 Leicester Square in July 2012, following redevelopment | |
  Location within Central London | |
| Maintained by | Westminster City Council |
|---|---|
| Location | City of Westminster,Central London |
| Postal code | WC2 |
| Nearest tube station | Leicester Square |
| Coordinates | 51°30′37″N0°07′48″W / 51.5104°N 0.1301°W /51.5104; -0.1301 |
| Construction | |
| Inauguration | 1670 |
| Other | |
| Designer | Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester |
| Known for |
|
| Website | www |
Leicester Square (/ˈlɛstər/ ⓘLEST-ər) is apedestrianisedsquare in theWest End of London, England, and is the centre of London's entertainment district. It was laid out in 1670 asLeicester Fields, which was named after the recently builtLeicester House, itself named afterRobert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester. The square was originally agentrified residential area, with tenants includingFrederick, Prince of Wales and the artistsWilliam Hogarth andJoshua Reynolds. It became more down-market in the late 18th century as Leicester House was demolished and retail developments took place, becoming a centre for entertainment. Major theatres were built in the 19th century, which were converted to cinemas towards the middle of the next. Leicester Square is the location of nationally significant cinemas such as theOdeon Luxe Leicester Square andEmpire, Leicester Square, which are often used for film premieres. The nearbyPrince Charles Cinema is known for its screenings ofcult films and marathon film runs. The square remains a tourist attraction which hosts events, including for theChinese New Year.
The square has always had a park in its centre, which was originallycommon land. The park's fortunes have varied over the centuries, reaching near dilapidation in the mid-19th century after changing ownership several times. It was restored under the direction ofAlbert Grant, which included the construction of four new statues and afountain of William Shakespeare. The square was extensively refurbished and remodelled for the2012 Summer Olympics at a cost of more than £15 million.
The square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north;Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west. The park at the centre of the square is bound byCranbourn Street, to the north; Leicester Street, to the east; Irving Street, to the south; and a section of road designated simply as Leicester Square, to the west. It is within theCity of Westminster, north ofTrafalgar Square, east ofPiccadilly Circus, west ofCovent Garden, and south ofCambridge Circus.[1]
The nearestLondon Underground station isLeicester Square, which opened in 1906.[2] London bus routes24,29 and176 run on nearby Charing Cross Road.[3]
Leicester Square has also been used as the name for the immediate surrounding area, roughly corresponding withCoventry Street, Cranbourn Street, Charing Cross Road and St Martin's Street.[4] This includes Bear Street,[5]Haymarket,[6] Hobhouse Court (named after SirJohn Cam Hobhouse),[7] Hunt's Court (after Samuel Hunt, 17th century carpenter and leaseholder),[8] Irving Street (after actorHenry Irving),[9] Orange Street (named afterWilliam III, Prince of Orange),[10] Oxendon Street (afterSir Henry Oxenden, 1st Baronet),[11] Panton Street (after local property dealerThomas Panton),[12] andTrafalgar Square.[13]
The land where Leicester Square now lies once belonged to the Abbot and Convent ofWestminster Abbey and theBeaumont family. In 1536,Henry VIII took control of 3 acres (1.2 ha) of land around the square, with the remaining 4 acres (1.6 ha) being transferred to the king the following year. The square is named afterRobert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester, who purchased this land in 1630.[14] By 1635, he had built himself a large house,Leicester House, at the northern end. The area in front of the house was then enclosed, depriving inhabitants ofSt Martin in the Fields parish of their right to use the previously common land. The parishioners appealed to KingCharles I, and he appointed three members of theprivy council to arbitrate. Lord Leicester was ordered to keep part of his land (thereafter known as Leicester Fields and later as Leicester Square) open for the parishioners.[15]
The square was laid out to the south of Leicester House and developed in the 1670s. The area was originally entirely residential, with properties laid out in a similar style to nearbyPall Mall.[14] In 1687, the northern part of the square became part of the new parish ofSt Anne, Soho. The7th Earl of Leicester took ownership of the property in 1728 and it was the residence ofFrederick, Prince of Wales, from 1742 until his death in 1751 and that of his wife PrincessAugusta until 1771.[15] The poetMatthew Prior lived at what is now No. 21 around 1700 and artistWilliam Hogarth resided at No 30 between 1733 and 1764, where he produced some of his best known works includingGin Lane.[14] The magistrateThomas de Veil, later to foundBow Street Magistrates' Court, lived at No 40 between 1729 and 1737; this location is now The Londoner hotel andOdeon Luxe West End cinema.[4] The painterJoshua Reynolds lived at No 47 from 1760 until his death in 1792; this location is now Fanum House, oncethe Automobile Association head office.[14]
At the end of the 17th century, Lord Leicester's heir,Philip Sidney, 3rd Earl of Leicester, permitted a small amount of retail development in booths along the front of Leicester House.[14] A statue ofGeorge I was built on the square in 1760 following the coronation of his great-grandson,George III.[16] The square remained fashionable throughout most of the 18th century, with notable residents including the architectJames Stuart at No 35 from 1766 to 1788 and the painterJohn Singleton Copley at No. 28 from 1776 to 1783.[4]
Leicester House was intermittently inhabited during the mid-18th century, and was finally sold to the naturalistAshton Lever in 1775. Lever turned the house into a museum with a significant amount of natural history objects. In turn, the square began to serve as a venue for popular entertainments.[15]Brothels began to appear around Leicester Square during the century, and visitors could pay to watch the severed heads of traitors executed atTemple Bar through atelescope.[17] Leicester House became home of a museum of natural curiosities called theHolophusikon in the 1780s.[15][18] It was demolished in 1791–72 due to rising debts following the extinction of the Leicester peerage, and replaced by Leicester Place. That in turn was converted into a church in 1865 and is now the site of thePrince Charles Cinema.[14]
In 1790, a newRoyal Opera House was proposed to be built in Leicester Square. The scheme was led by thePrince of Wales,Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford andJames Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury and aimed to re-establish London as a centre for Italian opera and ballet, with an opera house to rival those in mainland Europe. The opera house was never built, as theroyal patent needed at that time to license a theatre was refused.[19] The plans for the original design are preserved inSir John Soane's Museum, while a 1790 painting byWilliam Hodges, which displays the finished design, belongs to theMuseum of London.[20]
By the 19th century, Leicester Square was known as an entertainment venue, with many amusements peculiar to the era, includingWyld's Great Globe, which was built for theGreat Exhibition of 1851 and housed a giant scale map of the Earth.[21][a] The construction of NewCoventry Street made it easier for traffic to access the square, resulting in private residences being replaced by shops, museums and exhibition centres.Savile House at No. 5–6, built in 1683 forThomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury, had become a museum by this time, and was ultimately destroyed by fire in 1865. It was rebuilt as the Empire Theatre.[23][15]
Several foreign-owned hotels were established around the square, making it popular with visitors to London.Brunet's Hôtel at No. 25 was opened by Louis Brunet in 1800, later expanding to Nos. 24 and 26 during the following decade. It was bought by Francis Jaunay in 1815 known asJaunay's Hôtel. TheHôtel Sablonière et de Provence opened at No. 17–18 in 1845 as the Hôtel de Provence, and renamed in 1869. It closed in 1919 and became a public house. TheCavour, at No. 20 at the southeast of the square, opened in 1864. It was badly damaged in World War II but subsequently restored.[4][24]
TheAlhambra Theatre was built in 1854 on the east side of the square, dominating the site. It temporarily closed two years later when the original owner, Edward Clarke, became bankrupt, but then reopened in 1858 as the Alhambra Palace. It enjoyed a surge in popularity afterQueen Victoria and family came to see "Black Eagle – The Horse of Beauty". It burned down in 1882, but reopened the following year.[25] In the early 20th century, the theatre became a popular venue for ballet. It was demolished in 1936 and replaced by theOdeon Cinema.[25] TheEmpire Theatre of Varieties opened in 1884 on the former site of Savile House, but had a troubled start, closing for a time, until the end of the decade. The theatre gained a reputation for high-classprostitutes frequenting the theatre, and in 1894 theLondon County Council ordered the promenade on the upper balcony to be remodelled. A youngWinston Churchill, then a cadet at theRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst, helped destroy canvas screens that had been erected to prevent access to the balcony. The theatre closed in 1927, to be replaced by theEmpire Cinema.[26]
During theWinter of Discontent, where the incumbentLabour Party struggled to meet demands of trade unions and a shrinking economy, refuse collectors went on strike in January 1979. Leicester Square was turned into ade facto dump, earning it the nickname of "Fester Square".[27] In the 1980s, the square waspedestrianised, cutting off all vehicular traffic.[28] Access to the square for goods and deliveries is now controlled by specially designated marshals.[29]
By the start of the 21st century,Westminster City Council were concerned that the square was too dangerous at night, and wanted to demolish sections of it to encourage the growth of theatres and cinemas, and reduce popularity of nightclubs.[30] In 2010, a major redevelopment of Leicester Square took place as part of a Great Outdoors scheme proposed by theMayor of London,Boris Johnson.[31] The improvements included 12,000 square metres (130,000 sq ft) of granite paving and awater feature surrounding the Shakespeare statue.[32] The square re-opened in May 2012 after 17 months' work at a total cost of £15.3 million. TheGreater London Authority said the refurbishments would accommodate more than 1,000 new jobs.[31] The re-opening coincided with the2012 Summer Olympics later that year.[32]
In the middle of the square is a small park that was originally available for common use onLammas Day (12 August), such as washing clothes and herding cattle. The Earl of Leicester was obliged to preserve these grounds, which were separated from the rest of the square with railings. In 1808, the garden was sold by the Leicester Estate to Charles Elmes for £210 (equivalent to £20,687 in 2023), who neglected to maintain it.[b] Ownership changed hands a number of times during the first half of the 19th century, including Robert Barren following Elmes' death in 1822, John Inderwick in 1834, and Hyam Hyams andEdward Moxhay in 1839. Little maintenance was done and the garden deteriorated to the point of severe dilapidation.[33][4]
In 1848, the land was subject to the significant legal case ofTulk v Moxhay. The plot's previous owner, Moxhay, had agreed upon a covenant not to erect buildings but the law would not allow buyers who were not "privy" to the initial contract to be bound by subsequent promises. The judge,Lord Cottenham, decided that future owners of land could be bound by promises to abstain from activity, subject to the doctrine of notice (actual or constructive). Otherwise, a buyer could (re-)sell land to himself to undermine an initial promise.[33][34]James Wyld bought the assets of the garden from the Tulk and Moxhay's death estates in 1849 to erect the Great Globe,[33] though buried the statue of George I under 12 feet of earth with the globe stuck on top. The statue was uncovered following the globe's demise, but by 1866 it had deteriorated due to vandalism and was sold for £16.[16] Arguments continued about the fate of the garden, withCharles Augustus Tulk's heirs erecting a wooden hoarding around the property in 1873. These were quickly removed after theMaster of the Rolls ordered that the land must be preserved for its original purpose.[4]
The garden was saved by theMember of Parliament (MP)Albert Grant, who purchased the park in 1874 for £11,060 and donated it to theMetropolitan Board of Works.[35] The title deed for the square passed to the succeeding public bodies and is now in the ownership of the City of Westminster.[36] After the purchase, the architectJames Knowles redesigned the park. Astatue ofWilliam Shakespeare surrounded bydolphins was constructed in the centre. The four corner gates of the park had one bust each of famous former residents in the square: the scientist SirIsaac Newton designed byWilliam Calder Marshall; SirJoshua Reynolds, the first President of theRoyal Academy byHenry Weekes;John Hunter, a pioneer of surgery, byThomas Woolner; andWilliam Hogarth, the painter, byJoseph Durham.[c][35] Ownership transferred toWestminster City Council in 1933.[33] The most recent addition was a bronze statue of film star and director SirCharlie Chaplin, designed by sculptorJohn Doubleday in 1981.[37] On the pavement were inscribed the distances in miles to severalCommonwealth countries, including Canada, Kenya and Jamaica.[38] After the Great Outdoors refurbishment of the square, only the statue of Shakespeare still remains.
Since the 19th century, Leicester Square has been known for its entertainment venues, including the Alhambra and Empire theatres and the nearbyDaly's Theatre, which opened in 1893, and theHippodrome, which opened in 1900. One of the signs marking the square bears the legend "Theatreland".[39] In the 20th century, most of these large theatres becamecinemas and the area is the centre of London's cinema scene and the prime location in the United Kingdom for film premieres. Since the 1980s, it has hosted theLondon Film Festival each year.[40] TheOdeon Leicester Square, on the site of the old Alhambra theatre, is the cinema with the most seats in a single screen in the United Kingdom.[41] Similar toGrauman's Chinese Theatre inHollywood, the square was surrounded by floor mounted plaques with film stars' names and cast handprints. During the 2010–2012 refurbishment, many of the plaques were removed, confusing tourists who still expected to find them there.[42]
In the 1950s, the Hippodrome became a nightclub and is now a casino.[43]
TheLeicester Square Theatre is based in nearby Leicester Place. It was constructed in 1955 as a church, before becoming the Notre Dame Hall, then the Cavern in the Town, a popular live music venue in the 1960s.[44] In the 1970s, it was renamed back to the Notre Dame Hall, where theSex Pistols played one of their first gigs at the club on 15 November 1976.[45][d] It was converted into a theatre in 2002 as The Venue, and refurbished as the Leicester Square Theatre in 2008 (using the name of an earlier cinema).[44]
The square has been the home forTKTS (originally known as the Official London Half-Price Theatre Ticket Booth), since 1980. Tickets fortheatre performances taking place around the West End that day and during the week are sold from the booth at a significant discount.[47] The popularity of the booth has given rise to other booths and stores around the square that advertise half-price tickets for West End shows. The Official London Theatre Guide recommends avoiding these booths as they are not official and do not contain the Society of Ticket Agents & Retailers (STAR) logo.[48]
Global Radio has its headquarters on the east side of Leicester Square at No. 30, close to the Odeon. The building houses the radio stationsCapital,Capital Xtra,Classic FM,Gold,Heart,LBC,Smooth Radio andRadio X.[49]
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TheEmpire theatre on the north side of the square was converted into a cinema in 1928. It was the largest on the square until 1959, when a new projection box was built in the centre of the stalls forBen-Hur, reducing the seating capacity from 2,778 to 1,723. In 1961, the building was gutted and a new cinema and dance hall were built in the shell.[50][51] In 2013 the main auditorium was divided into two screens, including anIMAX screen.[52]
Adjoining the Empire was the Ritz Cinema, opened byMGM in 1937. It playedGone With the Wind for four years from 1940 to 1944.[53] It became a second screen for the Empire in 1972 and was converted to a4DX screen in 2018. In 2023 it was closed due to a dispute with the building's landlord.[54]
On the south side, theLeicester Square Theatre opened in 1930. It was renamed the Odeon West End in 1988 and was earmarked for demolition in 2014, to be replaced by a ten-storey hotel including a two-screen cinema.[55] The new cinema opened in 2021 as theOdeon Luxe West End.[56]
The Odeon Leicester Square, which dominates the east side of the square, hosts many film premieres. Opened in 1937 on the site of the Alhambra Theatre, it originally had a capacity for 2,116 people, arranged in circle and stalls. Following changes at the Empire, in the 1960s it became the largest cinema on the square.[57] It later became the largest cinema in the United Kingdom.[58] The seating capacity was reduced to 800 following refurbishment in 2018.[59]
On the other side of the Empire was the Queen's Hotel, which started showingnewsreels in the 1930s and was then converted into aJacey Cinema in 1960. It closed in 1978 and is now a casino.[60]
TheWarner Theatre, near the north east corner, opened in 1938 on the site of the former Daly's Theatre. The Warner was demolished and rebuilt in 1993. In 2004, it was taken over byVue.[61] In 2006, it was one of the first two cinemas in Europe to screen a film inDigital 3D withChicken Little.[62]
A short distance from the west of the square, on the south side of Panton Street, is the Odeon Panton Street.[63] ThePrince Charles Cinema, to the north of the square opened in 1962 with a "satellite dish" design where the audience looks upwards to the stage. The cinema became known for showingpornographic anderotic films during the 1970s, includingEmmanuelle (1974). It later became a favourite venue for showingcult films, includingThe Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and a sing-along version ofThe Sound of Music (1965), and marathon performances including all sevenMuppet films back to back. Prices are considerably cheaper than the main cinemas in the square; in 2013 a ticket for a new release at the Prince Charles cost £10, compared to £24 at the Odeon.[64]
Due to the Leicester Square's long association with cinema, a film-themed sculpture trail entitledScenes in the Square was installed.[65] In February 2020, eight sculptures were installed which depict characters from the last 100 years of cinema includingLaurel and Hardy,Mary Poppins,Batman,Bugs Bunny,Don Lockwood portrayed byGene Kelly,Paddington Bear,Mr. Bean, andWonder Woman.[65] In September 2020, a statue ofHarry Potter riding aNimbus 2000 was installed, becoming the ninth statue in the exhibition.[66] In June 2021, a statue of theIron Throne from HBO TV seriesGame of Thrones was unveiled to mark 10 years since the release of the first episode.[67]
Leicester Square is one of several places in the West End that puts on events relating to theChinese New Year. The celebrations are organised by the London Chinatown Chinese Association and held on the first Sunday during the new year period. Events include music, acrobatics and dancing. In 2015, the celebrations attracted more than 1,000 participants, becoming the largest of their kind in the UK. These included lion dances, a show of the Cultures of China and a drum show. A parade ran nearby throughCharing Cross Road andShaftesbury Avenue.[68][69]
TheRoyal Dental Hospital and school was based at 40–41 from 1874 to 1901 and at 31–36 from 1901 to 1985, when the building was redeveloped as the Hampshire Hotel.[70][71]
The School of English operated on Leicester Square from 1992 until its closure in 2015. It taught over 25,000 students during its years of operation.[72]
To the west of the square was the location for theSwiss Centre from 1966 to 2008. The area is now named Swiss Court and still features a Swissglockenspiel clock.[73]M&M's World is now on the former site of the Swiss Centre.[74]
The world's largestLego store opened at 3 Swiss Court in November 2016. The opening was marked by unveiling a 6-metre (20 ft) high model ofBig Ben made out of 200,000 Lego bricks.[75][76]
In 2022,Burger King announced it would open its first meat-free restaurant in Leicester Square. The initiative operated from 14 March to 10 April, before returning to its initial menu.[77]
The mainelectrical substation for the West End is beneath the square. The electrical cables to the substation are in a large tunnel ending at Leicester Square, and originating inWimbledon, at Plough Lane, behind the formerWimbledon F.C. football ground, before which the cables are above ground.[78]
In 1726, anatomistNathaniel St André claimed to have delivered rabbits fromMary Toft, a woman who lived at No. 27 Leicester Square. The event was widely reported around London, attracting interest from KingGeorge I andRoyal Society presidentHans Sloane. Shortly afterwards, the woman was caught trying to buy a rabbit in secret, and the incident was uncovered as a hoax.[4]
Leicester Square is commemorated in the lyrics of themusic hall song "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" along with nearbyPiccadilly, which became popular with soldiers duringWorld War I.[4] During the war, British inmates ofRuhleben Prisoner of War camp mentioned the square in a song: "Shout this chorus all you can. We want the people there, to hear in Leicester Square, That we're the boys that never get downhearted."[79] It is mentioned in the lyrics of severalrock & pop band tracks, including theRolling Stones' notorious "Cocksucker Blues", (1970)[80] "Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square" onJethro Tull's albumStand Up (1969),[81] "Emit Remmus" on the albumCalifornication by theRed Hot Chili Peppers (1999),[82] "He's on the Phone" (1995) bySaint Etienne[83] and "Leicester Square" onRancid'sLife Won't Wait (1998).[84] A verse in "Something About England" onthe Clash's 1980 albumSandinista! refers back to "It's a Long Way to Tipperary", including a reference to Leicester Square.[85]
Leicester Square is one of a group of three on the BritishMonopoly board along withCoventry Street and Piccadilly. The board was set out by designers Victor Watson and Marge Phillips in the order of entertainment on a Saturday night: film at Leicester Square, meal in Coventry Street and hotel on Piccadilly.[86]
The wordLeicester features the ending-cester which is with rare exceptions spoken as a simplified pronunciation, so is counterintuitive, a quirk of British English. A report byPremier Inn said that Leicester Square was the British place name most mispronounced by tourists, usually as "/laɪˈtʃɛstər/" ("Lie-chester") Square.[87]
