At an initial glance the pub appears like other traditional pubs. Towards the back is a staircase that leads to the first floor and a display of some of Snow's work.
The pub serves as a meeting place for the John Snow Society, which encourages its members to visit the pub, introduced a walk following the footsteps of Snow through Soho and ending at the pub, and performs a ceremonial removal of the pump handle and visit to the pub following its annual Pumphandle Lecture.
The building was formerly known as the 'Newcastle-upon-Tyne' and dates back to the 1870s.[2] It was built at the site of the water pump found by John Snow to have been the origin of a local cholera outbreak in 1854.[3][a] The pub was renamed the John Snow in 1954, 100 years after the pump handle was removed.[3] This dedication to Snow is generally thought of as peculiar as Snow was shy and never drank alcohol.[4][5] The pub sign was unveiled in May 1955 by president of the Epidemiology and Public Health section of the Royal Society of Medicine, Sir Austin Bradford Hill.[6] In 1992 a handleless replica water pump was installed nearby on the corner of Poland Street and Broadwick Street.[3][7]
On entering the building, it appears like other traditional pubs.[6] Towards the back is a staircase leading to the first floor, which displays some of Snow's work and portrait.[6][8]
The Royal Society of Chemistry established a blue plaque on the wall of the building.[2] The 1992 replica pump was removed in 2015 for road restorations and replaced by another one in 2018 at the original pump location.[3][5] An image of the pump was displayed on a temporary board until the replica was replaced.[9] The pub sign outside depicts a portrait of Snow.[8] The original site of the pump is represented by a pink curb stone outside the pub's side door.[6]
The pub serves as a meeting place for the John Snow Society (JSS).[3][10] A requirement for membership to the society is that on visiting London, at least one trip is encouraged to the pub.[5] Following the JSS's Pumphandle Lecture, held annually at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in September, members proceed to the pub for the society's annual general meeting.[11] The society introduced a walk following the footsteps of Snow through Soho and ending at the pub.[12]
In 2011, a gay couple was reportedly forced to leave the location after staff members saw them kiss. [13] In response, the local community held a "kiss-in" protest that resulted in the pub temporarily closing. [14]
^The epidemic was already on the decline by the time the handle was removed. The significance is that Snow showed that cholera spread via water and not bad smells/air.
Media related to John Snow, Broadwick Street, London at Wikimedia Commons
