Piccadilly is a major London street, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Hyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. Piccadilly Circus is a famous road junction and public space of London 's West End in the City of Westminster,built in 1819 to connect Regent It is completely within the City of Westminster. The City of Westminster ( is a borough of London with city status. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St. James's lies to the south of the eastern section of the street, while the western section is built up only on the northern side and overlooks Green Park. St James's is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. Green Park (officially The Green Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. The area to the north is Mayfair. Mayfair is an area of central London, England, within the City of Westminster.
It is the location of Fortnum & Mason, the Royal Academy, The Ritz Hotel and Hatchards book shop. Fortnum & Mason, often shortened to just "Fortnum's", is possibly one of the most famous stores in the world has held many Royal Warrants for over This article refers to an art institution in London For other meanings of Royal Academy see Royal Academy (disambiguation. The Ritz Hotel London is a 133-room Hotel located in Piccadilly and overlooking Green Park in London. Hatchards is the oldest Bookshop in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1797 on Piccadilly in London, from where it still trades today Simpsons, once amongst the United Kingdom's leading clothing stores, opened on Piccadilly in the 1930s. Simpsons of Piccadilly was a large retail shop which traded at 203-206 Piccadilly in central London and was built as a quality clothing store specifically for men The store closed in 1999 and the site is now the flagship shop of the booksellers Waterstone's. Waterstone's is a United Kingdom –based chain of bookshops.
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History
Until the 17th century the area was known as Portugal, after Portugal Street. The name of Piccadilly arises from a tailor named Robert Baker, who owned a shop on the Strand, in the late 16th century and early 17th century. The Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. He amassed a large fortune by making and selling piccadills (also called picadils -- stiff collars with scalloped edges and a broad lace or perforated border), that were then in fashion. A piccadill or pickadill is a large broad collar of Cut-work Lace that became Fashionable in the late 16th century and early 17th century A piccadill or pickadill is a large broad collar of Cut-work Lace that became Fashionable in the late 16th century and early 17th century With his great fortune he purchased a large tract of what was then open country to the west of London, and in about 1612 he built a large house there. The mansion soon became known as Piccadilly Hall.
There is a myth that in the 17th century, call girls were called 'Dilly's. Piccadilly is rumoured to be named after 'picking a dilly' in the area, however the tailor story has stuck in historic terms.
After the Restoration of the English monarchy in 1660, Piccadilly and the area to the north (Mayfair) began to be systematically developed as a fashionable residential locality. Some of the grandest mansions in London were built on the northern side of Piccadilly. Clarendon House (now the location of Albemarle Street), Berkeley House (later Devonshire House), and Sir John Denham's house (later Burlington House) were constructed in the 17th century. Clarendon House was a town mansion which stood on Piccadilly in London, England from the 1660s to the 1680s Albemarle Street is a street in Mayfair in central London, off Piccadilly. Devonshire House in Piccadilly was the London residence of the Dukes of Devonshire, one of England 's most prominent aristocratic families for For the New York City skycraper see Burlington House (New York City Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in London Later mansions included Melbourne House (now The Albany), Apsley House, Bath House and Cambridge House. The Albany or Albany (since the mid-20th century some sources have claimed that the article is not in use among the fashionable is an apartment complex in Piccadilly Apsley House, also known as Number One London, was the London residence of the Dukes of Wellington and stands alone at Hyde Park Corner Cambridge House is a Grade I listed mansion on the northern side of Piccadilly (Number 94 in central London, England. Several members of the Rothschild family had mansions at the western end of the street, and that part of it was colloquially referred to as Rothschild Row. The Rothschild banking family of England was founded in 1798 by Nathan Mayer von Rothschild (1777-1836 who first settled in Manchester but then moved By the 1920s most of these buildings had been demolished or were in institutional use.
21st century Piccadilly has a hybrid range of uses. Despite the presence of two or three famous shops, it is not really one of London's principal shopping streets. The Ritz Hotel is in the street, along with some other luxury hotels. The Ritz Hotel London is a 133-room Hotel located in Piccadilly and overlooking Green Park in London. There are also some offices and some very expensive flats. However, Piccadilly's appeal is compromised by being one of the widest and straightest streets in central London, and hence having some of the most overbearing traffic.
Fiction
In the Lord Peter Wimsey novels by Dorothy L. Sayers, Lord Peter's address in London is 110a Piccadilly. Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey, a Fictional character, is a bon vivant sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy Dorothy Leigh Sayers ( IPA: usually pronounced /ˈseɪɜrz/ although Sayers herself preferred /ˈsɛːz/ and encouraged the use of her middle initial to facilitate this The number 110a was chosen in homage to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's use of 221b Baker Street for Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930 was an Anglo-Scottish Author most noted for his stories about the 221B Baker Street is the fictional London residence of the detective Sherlock Holmes, created by author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes is a famous fictional detective of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who first appeared in Publication in 1887
There was a British film made in 1929 called "Piccadilly". The United Kingdom has been influential in the technological, commercial and artistic development of cinema. Piccadilly ( 1929) is a silent British film directed by Ewald André Dupont, written by Arnold Bennett and starring
Transport
The Piccadilly Line of the London Underground takes its name from Piccadilly and part of the line travels under Piccadilly. The Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark Blue on the Tube map. The London Underground is a Metro system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire Green Park, Hyde Park Corner and Piccadilly Circus tube stations all have entrances either on or near to Piccadilly. Green Park tube station is a London Underground station located on the north side of Green Park, close to the intersection of Piccadilly and the pedestrian Hyde Park Corner is a London Underground station near Hyde Park Corner in Hyde Park. Piccadilly Circus tube station is the London Underground station located directly beneath Piccadilly Circus itself with entrances at every corner
Selected adjoining streets include:
- Albemarle Street
- Dover Street
- Hyde Park Corner
- Old Bond Street
- Piccadilly Circus
- Regent Street
- St James's Street
See also
References
- Robert Baker of Piccadilly Hall and His Heirs by F. Albemarle Street is a street in Mayfair in central London, off Piccadilly. Dover Street is a street in Mayfair, London, England. The street is notable for its Georgian architecture as well as the location of Hyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. Bond Street is a major shopping street in London which runs through Mayfair from Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north Piccadilly Circus is a famous road junction and public space of London 's West End in the City of Westminster,built in 1819 to connect Regent Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London 's West End. St James's Street is one of the principal streets in the central London district of St James's. Piccadilly Circus is a famous road junction and public space of London 's West End in the City of Westminster,built in 1819 to connect Regent St James's Church Piccadilly is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, UK H. W. Sheppard (ISBN 0-902087-18-5)
External links
- The Early History of Piccadilly — from the Survey of London
- An article from the International Herald Tribune about the closing of Simpsons, its history and place on Piccadilly
Dictionary
piccadilly
-noun
Piccadilly
-proper noun
- (London) Picadilly street, a street running from Hyde Park Corner to Piccadilly Circus
- (London) the surrounding area
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