Burlington Arcade

While I was in the Piccadilly area for the market I also did some serious window shopping. There are so many lovely stores and window displays in this posh neighborhood! I didn’t really have anything in mind, but as soon as I spied Burlington Arcade I had to take a stroll down this lovely little pedestrian thoroughfare. I am not sure if it was all the shiny watches glinting at me from across the street, or the top-hatted man in the portico, but I had a feeling I would find something relevant there for my Steampunk wanderings.

I was surprised when I entered to find a high ceiling complete with beautiful skylights hidden behind the curving façade. The natural light was great for looking at the new and vintage jewelry and watches, but terrible for taking pictures due to the glare on the almost unbroken string of glass display cases that line the lane, which means I don’t have much to illustrate this post. So here is a little history instead. (Adapted from http://www.burlington-arcade.co.uk/the-arcade)

Lord George Cavendish was a prominent politician during the late 1700s and early 1800s, and he had a garbage problem. Ruffians were always throwing trash like oyster shells and other refuse over the wall to the grounds of Burlington House where he lived, so he decided to finance the building of a shopping arcade to fill the alleyway. Officially, his reasoning was to offer “gratification to the public” as well as “work to industrious females” but really he was just tired of all the rubbish. When it opened in 1820 only 4 of the 47 leaseholders were women, but the prevailing convention at the time was to address even male shopkeepers as “madame”, so I guess he sort of kept his word.

There are several shops of note that still have their polished doors open to the public even now. For instance, Hancocks is a fabulous jewelry store, and back in 1856 was commissioned to design the Victoria Cross, the highest award given in the commonwealth military.