Cecil Court

Cecil Court is a historical pedestrian lane in London connecting Charing Cross Road and Saint Martin's Lane, renowned for hosting eight-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1764. Laid out by Nicholas Barbon in the late seventeenth century, it later became a British film hub known as Flicker Alley in 1897. Cecil Hepworth released the first film version of Alice in Wonderland from Cecil Court in 1903.

London Β· from the walk β€œSecret London: Hidden Alleys, Ancient Stones & Forgotten Stories” Β· audio ~4 min Β· Generated

Cecil Court, London WC2N 4HE

Which famous composer lived on Cecil Court in London during his 1764 European tour?

Take a look around you. This narrow, pedestrian lane connecting Charing Cross Road and Saint Martin's Lane... may look like just a quaint row of old bookshops. But Cecil Court has been hiding secrets for over three hundred years.......... It was laid out at the end of the seventeenth century by one of London's most successful property developers, Nicholas Barbon. The street was named after Robert Cecil, First Earl of Salisbury, an important courtier to Queen Elizabeth the First.......... Now, here's where it gets dramatic. In seventeen thirty-five, a substantial part of Cecil Court was razed to the ground... almost certainly arson, on the part of a tenant, a Mrs. Colloway, who was running a brandy shop And a brothel on this very street. She over-insured her brandy stock, purchased kindling, and made certain she was drinking with friends nearby when the fire took hold. And yet... she was acquitted.......... But the street rose from those ashes, and its Next chapter is extraordinary. In seventeen sixty-four, Cecil Court became the temporary home of eight-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was touring Europe with his family. They lodged with a barber named John Couzin. Tickets for Mozart's first London concerts were sold right from Couzin's shop, and the young Mozart performed Twice for King George the Third. According to some modern authorities, Mozart composed his very first symphony while a resident of this little alley! Look for the plaque at Number Nine β€” it was unveiled by actor Simon Callow, who created the role of Amadeus on stage.......... Now, fast forward to the turn of the twentieth century, and Cecil Court reinvents itself Again. The first film-related company arrived here in eighteen ninety-seven, just a year after the first demonstration of moving pictures in the United Kingdom. Homegrown pioneers like Cecil Hepworth and James Williamson had their offices here, alongside international companies including Gaumont and American Vitagraph. The street earned the nickname... "Flicker Alley." Hepworth even released the First film version of Alice in Wonderland from his Cecil Court offices in nineteen oh three.......... And today? Watkins Books, London's oldest occult bookstore, has been here since eighteen ninety-seven, attracting figures like Aleister Crowley. A biography of Crowley even claims he once made All the books in Watkins magically disappear... and reappear. The Irish poet W. B. Yeats, a member of the mysterious Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, was a frequent patron as well.......... And what about that Harry Potter connection? Many fans believe this is The real Diagon Alley. Cecil Court, being "just off Charing Cross Road" with its curious mix of bookshops and antique shops, is widely believed to be the thoroughfare on which Diagon Alley was based. At night, this alleyway is even lit by the flickering glow of gas lamps. But here's the twist... When asked directly in twenty twenty, J. K. Rowling denied any connection, saying she had "no idea how many streets were claiming to be the inspiration" and that Diagon Alley was "not based on any real place."

...... Believe her or not... just take one more look at these hanging shop signs, the gas-lit windows, the shelves of dusty spellbooks. Sometimes a place doesn't need an author's permission to be magical.

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