92-710: Devonshire House in Piccadilly , was the London townhouse of the Dukes of Devonshire during the 18th and 19th centuries. Following a fire in 1733 it was rebuilt by William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire , in the Palladian style, to designs by William Kent . Completed circa 1740, it stood empty after the First World War and was demolished in 1924. Many of Britain's great noblemen maintained large London houses that bore their names. As
184-520: A piano nobile , where the entrance hall was the only room that rose through two storeys. Inconspicuous pairs of staircases are tucked into modest sites at either side, for the upstairs was strictly private. Enfilades of interconnecting rooms, of which the largest space is devoted to the library, flank central halls, adjusting the traditions of the symmetrical Baroque state apartments , a design which did not lend itself to large gatherings. A few years later architects such as Matthew Brettingham pioneered
276-472: A book on Vitruvius. Burlington married Lady Dorothy Savile on 21 March 1720, the daughter of William Savile, 2nd Marquess of Halifax and his second wife, Lady Mary Finch. Mary was the daughter of Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham and Lady Essex Rich (died 1684). Essex was the daughter of Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick , and Anne Cheeke. Anne was the daughter of Sir Thomas Cheeke of Pirgo and an earlier Lady Essex Rich (died 1659). This Lady Essex
368-474: A cost of £5 million. The London bus routes 6 , 9 , 14 , 19 , 22 , 38 , N9 , N19 , N22 , N38 and N97 all run along Piccadilly. In 1972, a westbound bus lane was introduced between Piccadilly Circus and St James's Street. In November 1976 an eastbound bus lane was introduced between Old Park Lane and Berkeley Street. Part of the Piccadilly line on the London Underground travels under
460-413: A date of 1736 is generally accepted) as "Some Designs of Mr Inigo Jones"... with some additional designs that were by Kent and Burlington. The important role of Jones' pupil Webb in transmitting the palladian-neo-palladian heritage was not understood until the 20th century. By the early 1730s, Palladian style had triumphed as the generally accepted manner for a British country house or public building. For
552-403: A ducal house (only in mainland Europe were such houses referred to as palaces), Devonshire House was one of the largest and grandest, ranking alongside Burlington House , Montague House , Lansdowne House , Londonderry House , Northumberland House , and Norfolk House . All of these have long been demolished, except Burlington and Lansdowne, both of which have been substantially altered. Today
644-578: A fire in 1733, and rebuilt as Devonshire House in 1737 by William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire , and was subsequently used as the headquarters for the Whig party . Devonshire House survived until 1921, before being sold for redevelopment by Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire for £1 million. Burlington House has since been home to the Royal Academy of Arts , the Geological Society of London ,
736-573: A flawless one went for £300. The premises at 190–195, built in 1881–1883, housing the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours and known as the "Royal Institute Galleries", are grade II listed. Number 195 is now home to BAFTA , Lyons ' first teashop opened in Piccadilly in 1894, and from 1909 they developed into a chain, ultimately numbering around 200 locations, with the firm becoming
828-404: A game level designed around the street. Notes Citations Sources 51°30′25″N 0°08′32″W / 51.50698°N 0.14235°W / 51.50698; -0.14235 Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork , KG , PC (25 April 1694 – 4 December 1753) was a British architect and noble often called
920-426: A law that allowed disused buildings to be used for emergency shelter for the homeless. The radical squatting movement that resulted foundered soon afterward, owing to the rise of drug dealers and Hells Angels occupying the site. An eviction took place on 21 September 1969; the events resulted in the licensing of squatting organisations that could take over empty premises to use as homeless shelters. In 1983, A. Burr of
1012-451: A more compact design, with a suite of connecting reception rooms circling a central top-lit stair hall, which allowed guests to "circulate". Greeted at the head of the stairs, they then flowed in a convenient circuit, rather than retracing their steps. This design was first exemplified by the now-demolished Norfolk House completed in 1756. Therefore, it seems that Devonshire House was old-fashioned and unsuited to its intended use almost from
SECTION 10
#17328547651791104-579: A patron of architects, craftsmen and landscapers, Indeed, he is credited with bringing Palladian architecture to Britain and Ireland. His major projects include Burlington House , Westminster School , Chiswick House and Northwick Park . Lord Burlington was born in Yorkshire into a wealthy Anglo-Irish aristocratic family, the only son of Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington and his wife, Juliana Boyle ( née Noel; 1672–1750). He succeeded to his titles and extensive estates in Yorkshire and Ireland at
1196-559: A room 40 ft long and including amongst its treasures Claude Lorraine 's Liber Veritatis , his record in sketches of a lifetime of painting. In the Duke's sitting room a glass case over the chimneypiece contained the best of his collection of engraved gems and Renaissance and Baroque medallions. Such a prominent commission could hardly fail to be included in Vitruvius Britannicus . The plan of Devonshire House defines it as one of
1288-560: A shop on No. 181 in 1781. The business continued after his death in 1810, and was run by his family until 1835. Hatchards , now the oldest surviving bookshop in Britain, was started by John Hatchard at No. 173 in 1797; it moved to the current location at No. 189-90 (now No. 187) in 1801. Aldine Press moved to Piccadilly from Chancery Lane in 1842, and remained there until 1894. The Egyptian Hall at No. 170, designed in 1812 by P. F. Robinson for W. Bullock of Liverpool,
1380-631: A small parcel of land, 1 + 3 ⁄ 8 acres in area, on the east of what is now Great Windmill Street . That plot may have never belonged to the Crown, and was owned by Anthony Cotton in the reign of Henry VIII . John Cotton granted it to John Golightly in 1547, and his descendants sold it to a tailor, Robert Baker, in c. 1611 –12. Six or seven years later, Baker bought 22 acres of Wilson's land, thanks largely to money from his second marriage. Baker became financially successful by making and selling fashionable piccadills . Shortly after purchasing
1472-601: A staple of the High Street in the UK. By the 1920s, most old buildings on the street had been demolished or were in institutional use; traffic noise had driven away residents, but a few residential properties remained. Albert, Duke of York lived at No. 145 at the time of his accession as King George VI in 1936. The clothing store Simpson's was established at 203 - 206 Piccadilly by Alec Simpson in 1936, providing factory-made men's clothing. The premises were designed by
1564-487: A statue of Eros was constructed on the junction in 1893, and the erection of large electric billboards in 1923. At the western end of Piccadilly is Hyde Park Corner , and the street has a major road junction with St James's Street and other significant junctions at Albemarle Street , Bond Street and Dover Street . The road is part of the A4 connecting central London to Hammersmith , Earl's Court , Heathrow Airport and
1656-446: A street-widening scheme. Just a few survive, but in corporate or state ownership. Marlborough House passed to the crown in the 19th century. Apsley House remains a functioning possession of the Dukes of Wellington, but is mostly now a public museum on the edge of a busy roundabout, its gardens long gone (but not built over), with the family occupying the uppermost floor only. Spencer House
1748-413: A vandal, but personally I think the place is an eyesore." In 1924-1926 Holland, Hannen & Cubitts built a new office building on the site, fronting directly onto Piccadilly, also known as "Devonshire House". The building became the UK headquarters of the automobile manufacturer Citroën , with showrooms occupying the lower three floors. Citroën remained the chief occupant of the building until 1936. It
1840-490: Is a road in the City of Westminster , London, England, to the south of Mayfair , between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith , Earl's Court , Heathrow Airport and the M4 motorway westward. St James's is to the south of the eastern section, while the western section is built up only on
1932-566: Is an event venue. Manchester House houses the Wallace Collection , a museum open to the public. Bridgewater House, Westminster by Charles Barry is now used as offices. Currently, Dudley House is the only one of London's surviving private palaces to be occupied and used as its design intended. 51°30′26″N 0°08′34″W / 51.507270°N 0.142756°W / 51.507270; -0.142756 Piccadilly Piccadilly ( / ˌ p ɪ k ə ˈ d ɪ l i / )
SECTION 20
#17328547651792024-483: Is evocative of many aspects of life in the city, both by day and by night. The music hall song " It's a Long Way to Tipperary " mentions Piccadilly and Leicester Square in its lyrics. It was written in 1912 about an Irishman living in London, but became popular after being adopted by the mostly Irish Connaught Rangers during World War I. The street is mentioned in Gilbert and Sullivan 's 1881 operetta Patience , in
2116-507: Is now No. 221 Piccadilly and the parallel Jermyn Street since 1685. It remained in use throughout the 18th century before being demolished in 1870 to make way for a restaurant. St James's Church was first proposed in 1664, when residents wanted the area to become a separate parish from St Martin in the Fields . After several Bill readings, construction began in 1676. The building was designed by Christopher Wren and cost around £5,000. It
2208-676: Is now the London campus of the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology . Several members of the Rothschild family had mansions at the western end of the street. Nathan Mayer Rothschild moved his banking premises to No. 107 in 1825, and the construction of other large buildings, complete with ballrooms and marble staircases, led to the street being colloquially referred to as Rothschild Row. Ferdinand James von Rothschild lived at No. 143 with his wife Evelina while Lionel de Rothschild lived at No. 148. Melbourne House
2300-517: The British Journal of Addiction published an article on "The Piccadilly Drug Scene", in which the author discussed the regular presence of known dealers and easy accessibility of drugs. Today, Piccadilly is regarded as one of London's principal shopping streets, hosting several famous shops. The Ritz Hotel, Park Lane Hotel , Athenaeum Hotel and Intercontinental Hotel are located on the street, along with other luxury hotels and offices. During
2392-416: The 9th Duke was the first of his family to suffer death duties , which amounted to over £500,000 (£18 million). Additionally, he inherited the debts of the 7th Duke . This double burden prompted the sale of many of the family's valuables, including books printed by William Caxton , many 1st editions of Shakespeare , and Devonshire House itself with its even more valuable three acres of gardens. The sale
2484-524: The Fortnum & Mason partnership on Piccadilly in 1705, selling recycled candles from Buckingham Palace . By 1788, the store sold poultry, potted meats, lobsters and prawns, savoury patties, Scotch eggs, and fresh and dried fruits. The street acquired a reputation for numerous inns and bars during this period. The Old White Horse Cellar , at No. 155, was one of the most famous coaching inns in England but
2576-826: The Linnean Society of London , the Royal Astronomical Society , the British Astronomical Association , the Society of Antiquaries of London and the Royal Society of Chemistry . The land to the south of Piccadilly was leased to trustees of the Earl of St Albans in 1661 for a thirty-year term, subsequently extended to 1740. Nos. 162–165 were granted freehold by the king to Sir Edward Villiers in 1674. The White Bear Inn had been established between what
2668-481: The M4 motorway . Congestion along the road has been reported since the mid-19th century, leading to its progressive widening and removing the northern portions of Green Park. Traffic signals were installed in the 1930s. In the late 1950s, the Ministry of Transport remodelled Hyde Park Corner at the western end to form a major traffic gyratory system, including enlargement of Park Lane . It opened on 17 October 1962 at
2760-630: The Royal Academy , the RAF Club , Hatchards , the Embassy of Japan and the High Commission of Malta . Piccadilly has inspired several works of fiction, including Oscar Wilde 's The Importance of Being Earnest and the work of P. G. Wodehouse . It is one of a group of squares on the London Monopoly board. The street has been part of a main road for centuries, although there is no evidence that it
2852-414: The Royal Academy of Arts , the Geological Society of London , the Linnean Society , and the Royal Astronomical Society . Several members of the Rothschild family had mansions at the western end of the street. St James's Church was consecrated in 1684 and the surrounding area became St James Parish . The Old White Horse Cellar , at No. 155, was one of the most famous coaching inns in England by
Devonshire House - Misplaced Pages Continue
2944-467: The Royal Academy of Music , a corporation that produced baroque opera on stage. Lord Burlington's first project, appropriately, was one of his own London residences, Burlington House, where he dismissed his baroque architect James Gibbs when he returned from the continent in 1719, and employed the Scottish architect Colen Campbell , with the history-painter-turned-designer William Kent assigned for
3036-566: The "Apollo of the Arts" and the "Architect Earl". The son of the 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Earl of Cork , Burlington never took more than a passing interest in politics despite his position as a Privy Counsellor and a member of both the British House of Lords and the Irish House of Lords . His great interests in life were architecture and landscaping, and he is remembered for being a builder and
3128-631: The 18th century forms of entertainment began to change and large receptions came into fashion, often taking the form of concerts and balls. Initially, hosts hired one of the many new assembly rooms built to indulge the fashion. It was not long before the more dedicated and wealthy hosts began to add a ballroom to their town houses ; the more wealthy still forsook their old-fashionedly proportioned town houses in favour of new and vast palaces designed purely for entertaining. The Duke of Devonshire, an owner of vast estates in Derbyshire and elsewhere, belonged to
3220-650: The 1981 Granada Television dramatisation, Bridgewater House in Cleveland Row was used as the exterior of Marchmain House. In Bram Stoker's novel Dracula , Jonathan Harker is astonished to see the Count in Piccadilly, which sets off a chain of events that leads to the formation of the group of vampire hunters. Later, Dracula is confronted by the vampire hunters in his house in Piccadilly, before making his escape. In Arthur Machen 's 1894 novella The Great God Pan , Helen Vaughan,
3312-611: The 20th century, it had been an established area for gentlemen's clubs; this usage has sharply declined, and only the Cavalry and Guards Club and the Royal Air Force Club remain. Piccadilly is a major thoroughfare in the West End of London and has several major road junctions. To the east, Piccadilly Circus opened in 1819 connecting it to Regent Street . It has become one of the most recognised landmarks in London, particularly after
3404-563: The 20th century. Notable instances are present in the characters of Bertie Wooster and his Drones Club companions in the Jeeves stories, and the character of James Crocker in the story " Piccadilly Jim ". Dorothy Sayers ' fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey is described as living at 110A Piccadilly in the inter-war period. In the 1963 movie The Great Escape the character Ashley-Pitt portrayed by David McCallum tells Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett "See you in Piccadilly, Scott's Bar" as he
3496-531: The Albany, as does Jack Worthing from Oscar Wilde 's The Importance of Being Earnest . According to author Mary C King, Wilde chose the street because of its resemblance to the Spanish word peccadillo , meaning "slashed" or "pierced". In Evelyn Waugh 's novel Brideshead Revisited , the mansion Marchmain House, supposedly located in a cul-de-sac off St James's near Piccadilly, is demolished and replaced with flats. In
3588-442: The London house of General Wade at Old Burlington Street in 1723, which was published for Vitruvius Britannicus iii (1725). This publication put a previously unknown Palladio design into circulation. Another source of his inspiration were drawings he collected, some drawings of Palladio himself which had belonged to Inigo Jones , and many more of Inigo Jones' pupil John Webb , which William Kent published in 1727 (although
3680-455: The Palladian style and considered the epitome of fashion and sophistication. Chiswick House later came, with other estates, into the possession of the Dukes of Devonshire through the marriage of the 4th Duke to Lady Charlotte Boyle , daughter and heiress of Lord Burlington. In typical Palladian style, Devonshire House consisted of a corps de logis flanked by service wings . The severity of
3772-600: The Walsingham were demolished when the Ritz Hotel opened on the site in 1906. No. 106, on the corner of Piccadilly and Brick Street, was built for Hugh Hunlock in 1761. It was subsequently owned by the 6th Earl of Coventry who remodelled it around 1765; most of the architecture from this renovation has survived. In 1869, it became home to the St James's Club , a gentleman's club that remained there until 1978. The building
Devonshire House - Misplaced Pages Continue
3864-519: The age of nine, after his father's death in February 1704. During his minority, which lasted until 1715, his English and Irish lands, as also his political interests and patronages, were managed by his mother. Burlington showed a fondness for music at an early age. Georg Frideric Handel dedicated two operas to Burlington while staying at his residence Burlington House : Teseo and Amadigi di Gaula . According to Hawkins, Francesco Barsanti dedicated
3956-722: The architect Matthew Brettingham recalled that "the general ideas were first struck out by the Earl of Burlington and the Earl of Leicester , assisted by Mr. William Kent." Brettingham's engraved publication of Holkham credited Burlington specifically with the ceilings for the portico and the north dressing room. Lord Burlington's architectural drawings, inherited by his son-in-law, William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire , are preserved at Chatsworth House , and enable attributions that would not otherwise be possible. In 1751, he sent some of his drawings to Francesco Algarotti in Potsdam , together with
4048-551: The architect Joseph Amberton in a style that mixed art deco and Bauhaus school design and an influence from Louis Sullivan . On opening, it claimed to be the largest menswear store in London. It closed in January 1999; its premises are currently the flagship shop of the booksellers Waterstones . During the 20th century, Piccadilly became known as a place to acquire heroin . Jazz trumpeter Dizzy Reece recalled people queuing outside Piccadilly's branch of Boots for heroin pills in
4140-575: The auctioneer Lord Dalmeny as being of special interest and value: "You can't buy them because they are all in listed buildings now. It's like being able to commission Rubens to paint your ceiling." Most of the great detached houses of noblemen which existed in the West End of London, where even the grandest persons often lived in terraced houses , including Devonshire House, Norfolk House and Chesterfield House , are today numbered amongst England's thousands of lost houses; Lansdowne House lost its front to
4232-510: The design - three storeys in eleven bays - caused one contemporary critic to liken the mansion to a warehouse , and a modern biographer of Kent to remark on its "plain severity". However, the curiously flat exterior concealed Kent's sumptuous interiors which housed a large part of the Devonshire art collection, considered one of the finest in the United Kingdom, and a renowned library, housed in
4324-402: The development of Portugal Street and the area to the north ( Mayfair ), and they became fashionable residential localities. Some of the grandest mansions in London were built on the northern side of the street. Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon and close political adviser to the king, purchased land for a house; Clarendon House (now the location of Albemarle Street ) was built in 1664, and
4416-401: The earl sold the surplus land partly to Sir John Denham, who built what later became Burlington House . Denham chose the location because it was on the outskirts of London surrounded by fields. The house was first used to house the poor, before being reconstructed by the third Earl of Burlington in 1718. Berkeley House was constructed around the same time as Clarendon House. It was destroyed by
4508-405: The earliest of the great 18th-century town houses , then designed identically to grand country houses . Its purpose, too, was identical, to display wealth and consequently power. Thus a great town house, by its large size and design, accentuated its owner's power by its contrast with the monotony of the smaller terraced houses surrounding it. At Devonshire House, Kent's exterior stairs led up to
4600-544: The former Berkeley House was completely destroyed by fire, despite firefighting efforts by the Regiment of Guards , whose barracks were nearby, led by Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle , and by other local troops led by Frederick, Prince of Wales . The cause was attributed to careless labourers. Ironically, the Duke's former London residence, Old Devonshire House , at 48 Boswell Street, Bloomsbury , survived both its successors until The Blitz during World War II . During
4692-414: The government to ban developments. Owing to the momentum of growth, the laws had little real effect. A plot of land bounded by Coventry , Sherwood, Glasshouse and Rupert streets and the line of Smith's Court was granted by Elizabeth I to William Dodington, a gentleman of London, in 1559–60. A year or so later it was owned by a brewer, Thomas Wilson of St Botolph-without-Aldgate. The grant did not include
SECTION 50
#17328547651794784-462: The ground floor through the new portico. Hitherto the ground floor had contained only secondary rooms and in 18th century fashion had been the domain of servants. The new staircase conveyed guests directly to the piano nobile , from a low entrance hall, in a newly created recess formed by creating a convex bow at the centre of the rear garden facade. Known as the "Crystal Staircase", it had a glass handrail and newel posts. Burton amalgamated several of
4876-538: The hall, including Great Expectations and Oliver Twist . The hall hosted performances from Antonín Dvořák , Edvard Grieg and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky . It was demolished in 1905, and replaced by the Piccadilly Hotel. In the late 18th century, Piccadilly was a favoured place for booksellers. In 1765, John Almon opened a shop in No. 178, which was frequented by Lord Temple and other Whigs. John Stockdale opened
4968-433: The interiors. The courtyard front of Burlington House, prominently sited in Piccadilly , was the first major executed statement of Neo-Palladianism . In the 1720s, Burlington and Campbell parted, and Burlington was assisted in his projects by the young Henry Flitcroft ("Burlington Harry"), who developed into a major architect of the second Neo-Palladian generation, Daniel Garrett , a straightforward Palladian architect of
5060-452: The land he retained which lay directly behind the house to the north, so preserving the Duke's view. This covenant was still in force when the Berkeley land was developed after 1730, and the gardens of Berkeley Square represent the northern termination of that undeveloped strip, combined in the south with the gardens of Lansdowne House . On 16 October 1733, whilst undergoing refurbishment,
5152-413: The land, he enclosed it (the parishioners had Lammas grazing rights ) and erected several dwellings, including a residence and shop for himself; within two years his house was known as Pickadilly Hall. A map published by Faithorne in 1658 describes the street as "the way from Knightsbridge to Piccadilly Hall". A nearby gaming house, known as Shaver's Hall and nicknamed "Tart Hall" or "Pickadell Hall",
5244-401: The land, he enclosed it and erected several dwellings, including his home, Pikadilly Hall. What is now Piccadilly was named Portugal Street in 1663 after Catherine of Braganza , wife of Charles II , and grew in importance after the road from Charing Cross to Hyde Park Corner was closed to allow the creation of Green Park in 1668. Some of the most notable stately homes in London were built on
5336-407: The land. Several relatives claimed it, but after Mary Baker's death in about 1665, the estate reverted to the Crown. A great-nephew, John Baker, obtained possession of part of it, but squabbled over the lands with his cousin, James Baker; trying to play one another off, they paid or granted rights to Oxenden and a speculator, Colonel Thomas Panton , eventually losing out to them. By the 1670s, Panton
5428-523: The late 18th century, by which time the street had become a favoured location for booksellers. The Bath Hotel emerged around 1790, and Walsingham House was built in 1887. Both the Bath and the Walsingham were purchased and demolished, and the prestigious Ritz Hotel built on their site in 1906. Piccadilly Circus station , at the east end of the street, was opened in 1906 and rebuilt to designs by Charles Holden between 1925 and 1928. The clothing store Simpson's
5520-413: The late 1940s. By the 1960s, the street and surrounding area were notorious as the centre of London's illegal drug trade , where heroin and cocaine could be purchased on the black market from unscrupulous chemists. By 1982, up to 20 people could be seen queueing at a chemist dealing in illegal drugs in nearby Shaftesbury Avenue . No. 144 was occupied by squatters in 1968, taking advantage of
5612-522: The late Victorian era. During World War I Devonshire House was used by the Red Cross , including for dealing with post. Gertrude Bacon was later in charge of this operation, and Rotha Lintorn-Orman served as its commandant, which put her in charge of training all ambulance drivers for the British Red Cross. After the war, many aristocratic families gave up their London houses and Devonshire House
SECTION 60
#17328547651795704-507: The latter category. Thus the fire at Devonshire House in 1733 provided the unforeseen opportunity to build one such palace during the height of the fashion. The 3rd Duke chose the fashionable architect William Kent , for whom this was a first commission for a London house. It was built between 1734 and about 1740. Kent was the protégé of the immensely cultivated 3rd Earl of Burlington and had worked on his Chiswick House , built in 1729, and also at Holkham Hall , completed circa 1741, both in
5796-538: The lyrics of the song "If You're Anxious For To Shine". One of the major hit songs of the Edwardian musical play The Arcadians (1909) which enjoyed long runs in the West End of London and on New York's Broadway is "All down Piccadilly" (Simplicitas and Chorus, Act III, revised version), with music by Lionel Monckton who also co-wrote the words with Arthur Wimperis . Piccadilly is mentioned in several works of fiction. E. W. Hornung 's "gentleman thief" Raffles lives at
5888-428: The moment of its completion. Thus from the late 18th century its interiors were vastly altered. Alterations were made to Devonshire House by the architect James Wyatt , over the long period 1776–90, and later by Decimus Burton , who in 1843 constructed a new portico, entrance hall and grand staircase for the 6th Duke. At that time the external double staircase was swept away, allowing for formal entrance to be made into
5980-444: The northern side of the street during this period, including Clarendon House and Burlington House in 1664. Berkeley House , constructed around the same time as Clarendon House, was destroyed by a fire in 1733 and rebuilt as Devonshire House in 1737 by William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire . It was later used as the main headquarters for the Whig party . Burlington House has since been home to several noted societies, including
6072-501: The northern side. Piccadilly is just under 1 mile (1.6 km) in length, and it is one of the widest and straightest streets in central London. The street has been a main thoroughfare since at least medieval times, and in the Middle Ages was known as "the road to Reading " or "the way from Colnbrook ". Around 1611 or 1612, Robert Baker acquired land in the area, and prospered by making and selling piccadills . Shortly after purchasing
6164-513: The principal rooms; he created a vast heavily gilded ballroom from two former drawing rooms and often created double height rooms at the expense of the bedrooms above, causing the house to become even more of a place for display and entertaining rather than for living. Devonshire House was the setting for the brilliant social and political life of the circle around William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire and his duchess, Lady Georgiana Spencer , Whig supporters of Charles James Fox . The grand house
6256-477: The rest of his life, Lord Burlington was "the Apollo of the arts" as Horace Walpole phrased it— and Kent, "his proper priest." In 1731, Alexander Pope , who had been a friend of Burlington since about 1715, addressed the first of his Moral Essays to him, on the subject Of False Taste . This described good taste in specific interests of his, such as landscaping, gardens and architecture. In 1739, Lord Burlington
6348-432: The road as "Portugal Street aka Piccadilly". John Rocque's Map of London , published in 1746, refers to the entire street as Piccadilly. Piccadilly was increasingly developed, and by the middle of the 18th century it was continuously built on as far as Hyde Park Corner. The development of St James's and Mayfair, in particular, made Piccadilly one of the busiest roads in London. Hugh Mason and William Fortnum started
6440-409: The satanic villainess and offspring of Pan, lives off Piccadilly in the pseudonymous Ashley Street. Margery Allingham 's fictional detective Albert Campion has a flat at 17A Bottle Street, Piccadilly, over a police station, although Bottle Street is equally fictitious. Several P.G. Wodehouse novels use the setting of Piccadilly as the playground of the rich, idle bachelor in the inter-war period of
6532-419: The second rank, and some draughtsmen. Lord Burlington never closely inspected Roman ruins or made detailed drawings on the sites; he relied on Palladio and Scamozzi as his interpreters of the classic tradition to do so. Burlington's Palladio drawings include many reconstructions of Vitruvius ' Roman buildings, which he planned to publish. In the meantime, he adapted the palazzo facade in the illustration for
6624-497: The site is occupied by a namesake modern office building. Devonshire House occupied the site of Berkeley House, which was built between 1665 and 1673 and at a cost of over £30,000, by John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton , of Bruton Priory in Somerset, following his return from service as Viceroy of Ireland . The site is memorialised today by Berkeley Square , Berkeley Street, Stratton Street and Bruton Street . The house
6716-414: The six recorder sonatas of his Op. 1 to Lord Burlington, although the dedication must have appeared on the edition sold by Peter Bressan , before Walsh & Hare engraved the works c. 1727. Three foreign Grand Tours taken between 1714 and 1719, and a further trip to Paris in 1726, gave him opportunities to develop his taste. His professional skill as an architect (always supported by a mason-contractor)
6808-405: The south side of Piccadilly, to form an entrance to Green Park. The wine cellar is now the ticket office of Green Park Underground station . Other architectural salvage included furniture, doorways and mantelpieces which were relocated to Chatsworth. Some of these stored items were auctioned by Sotheby's on 5–7 October 2010, including five William Kent chimneypieces from Devonshire House described by
6900-464: The street. Green Park , Hyde Park Corner , and Piccadilly Circus stations (which are all on the Piccadilly line) have entrances in or near Piccadilly. Down Street station also served the western end of the street from 1907 until it closed in 1932 because of low usage. [REDACTED] Piccadilly . is one of Letitia Elizabeth Landon 's Scenes in London in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1836. It
6992-478: Was also the headquarters of The Rootes Group until the 1960s. During World War II it was occupied by the headquarters of the War Damage Commission . Some of the paintings and furniture from Devonshire House survive at the Duke's principal seat, Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. The wrought-iron entrance gates, between piers with rusticated quoins and topped with seated sphinxes , have been re-erected on
7084-512: Was also the site for the much celebrated Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee with a lavish fancy dress ball , known as the Devonshire House Ball of 1897 . The guests, including Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and the Princess of Wales , were dressed as historical portraits come to life. The many portrait photographs taken at the ball have illustrated countless books on the social history of
7176-423: Was consecrated in 1684, when the surrounding area became St James Parish . By 1680, most of the original residential properties along Portugal Street had been demolished or built over. The name Piccadilly was applied to part of the street east of Swallow Street by 1673, and eventually became the de facto name for the entire length of Portugal Street. A plan of the area around St James Parish in 1720 describes
7268-453: Was deserted in 1919. The demolition was mentioned nostalgically several times in literature and caused Virginia Woolf 's Clarissa Dalloway to think, as she passed down Piccadilly, of "Devonshire House without its gilt leopards", a reference to the house's gilded gates. It also inspired Siegfried Sassoon 's "Monody on the Demolition of Devonshire House". The reason for the abandonment was that
7360-563: Was designed by William Chambers for Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne and built between 1770 and 1774. It was converted to apartments in 1802, and is now the Albany . The house has been the residence for the British Prime Ministers William Ewart Gladstone and Edward Heath . St James's Hall was designed by Owen Jones and built between 1857 and 1858. Charles Dickens gave several readings of his novels in
7452-496: Was developing the lands; despite the claims of some distantly-related Bakers, he steadily built them up. Piccadilly was named Portugal Street in 1663 after Catherine of Braganza , wife of Charles II . Its importance to traffic increased after an earlier road from Charing Cross to Hyde Park Corner was closed to allow the creation of Green Park in 1668. After the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660, Charles II encouraged
7544-459: Was established at Nos. 203–206 Piccadilly by Alec Simpson in 1936. During the 20th century, Piccadilly became known as a place to acquire heroin , and was notorious in the 1960s as the centre of London's illegal drug trade . Today, it is regarded as one of London's principal shopping streets. Its landmarks include the Ritz, Park Lane , Athenaeum and Intercontinental hotels, Fortnum & Mason ,
7636-451: Was extraordinary in an English aristocrat. He carried his copy of Andrea Palladio 's book I quattro libri dell'architettura with him when touring the Veneto in 1719, but made notes on a number of blank pages, having found the region flooded and many villas inaccessible. It was on this tour that he acquired the passion for Palladian architecture. In 1719, he was one of the main subscribers of
7728-431: Was finalised in 1920 at a price of £750,000 (equivalent to £27,038,808 in 2023) and the house was demolished. The two purchasers were Shurmer Sibthorpe and Lawrence Harrison, wealthy industrialists, who built on the site a hotel and block of flats. When told that the proposed demolition was an act of vandalism, Sibthorpe, echoing the building's 18th-century critics, replied: "Archaeologists have gathered round me and say I am
7820-615: Was involved in the founding of a new charitable organisation called the Foundling Hospital . Burlington was a governor of the charity, but did not formally take part in planning the construction of this large Bloomsbury children's home, completed in 1742. The architect for the building was a Theodore Jacobsen , who took on the commission as an act of charity. Many of Lord Burlington's projects have suffered from rebuilding or additions, from fire, or from losses due to urban sprawl . In many cases, his ideas were informal: at Holkham Hall ,
7912-636: Was later destroyed. The Black Bear and White Bear (originally the Fleece) public houses were nearly opposite each other, although the former was demolished in about 1820. Also of note were the Hercules' Pillars, just west of Hamilton Place, the Triumphant Car, which was popular with soldiers, and the White Horse and Half Moon. The Bath Hotel emerged around 1790 and Walsingham House was built in 1887. The Bath and
8004-416: Was later occupied by Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland , one of the celebrated mistresses of King Charles II . Berkeley House, a classical mansion built by Hugh May , having been purchased in 1696 by William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire , was renamed "Devonshire House". As part of the agreement, John Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley of Stratton (c. 1663–1697) undertook not to build on that part of
8096-555: Was making his escape from the tunnel. The street is a square on the British Monopoly board, forming a set with Leicester Square and Coventry Street . When a European Union version of the game was produced in 1992, Piccadilly was one of three London streets selected, along with Oxford Street and Park Lane . In 1996, Latvian singer Laima Vaikule released an album titled Ya vyshla na Pikadilli ("I Went Out on Piccadilly"). In 2019, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare featured
8188-554: Was modelled on Ancient Egyptian architecture, particularly the Great Temple of Dendera (Tentyra). One author described it as "one of the strangest places Piccadilly ever knew". It was a venue for exhibitions by the Society of Painters in Water Colours and the Society of Female Artists during the 19th century. It contained numerous Egyptian antiquaries; at an auction in June 1822, two "imperfect" Sekhmet statues were sold for £380, and
8280-456: Was part of a Roman road , unlike Oxford Street further north. In the Middle Ages it was known as "the road to Reading " or "the way from Colnbrook ". During the Tudor period , relatively settled conditions made expansion beyond London's city walls a safer venture. Property speculation became a lucrative enterprise, and developments grew so rapidly that the threat of disease and disorder prompted
8372-448: Was popular with the gentry of London. Lord Dell lost £3,000 gambling at cards there in 1641. After Robert Baker's death in 1623 and the death of his eldest son Samuel shortly afterward, his widow and her father purchased the wardship of their surviving children; the death of the next eldest son, Robert in 1630 allowed them to effectively control the estate. Their only daughter died, and her widower Sir Henry Oxenden retained an interest in
8464-479: Was the daughter of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and Lady Penelope Devereux . Essex was probably named after her maternal grandfather Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex . Her maternal grandmother was Lettice Knollys . They had three daughters: Burlington died at Chiswick House, aged 59. Upon his death, the Earldom of Cork passed to a cousin, John Boyle , and the title of the Earl of Burlington became extinct. It
#178821