Turnmills

Turnmills was a Victorian building on the corner of Clerkenwell Road and Turnmill Street that started its life in eighteen eighty-six as a warehouse and stables for the Great Northern Railway Company. Decades later, it served as a storage facility for the Booths Dry Gin distillery, echoing the industrial history of the Clerkenwell area. In nineteen eighty-five, John Newman converted the former warehouse into a wine bar and restaurant, but the site gained its true fame when it evolved into a nightclub. In nineteen eighty-nine, it secured the first twenty-four-hour music and dance license in the United Kingdom. This regulatory milestone allowed the venue to host legendary, uninterrupted events that defined the rave culture of the nineteen nineties. The basement of the building hosted a club night called Trade, which launched in October nineteen ninety. It was the first legal after-hours party in Britain, typically opening at three o'clock on Sunday mornings. Trade provided a vital, hedonistic sanctuary for the LGBTQ plus community during a period of social conservatism and remains a landmark in London's clubbing history. Beyond the dance floor, the building housed a sophisticated recording studio. During the two thousands, bands like The Happy Mondays and Babyshambles used this space to record their albums. The venue operated until two thousand eight, when its lease expired. Despite campaigns to preserve it for its cultural contributions, the original structure was demolished and replaced by an office block.