The Scandalous History of Dolphin Square
Simon Danczuk in conversation with Mark Glendening.
Presented by: The Sohemian Society| 0 | LONDON: The Wheatsheaf Pub (info) |
|---|---|
| P | Wednesday 9th April, 2025 |
| N | Door time: 6:30pm Start time: 7:00pm |
| . | 16 and over |
| C | Literature |
Event information
‘Compelling, authoritative and as readable as the best airport thriller. It fizzes with crime, fame, power and illicit sex.’ Jeremy Vine
Designed as a city dwelling for the modern age, Dolphin Square opened in London’s Pimlico in 1936. Boasting 1,250 hi-tech flats, a swimming pool, restaurant, gardens and shopping arcade, the complex quickly attracted a long list of the affluent and influential. But behind its veneer of respectability, the Square has become one of the country’s most notorious addresses; a place where the private lives of those from the highest of high society and the lowest depths of the underworld have collided and played out over the best part of a century.
This is the story of the Square and its people, an ever-evolving cast of larger-than- life characters who have borne witness to, and played pivotal roles in, some of the most scandalous episodes of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. From Oswald Mosley and the Carry On gang to allegations of systematic sexual abuse, it is a saga replete with mysterious deaths, exploitation, espionage, illicit love affairs and glamour, shining a light on the changing nature of British politics and society in the modern age.
Simon Danczuk lives in Pimlico and spends most of his time working in public affairs and as a media commentator. He has been in politics over thirty-five years and is a former Member of Parliament for Rochdale. Simon is a part-time author having first co-written Smile for the Camera: The Double Life of Cyril Smith, with Matt Baker. His second book was written with Dan Smith and is Scandal at Dolphin Square: A Notorious History. Dan and Simon are in the advanced stages of writing their next non-fiction book regarding a London serial killer.
Marc Glendening is the co-founder of the Sohemian Society. His connection to Soho dates back to when, as a baby, he visited the Colony Room where his father, the painter Ronald Glendening, and his stepmother, Sohemian Society stalwart Yvonne Glendening, were regulars. Marc works as a free speech campaigner. He also writes occasional journalism, which has appeared in publications such as Spiked and The Critic.
