Soho’s bookshops have always had a unique charm, but none more so than the Long Shop — a tiny, five-foot-wide space squeezed between a pub and a shop at 51A Old Compton Street. It’s a testament to the fierce demand for space in Soho and the booming pornography trade that made such cramped quarters profitable.
Tom Fletcher, a bohemian with shoulder-length hair and a Gauloise cigarette always hanging from his mouth, was the mastermind behind the Long Shop. He struck it rich selling “French books” – a euphemism for French erotica that was smuggled into Britain. Despite the narrow space, Fletcher’s success on Old Compton Street, one of Soho’s bustling streets, was undeniable.
Fletcher’s need for a carpenter led to the unexpected rise of Ronald Eric Mason (pictured below), who later became known as ‘God’ amongst the Soho porn trade. Mason, a former Globe theatre scene shifter, started as a handyman in 1952 and quickly learned the ropes of Soho’s hidden pornography economy, moving from carpenter to salesman and eventually one of the biggest distributors in the UK.
Mason’s education included secret meetings with members of the corrupt Obscene Publications Squad who received weekly bribes from Fletcher. As well as permitting him trade, the meetings kept Fletcher informed about police activities related to pornography, highlighting the deep-rooted corruption that allowed Soho’s adult entertainment industry to thrive.
After mastering the trade, Mason tried to open his own shop on Old Compton Street but was blocked because it was too close to the Long Shop. This revealed the territorial agreements that protected established players like Fletcher from competition. By 1955, Mason finally got the green light to open a shop at 5 Walker’s Court, paying police a hefty £15 a week, showing just how lucrative the trade was. By the early 1970s, Mason ran at least six Soho bookshops, paying the Obscene Publications Squad £1000 per week.
Besides these payments, Mason fostered a close, personal connection with Squad officers, inviting them to his annual birthday party and even his daughter’s wedding. His friendship with the police offered numerous advantages, including having first dibs on buying back materials seized by the Obscene Publications Squad. Mason was provided with a CID tie to ensure officers wouldn’t question his presence when he visited the Squad’s storage facility at Holborn Police Station.
The Long Shop’s story is a window into post-war Soho’s development. With space at a premium, even the smallest shops could be profitable if the demand was high. The adult book trade certainly fit that bill, with customers willing to brave cramped conditions for forbidden material. The corruption that shielded these businesses shows how hidden economies coexisted with official ones, with police bribes protecting their interests.
Though just five feet wide, the Long Shop left a lasting mark on Soho. It was a training ground for Mason, who never added the shop to his empire, likely due to its small size. When Tom Fletcher died, it was taken over by Monty Rosen (pictured standing outside the shop in the main image), and Soho’s infamous Town Crier, Lord Julian Shepherd St James (pictured below), real name Stanley Lowe, served as the shop’s chair. A con artist, Lowe’s claim to fame was selling London Bridge to a wealthy American tourist and alledgedly half of the Arc de Triomphe to an Australian, who only had enough money to buy half.
Today, 51A Old Compton Street is now part of Soho’s history, with its former quarters now sitting between Compton’s Public House and the Criss Cross café. The Long Shop’s tale reminds us of the area’s rich history – where space was precious, corruption was rampant, and narrow shops could spawn criminal empires.
