If you’ve ever downed a pint at the John Snow, in London’s Soho district, you may have walked right past the water pump mounted on Broad Street. What at first might appear to be an unremarkable fixture played a key role in medical science.
In 1854, Londoners were dying at a rapid rate. The culprit was thought to be miasma, or bad air, but Dr. John Snow—in whose honor the pub is named—had a different theory. He suspected that diseases could travel in water. Via careful mapping, he traced the deaths back to a single pump on Broad Street that was connected to a well found to be infected with cholera. A century after the discovery, the pub adjacent to the pump changed its name to John Snow in honor of his discovery, and in 2018, the current replica of the pump was installed on the site of the well.
Inside the pub, which dates back to 1870, you’ll find Victorian-era furnishings that include a handsome wood bar and an almost comically tiny service door. An upstairs lounge leads to yet another small bar and a fireplace. The walls are decorated with John Snow paraphernalia, including a copy of the map he drew to hone in on the infected water source. The pub is also the unofficial base of the John Snow Society, which sets out to “promote the life and works of Dr John Snow, a pioneer of modern epidemiological method and celebrated anaesthetist.”
Snow, who died of a stroke in 1858 at the age of 45, was a nearly lifelong vegan and teetolar.
In 2011, the pub inadvertently earned a place in LGBTQ+ history. In 2011, James Bull and his date Jonathan Williams were asked to leave after pub staff described their kissing as “obscene.” The couple shared the incident online, leading to a media firestorm. In protest, hundreds of queer protestors showed up and retaliated by making out directly in front of the door.
“It seemed rather than us just sort of accepting that we should be hiding away from a place like this, we should just go there instead and have a massive kiss-in,” said organizer Paul Shetler in an interview with the BBC.
