Soho’s most famous strip club has shut its doors after nearly 100 years following an argument with its landlord.
The Windmill became a strip club in the 1930s and soon became the first in London to show naked women on stage.
It introduced “Windmill Girls” as nude “living statues” in 1932 and was famed for never closing, even during the worst days of the Blitz.
The Standard understands the venue closed its doors in the first few days of September following the collapse of Big Country, the entertainment company that operated the venue, amid a legal dispute with its landlord.
The venue had also flooded in late 2023, meaning parts of the building were unusable.
Big Country became tangled in a long-running dispute with strip club chain Spearment Rhino, which became its landlord after being sold the head lease in June last year.
Dubbed London’s answer to the Moulin Rouge in Paris, the Windmill became an unlikely poster child during the Second World War.
It is understood to be the only London club to remain open during the Blitz and it adopted the motto “we never closed”.
It was later transformed into an adult cinema, according to the Telegraph, before becoming one of the most famous late-night venues in London in the 1970s.
The site was eventually bought by “The King of Soho”, property baron Paul Raymond - a man compared to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and famous for introducing top-shelf magazines to the UK.
Soho Estates, the company founded by Raymond, owned the freehold on the Windmill until June 7, when it sold the head lease to a subsidiary of strip club owner Spearmint Rhino, RKW.
The Windmill lost its adult entertainment licence in 2018 after an undercover sting operation found dancers flouting “no touching” rules.
Last year, Soho residents complained to Westminster City Council about the venue being too close to a primary school.
The club is less than 300 feet away from Soho Parish Primary School.
The Windmill Theatre, as it was first called, inspired the film Mrs Henderson Presents starring Dame Judi Dench and Kelly Reilly.
Duncan Coutts, a joint liquidator, said: “The Windmill’s liquidation follows a prolonged period of operational and legal challenges that left the company unable to trade.
“Our priority is to ensure that creditors are treated fairly and that the process is conducted transparently.
“While this chapter has closed, the Windmill’s legacy as a cultural landmark remains a defining part of Soho’s story.”
