World famous - and packed with visitors because of it - Piccadilly Circus is a spot few Londoners actually visit or, if they do, it’s to pass through it quickly on their way elsewhere. However, it has its interesting stories - like everywhere else in London.
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Piccadilly Circus
Lillywhite’s
Lillywhite’s has been selling sports goods since 1863 in Haymarket, opening this store in 1925. William Lillywhite introduced overarm bowling to cricket and his son James was the first-ever captain of an England XI, funding the first test match in Australia in 1877. Look for the bronze plaques of James, playing in top hat, beside the doors.
Piccadilly Circus
Three sides of Piccadilly Circus are leased from the Crown, which bans advertising signs. The fourth had looser control and adverts made their first appearance here in the early 1900s. Gordon’s Gin was one of the first illuminated signs, in 1923. Sanyo, here since 1980, is currently the longest-running advertisement.
Anteros
Often called ‘Eros’, this is actually his twin brother Anteros, ‘The God of Selfless Love’, by Sir Alfred Gilbert RA. A 1893 tribute to philanthropist Lord Shaftesbury, it is the world’s first public aluminium statue, the light weight allowing the one-legged pose. The model was 15-year-old Angelo Colarossi, whose Italian father modelled for Lord Leighton.
The Criterion
This is where Dr Watson first heard of Sherlock Holmes: ’I was standing at the Criterion Bar, when someone tapped me on the shoulder...‘ The whole of the Criterion Theatre, other than the box office, is underground, while the art nouveau Criterion Brasserie is now run by famed chef Marco Pierre White.
The Three Graces
While many tourists have their photos taken with the Horses of Helios rearing out of the fountain at the corner of Haymarket, most miss the Daughters of Helios - or The Three Graces - diving from the roof of 1 Jermyn Street above. By the same artist, sculptor and bar owner Rudy Weller, they are made of gold-leaf-covered aluminium.
The Trocadero
This was London’s most fashionable dining rooms when J Lyons and Co. opened it at vast cost in 1896. The first public restaurant with a wine cellar, it was also the first to let women dine alone. This freize of King Arthur - now in a cinema foyer on the first floor - once graced the restaurant.
www.kzwp.com/lyons/troc.htm
Disused Police Phone Box
Look out for this blue police phone box - it is hard to spot. The first UK boxes appeared in 1891 and went out of use after the introduction of the 999 system in the late 1930s. Their most common use was for the public to call for help with pregnancy or ‘sudden illness. Now, we use mobile phones but a few old boxes are still preserved.
MacDonald’s Sign
Look for a while at the current Macdonald’s sign and you will see it is designed to be interacted with. You can photo yourself with an umbrella or bowler hat, or video a friend blowing out birthday candles on a cake, among other fun images. It’s a fun way to send a ‘postcard’ back home from the very centre of London.
Tube: Piccadilly Circus
