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 North entrance to the Burlington Arcade, withbeadle in attendance | |
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| Location | London, England, United Kingdom |
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| Coordinates | 51°30′32″N0°08′25″W / 51.5090°N 0.1403°W /51.5090; -0.1403 |
| Opening date | 20 March 1819; 206 years ago (1819-03-20) |
| Developer | George Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington |
| Owner | David and Simon Reuben |
| Stores and services | 40 |
| Website | www |
Burlington Arcade is a covered shoppingarcade in theCity of Westminster, England, United Kingdom. It is 196 yards (179 m) long, parallel to and east ofBond Street fromPiccadilly toBurlington Gardens. It is a precursor to the mid-19th-century European shopping gallery and the world's first modernshopping mall.[1] It is near the similarPiccadilly Arcade.
The arcade was built in 1818 to the order ofGeorge Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington, on what had been the side garden of the adjacentBurlington House. His older brother,William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, who had inherited of the house, was reputed to prevent passers-by throwing oyster shells and other rubbish over the wall of his home. ArchitectSamuel Ware designed it.[2] Burlington Arcade was built "for the sale of jewellery and fancy articles of fashionable demand, for the gratification of the public."[2] However, it was also said to have been built so the Lord's wife could shop safely amongst other genteel ladies and gentlemen away from London's busy, dirty, and crime-ridden open streets.[3]
Burlington Arcade opened on 20 March 1819. From the outset, it positioned itself as an elegant and exclusive upmarket shopping venue, with shops offeringluxury goods. It was one of London's earliest covered shopping arcades and one of several such arcades constructed in Western Europe in the early 19th century. (Other examples of grand shopping arcades includeCovered passages of Paris,Palais Royal in Paris (opened in 1784); Passage de Feydeau in Paris (opened in 1791),Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert in Brussels andThe Passage inSt. Petersburg, theGalleria Umberto I inNaples, and theGalleria Vittorio Emanuele II inMilan (1878).)
The original arcade consisted of a single straight top-lit walkway lined with 72 small two-storey units. Some units have been combined, reducing the number of shops to around 40. The Piccadilly façade, with sculptures carved byBenjamin Clemens, a professor of sculpture at theRoyal College of Art, was added in 1911.
The arcade is patrolled bybeadles in traditional uniforms, includingtop hats andfrock coats. The original beadles were all former members of Lord George Cavendish's regiment, the10th Royal Hussars. The arcade maintains Regency decorum by banning singing, humming, hurrying, and "behaving boisterously."[2]
The present tenants include a range of clothing, footwear, and accessory shops, art and antique dealers, and the jewellers and dealers in antique silver for which the Arcade is best known.
The arcade was almost destroyed by fire in 1836, when several shops were destroyed, in 1871, and in 1936, when the arcade was subject to looting.[3]
Parts of the arcade were badly damaged in a bombing raid during theSecond World War.[4]
In 1964, aJaguar Mark X charged down the arcade, scattering pedestrians, and six masked men leapt out, smashed the windows of the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Association shop, and stole jewellery valued at £35,000. They were never caught. Gates were installed to prevent this from happening again.[3]
In 2010,Thor Equities andMeyer Bergman acquired the property for £104 million.[5] The owners hired architect Michael Blair to restore the arcade.The revitalization efforts included recreating the original flooring from 1819 using marble and stone, and repainting the Arcade in its classic white tone to enhance natural light and highlight the intricate upper arch details. Tasteful uplighting was installed as well, restoring an unobstructed view of the Arcade’s full length, an element of the original architectural vision hidden for many years. Thor also focused on curating a high-end, bespoke tenant mix, bringing Chanel into the Arcade, as well as Kwanpen, La Perla, and Manolo Blahnik. Through these efforts, a cultural icon was revitalized and Burlington Arcade’s status as one of the world’s premier destinations for luxury retail was secured.[6]
In May 2018, the property was sold toDavid and Simon Reuben for £300 million.[7][8]
