Tower Street is named after a long-vanished tavern. Once one of Seven Dials’ poorest streets it is shown on Charles Booth’s 1880s poverty map in black – the most severe category of deprivation – described as ‘vicious and semi-criminal’. Today it is dominated by the austere backs of the two theatres – The Ambassadors and St Martin’s, home to the longest running West End show – The Mousetrap.
