If these walls could talk...

"If these walls could talk" is a phrase we hear all the time.

And if the walls of 52 Old Compton Street could talk, just imagine the stories they could tell.

Today, Algerian Coffee Stores occupies the whole building. The shop sits on the ground floor, our offices are on the first floor, while the cellar and upper floors are now mainly used for storage. But that hasn't always been the case.

The more we discover about the history of our building, the more fascinated we become. Every piece of information uncovers another chapter in its story.

One of the earliest records we've found dates back to 1801, when a whale bone cutter was registered at these premises.

And a record from 1827 shows a William Binks, leather seller, registered here. Years later, on the upper floors above our shop, Cadel & Macdonald photographers were here during the 1920s and 30s. And at another time there was even a dentist practising above the shop.

The upper floors were once homes too. Families lived here, raised children here and built their lives above the bustle of Old Compton Street.

In fact, there is still no running water on the upper floors today, and tucked away in the tiny courtyard are the still the outside toilets. Small reminders that, although Soho has changed enormously, parts of this old building have remained wonderfully untouched.

One of my favourite photographs of the shop captures just a glimpse of that past.

Although we don't know exactly when it was taken, we believe it dates from the early 1900s. I love the lady leaning from the upstairs window, watching the world below, while passers-by stroll along Old Compton Street in their hats and long coats.

Who was she? What was she thinking? Did she live above the shop? Was she waiting for someone to come home?

Over the years, these walls have witnessed more than any of us could imagine.

The shop itself has stood through the reigns of seven monarchs, two world wars, economic recessions and, more recently, a global pandemic. They witnessed neighbouring buildings destroyed during the Blitz and, in 1999, the devastating attack on our next door neighbour, the Admiral Duncan, an event that shook the whole of Soho.

(May 1941, Old Compton Street was hit, our shop is in the right hand corner, you can just make out our striped awning)

Through tragedy, celebration and constant change, these old walls have quietly remained.

Our own family's chapter is only one part of that much longer story.

This year marks 80 years of our family running Algerian Coffee Stores, while the shop itself has now been trading for 139 years.

Some days, you'll even find three generations of our family behind the counter together.

One of the privileges of working here is hearing the stories our customers share with us, how they first visited the shop as a child with their parents or grandparents, and now they return with children—or even grandchildren—of their own. 

One customer shared that his family has been shopping with us for over 100 years.

More than a century of family traditions, all connected by one little shop on Old Compton Street.

One of our own favourite stories arrived in 2005, when Paul welcomed two very special visitors into the shop.

Lucy (above) had been born on the top floor of the building on 8th June 1917. She grew up here and, twenty years later, on 6th December 1937, gave birth to her own son, Tony (below), under the very same roof.

Nearly seventy years later, they returned together.

Whenever I look at that early photograph of the woman leaning from the upstairs window, I can't help wondering whether it could be Lucy's mother looking down onto Old Compton Street.

We've also had the pleasure of meeting the niece of one of the young men pictured in another historic photograph of the shop. Her uncle (below, right) worked here during the 1930s, and she spent time sharing memories of him and the Soho she remembered hearing about as she grew up.

Moments like these are priceless.

Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that, in our own small way, we're now part of London's history too.

We're certain there are many more stories waiting to be discovered.

If you know anything about the history of 52 Old Compton Street please do email us.