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Piccadilly Square of London


Location and the Reason for its Name 

Commonly known as Piccadilly Circus, it is a famous square lying just in the heart of London. In the opinion of many it is the life of London. An activity ranking top grade in the city is watching people at Piccadilly Circus. They believe that you will see someone you know within fifteen minutes of strolling in the Square. At night, its lights attract tourists from far and wide. It is also called circus for it is in fact a large traffic roundabout from where five streets originate: Piccadilly Street, Regent Street, Coventry Street, Shaftsbury Avenue, and Haymarket Street.

The word Piccadilly in its name is derived from Piccadil-----a frilled collar of the 17th century associated with Robert Baker, a well-known tailor of the 18th century who had made a large fortune making Piccadils. He had built a large mansion to the north of this place in 1612 for his dwelling known by people of the locality by Piccadilly Hall. It is interesting, however, that the official name of the venue is Shaftsbury Memorial Fountain named after the 7th Earl of Shaftsbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper.




The Past and Present

The square came into being during the end of the 19th century, when King George the 4th, before his enthronement, planned to join his residence, Carlton House, with Regent Park. It is another masterpiece of the celebrated architect John Nash, the creator of the Trafalgar Square. Heavy traffic began to cross the square subsequent to the creation of Shaftsbury Avenue in 1885; as a result, advertisers hurried to Piccadilly Circus, installing here the earliest illuminated billboards of London in 1895. The rents of sign spaces have risen very high. At first, there was a plenty of billboards in the region; today, there is only one building carrying large displays. Most of the neon ads have now switched to LED.

The luminous ad for Coca Cola is the longest standing sign on the square; i.e., since 1955. The lights of the ads had been turned off on the Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill’s order during the Second World War and a few years following it, from 1939 to 1949, for fear of aerial raids of Nazis on London. They were again switched off on two occasions: first, on the death of Churchill; and then, on the demise of the princess Diana.

To add more about the globally known billboard and that is: since Jan, 2017, the process of its complete restructuring is on its way. The present six screens will be replaced by a single one possessing  an area of 790 square meters with a lot of additional features. The process will reach completion up till the coming October; visitors will be able to observe these fascinating additions in the autumn of 2017.


Another noticeable thing in the square is the Shaftsbury Memorial Fountain erected in its centre to commemorate Lord Shaftsbury, a philanthropist famed for his help to the poor. At the top of the bronze fountain is mounted the statue of Eros, the Greek god of love and beauty, made of aluminium. 

Right underneath the circus is the Piccadilly Circus underground station. The square at present is mainly used as a place where people gather before going to the shopping and recreation spots as Soho, Chinatown, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square that are at walking distance from it.










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