community/cultural
10 Old Pye Street, SW1P 2DG
Visit the Thorney Island Society Archives to explore rare photographs, documents, and hidden stories that shaped the local community. Whether you love heritage, local culture, or discovering the past, the archives offer a welcoming glimpse into the area’s history.
Victoria, Westminster, St. James's Park
Victoria
88, 24, 11, 148
There are cafés, restaurants, and a supermarket available on Strutton Ground, a two-minute walk from The Thorney Island Society Archives.
The Archives contain books, engravings and files relating to the extraordinary history around us from Parliament, Whitehall, Westminster Abbey to Sinfonia Smith Square. The open day will explore materials connected to the history of Old Pye Street and its surrounding area, once known for its dense housing, poverty, and criminal activity. Famously referred to by Charles Dickens as “The Devil’s Acre,” the area has long been associated with social hardship and reform. It is also linked to the site of a former school for pickpockets, often considered a possible inspiration for Fagin’s Den in Oliver Twist.