Regent Street and Bond Street

4 December 1995. In the second of this set of articles dealing with a short break in London we remain on the UK Monopoly board's green set but move from Oxford Street to the other two properties!

Regent Street was named after the Prince Regent, later King William IV, and was constructed as a thoroughfare from his residence at Carlton House, to run north to the entrance to Regent's Park. Designed by architect John Nash in 1811 it required the demolition of a large number of properties, but provided work in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. Most buildings were leased and by the end of the 99 year period of the lease were all unfit for their designed purpose, given the modern trend towards large department stores. Between Piccadilly and Oxford Circuses none of Nash's original buildings survive, the entire street being rebuilt along its original route between 1895-1927.

The Christmas lights were a bit more spectacular than Oxford Street. To a couple of visitors from Blackpool, used to the Illuminations, Oxford Street had been a bit of a "Is that it???" disappointment.

We had a look in Hamleys huge toy store, dodging bubbles and little balsa wood gliders that were being enthusiastically flown by demonstrators around the doorway. Several floors of close-packed toy displays mean you could easily spend a full afternoon getting lost in wonder. Luckily Miss Franny was there to grasp my ear firmly and lead me out again... Awww!!!

And so to Bond Street and a glance at Asprey's Jewellers. It is the only street to run between Oxford Street and Piccadilly. There - did that surprise you as much as it surprised me when I found out? How strange! It is invariably just called Bond Street, though in fact has two halves, signed as Old Bond Street running north from Piccadilly and New Bond Street, an extension forty years after the first bit at the northern end up to Oxford Street.

Originally full of properties selling fine art and antiques, clustered around the famous auction house of Sotheby's, more and more of the properties are today concerned with the art of fashion with branches of internationally famous designers.

Still existing from the days of the art houses is the Fine Arts Society, dating from 1876, whose small arcade we were in when the door opened and a man came out, brushing against me as he passed. I looked up into a well-known face and nodded and as he turned to exit the doorway I realised who he was. Forgetting all about being cool and collected I hissed at Fran "It's David Attenborough!"

She spun round almost nose to nose with him and said "Who?" He gave a horrified glance and dashed across the road to get away from us! Sir David, I'd just like to apologise...!

Apart from the fashion houses, some of the most famous names in jewellers are represented on Bond Street. We have already seen Aspreys. Here is Tiffany and below is Cartier.

You will not find any prices marked on goods in the window and should you feel inclined to ask, it's probably prudent to assume that should you need to wonder if you can afford a piece - you can't...

This is the Royal Arcade, leading off to the west from Bond Street to Albemarle Street. It dates from 1879.

The more well-known Burlington Arcade leads from Piccadilly to Burlington Gardens and was the first of the covered shopping arcades, dating from 1819. The sedate atmosphere is maintained by Beadles in top hats and frock coats and the arcade's rules forbid running, whistling and the carrying of opened umbrellas. The Beadles were unable to stop a gang of criminals roaring down the arcade in a Jaguar car in 1964, where they stopped, smashed the windows of the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Association and drove off with a fortune's worth of booty.

In the next exciting episode we'll have a look at the Great Squares: Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square.

Return to London Weekend 1995 index page

London Nights

We've just come back from a long weekend in London. Went down on Saturday morning and drove back on Monday (yesterday).

So there's a few photos of the weekend to sort out... I took 90 but a few are blurred and some are duplicates so that will whittle down a bit. I love London at this time of year as it's a great opportunity to take photos at dusk or night.

This is Aspley House, the house of the Duke of Wellington, the general who led British troops against Napoleon, finally defeating him at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. He took this house with the fantastic address of "No.1, London" and became Prime Minister and also gave his name to the rubber boot. Later in life, after Napoleon died, he often spent an afternoon standing by the side of the tableaux of his old enemy's deathbed in Madame Tussaud's waxworks.

One of my favourite shots from the weekend is this one. Taken at the end of the afternoon just before dark, of the fairground rides in Hyde Park. There's a massive continental market there, called Winter Wonderland. Great to wander through but so crowded that just getting to a stall was hard work, never mind trying to stand far enough away to take a photo without crowds jostling against you and getting in the way.

We walked from the park past Aspley House and then along Piccadilly until we reached the Circus. The photos I took along this stretch and a quick glance at Regent Street and Oxford Street will make up this entry. Piccadilly boasts some wonderful buildings and architecture, that most of us can only hope to see from the outside! This is the entrance to the ballroom of the Park Lane Hotel.

Whilst just opposite is the Ritz. You can go for afternoon tea there if you fancy splashing out on a pot of tea, a few sarnies with the crusts cut off and some cakes. From what I've seen on the telly, you are supposed to shout at the waiters and generally act like a pompous old fart... I wouldn't last long as a member of staff but I seriously would enjoy shoving a cake into the face of some of those old duffers! I suspect they are just a small minority really. They would never have any staff otherwise!

The Burlington Arcade is a shopping arcade running north from Piccadilly. Immortalised in the song "Burlington Bertie" it exudes atmosphere. Top-hatted beadles keep an eye out for misdemeanors. You can be ejected for whistling, opening an umbrella inside the arcade or running. Mostly though, their time is taken up by giving directions and assistance.

Inside the arcade, the shops retain their original huge windows and wooden framed frontages. At Christmas it's an even better place to wander through, to marvel at the window displays and think that there's a reason for the lack of price tickets. If you need to ask... you can't afford...!

We reach Piccadilly Circus. The statue of the archer (it's not really Eros, though it's pedantic these days not to call it that) has been turned into a giant snow globe. The giant videos are mesmerising, but I can't help feeling nostalgic for the red neon of the Coca Cola sign that adorned the corner of Regent Street for so many years. There's always a crush of people around here and the sound of horns from cars or taxis that suddenly spy a hopeful or just unaware pedestrian stepping out in front of them is almost constant.

Regent Street. A look in Hamley's toy shop windows at Christmas time is almost mandatory. Come to think of it, Miss Franny makes it mandatory... We had a look. I oohed and aahed... Anyone who wants to cheer themselves up should spend a few minutes in Hamley's. Unless you are actually going to spend money (which in these days of "all parts sold separately" can be a sobering activity) then I almost defy anyone to go into Hamley's for a while and come out without a huge grin on their face!

If Regent Street was lit with depictions of the Twelve Days of Christmas, then Oxford Street had giant snow balls floating above it. We found somewhere to eat and took our time over the meal before heading back to the hotel. There's more to come. I keep saying this on the blog. Currently you are waiting for more articles on 78 rpm records and sketches. So let's just whet the appetite a bit...

On our way back up north on Monday we called off in the Midlands to buy a collection of 78 rpm records. I've still not had time to look through them - never mind play them! There are 175 of them plus a big box of postcards that the owner kindly gave to me along with the records. So, more postcard entries to come also! Whenever I feature any of these items they'll be mentioned as part of the Easthope Collection. I've recorded another 16 sides from the 78 rpm records from my parents' collection whilst writing this article - it takes time! It'll be worth it!