As Camden celebrates its 60th birthday, there’s no better time to shine a light on one of its most colourful corners—Neal’s Yard. Now a bustling hub of ethical eateries and wellness shops, it was transformed in the 1970s by the visionary Nicholas Saunders, who turned a derelict banana warehouse into a vibrant community of alternative businesses. From whole foods and cheese to coffee and natural remedies, many well-known names started here. Though Saunders remains little-known, his legacy shaped Camden’s creative, community spirit—and helped change the way Britain eats.
Neal’s Yard: From Banana Warehouse to Camden Icon (with love for Camden at 60!)
Have you wandered into Neal’s Yard recently? If not, you’re in for a treat. Tucked behind the bustling streets of Covent Garden, this rainbow-hued courtyard is now a haven for all things wholesome and delicious. Think Wild Food Café, 26 Grains, St John’s Bakery, Casanova & Daughters, and of course, Neal’s Yard Dairy, where cheese dreams come true. It’s also home to the world-renowned Neal’s Yard Remedies, serving up plant-powered potions since the ‘80s. It’s basically Instagram gold, but it wasn’t always this way…
As Camden celebrates its 60th birthday this year (can you believe it’s been six decades since our vibrant borough came together?), it’s the perfect time to reflect on how places like Neal’s Yard helped shape its creative, community-minded identity.
Back in the 1970s, Neal’s Yard was less “vibrant health hub” and more “rat-infested, derelict dumping ground.” Enter Nicholas Saunders, the quirky and brilliant visionary who bought an old banana warehouse here in 1974 for just £7,000 (using his great-aunt’s inheritance!). What he created next was nothing short of legendary.
Nicholas didn’t want to just make money—he wanted to change the world, or at least the way we shop and live. Inspired by the alternative communities he’d encountered in Denmark and his experience living in a homemade papier-mâché bedroom in West London (yes, really), he envisioned Neal’s Yard as a place for ethical, communal living and business.
First came whole foods, then Neal’s Yard Dairy, Monmouth Coffee, and the apothecary that became Neal’s Yard Remedies. Nicholas would kickstart each business with friends, then pass it on to them once it was stable. Kind of like a start-up fairy godfather.
His methods were delightfully unorthodox: a pulley system where workers would literally jump out of windows to hoist sacks, honey warmed under the stairs, and pricing based on effort—not markup. His food warehouse was soon outselling Sainsbury’s on turnover per square foot!
When his old flat burned down (due to a candle-lit meditation accident—classic 70s moment), Nicholas took it as a sign to fully embrace his new Neal’s Yard life.
And the ripple effects? Huge. Borough Market’s revival traces back to ideas seeded here. Organic, community-based food culture? Neal’s Yard helped put that on the UK map.
Yet today, few know Saunders’ name—despite the 50-year legacy he left behind.
So, as we toast Camden at 60, let’s also raise a glass (or a turmeric latte) to this slice of colourful, curious, world-changing history—and the man who quietly made it all happen.
Sylvia McNamara offers a Tale of Two Slums walk, for this and other information about walks available go to www.camdenguides.com
