Editing Soho (section)

===Decline===
By the mid-18th century, the aristocrats who had been living in Soho Square or Gerrard Street had moved away, as more fashionable areas such as [[Mayfair]] became available.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=847}} The historian and topographer [[William Maitland (historian)|William Maitland]] wrote that the parish "so greatly abound with French that is an easy Matter for a Stranger to imagine himself in France."{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=845}} Soho's character stems partly from the ensuing neglect by rich and fashionable London, and the lack of the redevelopment that characterised the neighbouring areas.<ref name=sol33-34_37-41>{{cite journal|title=The Portland Estate in Soho Fields|journal=Survey of London|volume=33 and 34, St Anne Soho|editor=F H W Sheppard|location=London|year=1966|pages=37–41|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols33-4/pp37-41|access-date=31 October 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Area around Golden Square during Cholera Epidemic. Wellcome L0005796.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Map showing cholera deaths around Soho in 1854]]

The aristocracy had mostly disappeared from Soho by the 19th century, to be replaced by [[prostitutes]], music halls and small theatres. The population increased significantly, reaching 327 inhabitants per acre by 1851, making the area one of the most densely populated areas of London. Houses became divided into tenements with chronic overcrowding and disease. The 1854 cholera outbreak caused the remaining upper-class families to leave the area. Numerous hospitals were built to cope with the health problem; six were constructed between 1851 and 1874.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=845}} Businesses catering to household essentials were established at the same time.{{sfn|Girling|2012|p=106}}

The restaurant trade in Soho improved dramatically in the early 20th century. The construction of new theatres along [[Shaftesbury Avenue]] and [[Charing Cross Road]] improved the reputation of the area, and a meal for theatre-goers became common.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=845}} Public houses in Soho increased in popularity during the 1930s and were frequented by struggling authors, poets and artists.{{sfn|Conte|2008|p=208}}