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Thurloe Place Cabmen's Shelter, London SW7. Photograph by Alan Fisher.

One of the thirteen remaining cabmen's shelters in London, the Thurloe Place shelter is probably the successor to the shelter shown on the previous page. This shelter appears more substantial and slightly larger than the earlier shelter, suggesting that the standard design was gradually modified based on experience and customer feedback.

The modern traffic signal supplements the protective iron bollard which at some point in its history seems to have suffered a collision. In common with other shelters the kitchen window has been converted for takeaway service but the height of the windowsill makes steps or a platform a necessity for customer access. The Thurloe Place shelter is also known as "The Bell and Horns", the restaurant name under which it operates.

Source:
Photo provided by Alan Fisher, editor, Call Sign Magazine.

Bloomsday for Cab Drivers / 24

The Cabmen's Shelter / 2

The idea caught on and more shelters were built by the Cabmen's Shelter Fund, which equipped them with kitchens and recruited retired cabbies to operate them. The shelter design evolved somewhat, but by the 1890s it had standardized as a small, green-painted shed with a tiny kitchen at one end and bench seating for about a dozen customers on either side of a long, narrow table top. The cost for each shelter was about 200 pounds.

The shelters were located right on their cab stands, either in the curb lane or the middle lane of thoroughfares. Police regulations dictated that the size of the shelters could not exceed the space occupied by a horse and carriage.

At their peak there were 61 cabmen's shelters in London, with many others scattered in cities and towns around England. Thirteen of the London shelters still survive as "listed" (historic) buildings but they all continue function as diners, each with its regular clientele of cab drivers.