Salon for the City is London's longest running cultural event. Every month we take a look at the City through a different lens with two amazing speakers in the historic location of London's only surviving 18th century Horse Hospital.
Doors 7pm
For more than a century, Fleet Street stood at the centre of British journalism: a world of ink, noise, deadlines, gossip, scandal, idealism, corruption, camaraderie and relentless deadlines.
But its presses have long since fallen silent.
Writer Travis Elborough hosts an exploration of the rise and demise of Fleet Street as the home of the newspaper industry
Philip Bennison is a developer currently involved in the restoration of the magnificent Art Deco Telegraph building on Fleet Street. Drawing on the rich architectural and industrial history of the area, he will trace the emergence of Fleet Street as the beating heart of Britain’s newspaper empire: from the age of hot metal printing and booming circulation wars to the grand newspaper headquarters that defined the street’s identity.
Author Andrew Martin witnessed Fleet Street during its final years as a working newspaper district. He recalls the hot metal men showering down in the Gents; the dense haze of cigarette smoke hanging over the canteen; covering telephones while journalists disappeared for three-hour lunches.
In 1988, Andrew observed the dislocation of journalists abruptly severed from the world that had defined them. Combining personal recollection with literary reflections, he will evoke the vanished culture of Fleet Street, in all its chaotic, smoky, convivial glory.
Philip Bennison is a developer and heritage advocate currently overseeing the restoration of the former Daily Telegraph building on Fleet Street.
Andrew Martin is the author of numerous books, including The Necropolis Railway, Underground Overground and the recent novel The Moquette Mystery. He worked in Fleet Street during its final years as the centre of the British newspaper industry.