Posts Tagged ‘144 piccadilly’
On This Day In Photos: Police Storm Huge Squat At 144 Piccadilly, London
ON This Day In Photos: September 21 2011, the police storm a squat at 144 Piccadilly, London.
Around 200 police raided the 100-room 144 Piccadilly building after a stand off with the London Street Commune, a hippy group who wanted to make use of empty building as homes for the homeless. The group’s spokesperson / leader was “Dr John”, thought to be a Phil Cohen.
The mansion was once the home of Lord Palmerston, who had lived there about the time of the Crimean War. After the second World War, it became the home of the Countess of Carlisle, daughter to the 2nd Viscount Allendale, Lord in Waiting to the Duke of York, later George VI. It became vacated and fell into a state of disrepair. Then the squatters moved in.
The News of the World informed readers that the place was:
“Lit only by the dim light of their drugged cigarettes.”
The News of the World published a photo of the squatters on the “Dilly” steps below the headline:
“Everyone in this picture is a degenerate or a junkie.”
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Posted: 21st, September 2011 | In: Flashback | Comments (3)
