ARCADES
See Also: DEPARTMENT STORES; PERIOD
PROPERTIES Period Shops; SHOPPING; MENU
The Burlington Arcade
Oysters
were a fast food of early 19thC London. It is reputed that people who were passing by
Burlington House (now the home of The Royal Academy of Arts), the townhouse of
the 1st Earl of Burlington, were given to throwing their empty
oyster shells into his lordship's garden.
In response to this phenomenon, the peer commissioned the architect
Samuel Ware to design The Burlington Arcade (1819).
A
number of activities are banned in the Burlington Arcade, including whistling
and merriment. Whistling was used as a
signalling system that was once used by pickpockets. Merriment was a
euphemism for drunkenness.
The
Burlington Arcade is the only London arcade to have beadles.
In the
mid-1950s the 11th Duke of Devonshire sold the arcade.
Some of
the shops that trade along the arcade are descended from businesses that took
space in it when it opened.
Location:
51 Piccadilly, W1J 0PW (orange, pink)
See
Also: OYSTERS & SEAFOOD; HOTELS The Ritz; TOWNHOUSES Burlington House
Website:
www.burlingtonarcade.com
The Royal Opera Arcade
The
Royal Opera Arcade (1816) was London's first shopping arcade. It took its name from Her Majesty's Theatre,
which neighbours it. The theatre used to
act as an opera house for part of the year.
Location:
Pall Mall,
SW1Y 4UY (purple, grey)
See
Also: WEST END THEATRES Her Majesty's Theatre
David
Backhouse 2024