One of the most famous shopping hotspots in Great Britain, and one of Europe's longest and busiest shopping streets, is Oxford Street, which is a street in the West End of London. It is one and a half miles long.
Initially, Oxford Street first went by the name of Tyburn Road. It was called Tyburn Road because there was a river Tyburn which flowed underneath the road. It started to become a thoroughfare after it was regularly used to move prisoners from Newgate prison to Tyburn Tree (now known as the Marble Arch).
It was the Earl of Oxford who changed the street's name in the eighteenth century, and it was also the Earl who changed the street into an area for shopping. Oxford Street was bombed during the Second World War, but this didn't impede the Street's recovery for too long. Now, you can see Christmas lights on the streets every year, and congestion at Oxford Circus has been eased due to a redesign of the pedestrian crossings in 2009.
Convent Garden had its famous Piazza in the eighteenth century, which was the centre of the area's market trading activities. In the 19th century, Charles Fowler changed the design of the Piazza so that it became known as the Market Building, which took on a neo-classical style. Due to this change, the Piazza was no longer an open plan market, but became a series of buildings.
In the nineteenth century you could find a series of residential arcades by Inigo Jones, although none now survive. Henry Clutton did try to recreate them when he designed buildings for the ninth Duke of Bedford in the 1870s, but to no avail. The Piazza underwent many rebuilds and redesigns over the years, and the main focal point of the site is now the Market Building, where you can find an array of shops and restaurants.
The Market Building was designed by the GLC architectural department, and they found that they had to excavate the southern hall to meet fire safety standards, and so now you can find a floor of shops at basement level. The architects also added large lanterns to the building, which have pineapples on top of them, and this is a homage to the previous use of the building.
Any keen shoppers would also do well to go to the Seven Dials, which is in fact a collection of streets. These were originally named Little and Great Earl Street, Little and Great White Lyon Street, Queen Street, and Little and Great St. Andrew's Street, although they now go by the names of Earlham Street, Mercer Street, Shorts Gardens, and Monmouth Street respectively.
The centrepiece of the Seven Dials was made by stonemason Edward Pierce at the end of the seventeenth century and is entitled the Sundial Pillar. Pierce crafted six sundials that sit atop the piece, with the ornament's column representing the seventh 'Dial' of the area. It was received warmly by the public and was much loved.
Initially, Oxford Street first went by the name of Tyburn Road. It was called Tyburn Road because there was a river Tyburn which flowed underneath the road. It started to become a thoroughfare after it was regularly used to move prisoners from Newgate prison to Tyburn Tree (now known as the Marble Arch).
It was the Earl of Oxford who changed the street's name in the eighteenth century, and it was also the Earl who changed the street into an area for shopping. Oxford Street was bombed during the Second World War, but this didn't impede the Street's recovery for too long. Now, you can see Christmas lights on the streets every year, and congestion at Oxford Circus has been eased due to a redesign of the pedestrian crossings in 2009.
Convent Garden had its famous Piazza in the eighteenth century, which was the centre of the area's market trading activities. In the 19th century, Charles Fowler changed the design of the Piazza so that it became known as the Market Building, which took on a neo-classical style. Due to this change, the Piazza was no longer an open plan market, but became a series of buildings.
In the nineteenth century you could find a series of residential arcades by Inigo Jones, although none now survive. Henry Clutton did try to recreate them when he designed buildings for the ninth Duke of Bedford in the 1870s, but to no avail. The Piazza underwent many rebuilds and redesigns over the years, and the main focal point of the site is now the Market Building, where you can find an array of shops and restaurants.
The Market Building was designed by the GLC architectural department, and they found that they had to excavate the southern hall to meet fire safety standards, and so now you can find a floor of shops at basement level. The architects also added large lanterns to the building, which have pineapples on top of them, and this is a homage to the previous use of the building.
Any keen shoppers would also do well to go to the Seven Dials, which is in fact a collection of streets. These were originally named Little and Great Earl Street, Little and Great White Lyon Street, Queen Street, and Little and Great St. Andrew's Street, although they now go by the names of Earlham Street, Mercer Street, Shorts Gardens, and Monmouth Street respectively.
The centrepiece of the Seven Dials was made by stonemason Edward Pierce at the end of the seventeenth century and is entitled the Sundial Pillar. Pierce crafted six sundials that sit atop the piece, with the ornament's column representing the seventh 'Dial' of the area. It was received warmly by the public and was much loved.
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