Two things of late got me thinking about the history of our shop and court, the first was one of our oldest customers telling me he was a fourth generation (and perhaps fifth, his son just made an appointment) to patronise our premises over the many  years a tailor has been on our site. He regaled us with tales of his grandfather having all his military kit made here “when he was feeling more flush”. He himself bought his first dinner jacket at number 4 Castle Court in 1942, only to buy another a few months later after leaving and losing it after a “particularly fun night out on the razzle”.

The other was a chance meeting with a local historian who was beginning his research into the area of Birchin lane, where our court is. Its an area of the city that was relatively unscathed by the great fire of 1666 and in fact our court marks the boundary where the fire stopped. Like all good research it began in the local watering hole…. or one of them.

He began telling me that whilst reading some Shakespeare (as you do)  he stumbled upon a reference to our dear old Birchin Lane.

‘Thou sayest thou has twenty pound; go into Birchin Lane; put thyself into clothes;’

And so began his work, spurred on by our own interest and we in turn commissioned him to produce for us all in Castle Court a history of our location and premises.

No sooner had work begun when many more books opened to reveal words, poems and histories of tailoring..

‘No sooner in London will we be,

But the bakers for you, the brewers for me,

Birchin Lane will suit us,

The costermongers fruit us’

1600, Thomas Heywood

I will be soon putting on our blog a more thorough history and but in the meantime it is nice to know that we are the ‘last’ surviving tailor in London’s original Savile Row an area known since medieval times as the place to go and buy bespoke.

It is also rather fitting that next week we are in addition to our shop in Castle Court opening a new workshop on Birchin lane, where our city customers can (if they ask nicely) watch the suits being cut, constructed and finished.