B/W print; Western end of Piccadilly, by Topical Press, 1923
Main details
| Reference number | 1999/12418 |
|---|---|
| Description | The western end of Piccadilly from Hyde Park Corner to Park Lane, looking east. |
| Photographer | |
| Dates | 3 Jul 1923 |
| Collection | |
| Object type |
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| Photograph number | U1893 |
| Location | |
| Topics | |
| Completeness | 74% |
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Physical description
Item content Attribute Value Annotation PICCADILLY: THE WESTERN END, FROM HYDE PARK CORNER TO PARK LANE, LOOKING EAST, 1923, a Photograph taken to indicate the nature and extent of the improvement effected by the Widening carried out in connection with the setting back of the Wellington Arch in 1883 and the further Widening of circa 1900. The road to the left of the Wellington Memorial "Island" is the original carriage-way; all the ground to the right of this was formerly part of the Green Park. This and the Marble Arch improvement are two of the most important widenings ever carried out, from the traffic point of view. The trees on the "Island" are an example of trees planted in the wrong place - the Memorial, instead of being an outstanding feature here, is completely screened by foliage.
Photograph (taken July 3, 1923) by Topical Press. Underground c/right.
OLD GLOUCESTER HOUSE AND THE GOAT OF PICCADILLY.
The very tall and very ugly - and also very expensive - block of flats on the west corner of Park Lane (shown in the extremity of the range of buildings depicted in the photograph overleaf) occupy the site of Old Gloucester House, which in Victorian days was the residence of the Duke of Cambridge. The Duke had a billy-goat, which used to ramble around the streets like a great dog and was quite a character of Piccadilly in the good old days of the Eighteen-Eighties. All the passing youngsters - going to or from the "Serps," or after the "conkers" in Kensington Gardens - were wont to gambol with the goat, and occasionally to receive a more or less friendly butt. Billy had a sort of free entry to the bakers' shops of the neighbourhood, with buns ad lib. There are still goats in Piccadilly to-day - of the "giddy" type.
Gloucester House was a stucco building, with a small courtyard (enclosed by a wall) before it. It had no great architectural merit, but it was old-fashioned and pleasing, and it was certainly more of an adornment to Piccadilly than is the green-banded skyscraper that replaces it.Design Attribute Value Shot Long interior -
People involved
Role Person(s) involved Photographer Topical Press, 3 Jul 1923 -
Associated companies, people and places
Places Borough Westminster,Location Piccadilly, Westminster, W1People Attribute Value People Charles White -