Hidden down a tiny Fleet Street passage is a barber shop where generations of City workers have come for a trim, a chat and a slice of old London
Fleet Street barber shop Leonard & Michael has been cutting City workers’ barnets for generations. We get a chop at the family-run salon tucked away in Poppins Court, which has been nominated for Retailer of the Year at this October’s Toast the City Awards.
He’s the most dedicated hairdresser of Fleet Street, the man behind the barber shop that has been cutting City workers’ barnets for half a century. He might share the same address as Sweeney Todd’s fated shop, but Tom Whall of the Leonard & Michael barbers promises that his valued customers leave with their heads still attached.
“Sweeney Todd is probably the most famous barber in the world, so it’s quite fun that the legend is associated with Fleet Street,” says Tom. Whall has a bigger, better story up his sleeve: his family-run barber shop is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
One of Fleet Street’s most recognisable independent businesses, the shop was established in 1976 by Leonard Ludwin and his father Michael Whall at 1-2 Poppins Court just off Fleet Street.
It technically isn’t London’s oldest barber shop – that title is generally associated with Truefitt & Hill, founded in 1805, but Leonard & Michael has built its own place in London’s barbering history as a half-century-old Fleet Street institution.
His shop was established in 1976 by Leonard Ludwin and his father Michael Whall at 1-2 Poppins Court just off Fleet Street. Michael had been working for Leonard at his popular West End salon in St Martin’s Lane and wanted to bring that same high quality to Fleet Street in the Square Mile.
They achieved that, although their working relationship only lasted a year, with Leonard continuing his career in the West End. Michael kept Leonard’s name above the door as it was too expensive to change their sign. That original sign in the iconic Art Deco-styled font is still displayed in the salon today.
David Montgomery, editor of Mirror group, David Jason and human rights barrister Michael Mansfield were some of the clientele in the 1980s during the era of boozy City lunches. In those days, newspaper editors and the barristers of Fleet Street would come in for “a quick trim and a smoke” in the chair.
Michael loved a joke, and formed strong friendships with his clients – a tradition his son Tom carries on. One quirk of the salon is that the walls are littered with photos donated by Fleet Street’s picture editors, some of whom were loyal customers.
Original black and whites depict Fleet Street in the heyday of the print era, and another depicts the journey of London’s last tram from Woolwich to New Cross in 1952.
Incredibly, four City workers have been loyal customers since the barber shop opened. They first came in for haircuts in their twenties back in the day, and are in their seventies now.
What do City boys want from their haircuts? Tom’s learned from over 20 years in the business that unlike their hipster counterparts in Shoreditch, City boys want to blend in with “reliable, repeatable quality” rather than “Oh my god what’s going on with your hair?”
Helpfully, he says “there are some subtle clues” to getting the art of the small talk right. When it comes to noticing whether his gents want to talk or not, he says that “if someone sits in the chair and closes their eyes, it means not to talk.”No one says ‘can you not talk please?’ We’re too British for that. I like talking but I’m aware that someone might have had a really crap day. If you don’t want to talk I suggest you just close your eyes!”
One challenge is that margins are tight these days compared to the cash-flush 1980s. Business taxes have been challenging, and costs have gone up. He’s dependent on people working near the salon, and vital trade can disappear when offices move location.
That said, Tom’s grateful that Deloitte and Goldman Sachs nearby have long been longstanding reliable clients.Work from home culture has been another thorn in his side. “A lot of people are doing their personal admin [like getting haircuts] on ‘work from home days,'” he says. “They don’t often involve much work, which is fair enough: I’d probably do the same.
“Tom is proud to cut hair using tricks passed down from his father, who passed away shortly after the pandemic. A recent 50th birthday event raised money for Alzheimer’s Society, the disease Michael fought before he passed.Now aged 47, Tom hopes one of his two children may take over the Fleet Street family business.
They might keep the flame lit for another 50 years if “the robots don’t take over before then.”Still, despite the challenges, there is one consistently brilliant thing about his job. “Hairdressing is the one type of customer service where people tend to be nice to you,” he laughs. “You’re waving sharp things around their head so it’s in their interest.”1-2 Poppins Court, Fleet Street; go to leonardandmichael.co.uk
