The story of Vincent’s Yard

Tucked off Hackford Road between Stockwell and Brixton, the yard has had many lives in 150 years — from horses and circus animals to printing presses and full-fibre broadband.

150 years in the yard

1. Neighbours

   1873

   Van Gogh moves in round the corner

   In August 1873 a 20-year-old Vincent van Gogh took lodgings at 87 Hackford Road, a few doors from the yard, while working for the art dealers Goupil & Co. He stayed into 1874, writing letters home to his brother Theo. The house now carries a blue plaque — and the yard shares his first name.

2. Stables

   1885

   Horses, lions and baby elephants

   In 1885 the vet Thomas Price built a veterinary practice and quarantine station next door, later known as Price & King’s. Its tall stables were made for big animals, and it became one of London’s main quarantine stations for performing animals arriving from abroad. Lions, zebras and even baby elephants waited here before heading for the music halls — in 1912 the Daily Mirror called it a hotel for animals.

3. Trades

   1900s

   From stables to abattoir

   As motor vans replaced horses, the yard turned to heavier trades. Part of the brick complex became a meat abattoir — thick walls and heavy roof timbers, built for hard, practical work.

4. Print

   1974

   A label press and a telephone

   In 1974 Andrew Bayley rented a corner of the old abattoir, bought a small label press and a telephone, and started Euro Label Printers. The family business still owns and manages the yard.

5. Type

   1992

   Five centuries of type next door

   In 1992 Susan Shaw founded the Type Museum, later the Type Archive, in the old veterinary building, rescuing the collections of Britain’s type foundries and the Monotype Corporation. It was a fitting neighbour for a street now called Alphabet Mews.

6. Print

   2011

   Printmaking comes home

   Artist and printmaker Michelle Avison set up SLAUGHTERHAUS Print Studio in the yard in 2011 — a name with a nod to the building’s past. Now HAUSPRINT, it’s a not-for-profit studio offering open access, classes and exhibitions.

7. The team today

   Today

   Who’s in the yard now

   The yard is home to a close mix of studios and small businesses: David Money Architects, LANE Casting, Greenstone Landscaping, Sofia Ceramics, the community station Brixton Radio, the HAUSPRINT print studio and the web studio Plan 9. Our coworking space hosts architects, software developers, designers and legal professionals, and our virtual office gives businesses across London a home address in the mews.