Porchester Hall, Porchester Road, W2
In the Sixties, Porchester Hall became synonymous with the lavish drag balls hosted by larger-than-life Canadian trombonist Jean Fredericks (think Divine with brass accompaniment). The annual event was virtually the sole outlet for ostentatious trannie glam in an age when homosexuality was still a criminal offence in the UK.
The Hall was transformed into the upper-class restaurant where the disgusting Mr Creosote explodes after that final, fatal “waffer-theen” mint, in Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life.
The complex also contained public baths, now gone, though the Turkish bath is still functioning. It’s while using the baths that old pals Jimmy (Phil Daniels) and Kevin (Ray Winstone) meet up in Quadrophenia, only to realise that they’ve fallen on opposite sides of the Mod-Rocker divide when they come to get dressed.
Trivia: you can glimpse the legendary Jean Fredericks, and a bevy of her camp followers, in Bruce Beresford’s bad-taste Aussie romp The Adventures of Barry McKenzie.
Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life (1983, dir: Terry Jones)
Quadrophenia (1979, dir: Franc Roddam)
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