Taking shelter

This is a cabmen’s shelter: a small hut, no bigger than a horse-drawn carriage, that serves hot food and drink to both taxi drivers and members of the public – but where only licensed London taxi drivers (nicknamed as those with ‘The Knowledge’, referring to the test they have to take) can enter. Between 1875 and 1914, 61 of these were constructed. Today, only 12 working shelters remain.

When they were first built, cab drivers were legally required to stay with their carriages, which made it hard for them to find shelter or food except in local pubs. As a result, they were tempted to drink alcohol on the job. When the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury wasn’t able to find a sober driver to take him home, he set up the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund (the Monogram CSF can be still seen on the top of the green part of the shelters).

In the 20th Century, many of the shelters fell victim to bombing during World War Two, while others shut due to road widening. But most closed as the result of taxis changing from horse-powered to motor vehicles – meaning they weren’t as limited in range and had other options for food and drink.

The 12 that remain – including this one at Kensington Gardens – allow only cab drivers inside, though they offer reasonably-priced food and drink to the public through a window. But as a photographer working on a project about the shelters, some allowed me into the inner sanctum to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of this traditional, and disappearing, way of life. (Credit: Tom Skipp)