more benign use in 1941 when, in the midst of World War II, British fans held a gathering in the bandstand. This event is listed in some old convention literature as BOMBCON, but isn't so listed today. This is because when I was researching the history of UK fandom back in the late 1980s I discovered it had not actually been organised beforehand as a convention, so therefore it couldn't be counted as one. Here's a contemporary account:

England's biggest fan reunion for the last year was held over the weekend, September 20/21, when in spite of the manifold difficulties attending such a proposition - far in excess of anything the US fans encounter - a muster of some 14 was managed. At Saturday lunch time a party gathered to welcome Maurice Hanson, ex-editor of "Novae Terrae" who had wangled leave from Somerset. After some bookhunting in Charing X Road, the party saw the film "Fantasia".

On Sunday, a crowd assembled in Liverpool St. stn. waiting room, and proceeded to convert it, in the approved manner of fan meetings, into a magazine mart. We rolled on to Holborn to meet author John Beynon Harris, nearly got arrested for taking photos of the gang, had tea, & held London's first open air meeting of fans, in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Principal Item on agenda, after speech of welcome by yours truly, seconded by John Craig, to Ted Carnell and friends, was discussion "What should fandom do after war?" Present at one or both meetings were -- Frank Arnold, Ted and Irene Carnell, Maurice Hanson, Art Williams, Canadian fan Bob Gibson, Harry & Lily Chibbett, John Craig, John Beynon Harris, Ken Bulmer, Denise Laws, Lily Jaggers, and yours truly.

...Sidney L. Birchby, FUTURIAN WAR DIGEST #13 (Oct 1941)


Signs of a former structure

As can be seen in the above photo, there are signs of an earlier structure having stood on the site, presumably the rather different bandstand shown in Victorian drawings. I've not been able to discover the age of the current bandstand and so don't know which of the two the 1941 event was held in.

Other events held in central London whose sites are too far afield to be included on the walk (though you can visit them another time if you wish, of course) are: