Captivating Culture | The History of Cecil Court

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Cecil Court is one of London’s hidden gems, a snapshot of Dickensian London to be found in the beating heart of the capital’s Theatreland. Lit by Victorian gas lights and used only by pedestrians, it has retained its sense of history as modernity engulfed the bustling streets that surround it. Built on land purchased by the Elizabethan statesman Robert Cecil in 1609, the street is still owned by the Cecil family. While glittering movie and theatre premieres and high street brands have slowly swallowed Leicester Square and Covent Garden, Cecil Court has managed to remain frozen in time.

^{Cecil Court, London}

Book Lover's Heaven
With Parliament a few minutes in one direction, the Royal Courts in the other and theatres on the doorstep, the makeup of the street reflects the customers that have patronised it for hundreds of years. Cecil Court has long been a magnet for book lovers and a sanctuary for antiquarian and specialist book dealers.

The street is home to around 20 independent businesses. Watkins Books, established over 130 years ago in 1893, is the world's oldest bookshop specialising in Esoterica and the Occult. Spanning topics from Eastern philosophy to Western spiritualism, as well as a vast spectrum of contemporary schools of thought relating to the mind, body and soul, it is easy to get lost among their tarot cards, crystals and talismans.

Other bookish neighbours include Alice Through the Looking Glass, Bryars & Bryars, Goldsboro Books, Marchpane, Sotheran's, Tenderbooks, and Travis & Emery Music Bookshop.

^{Cecil Court, London}

Film & Cultural History
The connection is today drawn between Cecil Court and Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley. But its connection with the British film industry is much older. Cecil Court was colloquially known in the early 20th century as Flicker Alley. The London Project, a study of the film business in London between 1894-1914, names over 40 listings at Cecil Court including some of the most important names in early cinema. Gaumont, Hepworth Pictures and Vitagraph each had offices here. A lasting remnant of this previous life of Cecil Court is a door in the basement of number 27; it is solid steel, harking back to days when highly flammable film stock was stored there. With its Victorian facades, Cecil Court has naturally featured in more recent productions, Renée Zellweger walked along it as ‘Miss Potter’ in 2006 while Kiera Knightly held some key dialogue outside Sworders' very own London gallery for the Netflix’s 2024 series Black Doves.

^{London Panorama, Robert Martin after Wenceslas Hollar: Panorama of London, from Bankside. c.1832 (Sold for £702 inc. fees)}

Cecil Court’s Famous Residents
Although his tenure on the street was brief, eight-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) lived here between April 24 and August 6 in 1764; enough to warrant mention to the many tour groups taken down this street. The Mozart family lodged with Cecil Court barber John Couzin, at a rate of 12 shillings a week. John Couzin cut little Mozart’s hair and sold tickets to the young genius’s recitals out of his shop. Other famous names living in flats above the shops include the mother of William Hogarth and T.S. Eliot. It easy to see how Cecil Court has been awarded the title of a hidden gem in central London, and Sworders London are extremely pleased to call it home.

^{Sworders, 15 Cecil Court, London}

Sworders London
Today, Cecil Court is still a place to find rare books, beautiful silver, antiques of all description, costumes and a wealth of wonderful paintings. Sworders London Gallery has the privilege of including their name in the list of Cecil Court businesses and have the joy of hosting previews of our upcoming sales here, alongside a range of events and complimentary valuations. Our team are more than happy to talk all things auction, whether it’s an item or collection you wish to have valued, or you are interested in something coming up for sale, please do pop in for a coffee and say hello.

Upcoming Events & Valuations Days

Contact Us

london@sworder.co.uk | 020 3971 2500

Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers | 15 Cecil Court | London | WC2N 4EZ