Princes Arcade, London
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Princes Arcade began life with an art deco design built between 1929 and 1933, when it formally opened. The arcade today results from a 1980s refurbishment, which aimed for a ‘Jane Austen era’ style, with vintage lamps and rounded-windowed shop fronts. There are classical mouldings in the ceilings and above the shops on the fronts, with a golden crown to reflect the regal name of the arcade.
The shops are high-end, with Italian tailors, a milliner and several shops catering for men’s style and men’s clothes. There is also a chocolate shop which was apparently a favourite of Queen Elizabeth II and Roald Dahl, and an excellent coffee shop, well worth the visit to the arcade just for a cuppa. There is also a pop-up shop available, so the arcade is not exclusively open to high-end luxury, although I imagine candidates for the pop-up might be carefully vetted to ensure they fit.
Princes Arcade runs parallel to the Piccadilly Arcade between Piccadilly and Jermyn Street in the heart of London. The entrance in Piccadilly sits under busts of 18th and 19th century artists George Barrett (an original member of the Royal Academy) and William Hunt (a man of more humble London origins), as this building was once home to the Institute of Painters in Water Colours – look further along the frontage and there is a more familiar figure, Turner.
My favourite shop today
Compane coffee shop is my favourite shop in this arcade today, for great coffee and fantastic cinnamon buns. I also rather liked the style of menswear shop Labrum which aims to bridge the gap between the men’s clothing culture of Britain and of West Africa.
My pick of the arcade’s past
In 1931, while still not fully functional, a big fencing carnival was held in the arcade, bringing fencers from as far away as France, Belgium, Italy, even Japan. By the 1930s fencing was taught mainly in Britain’s public schools (ie the top fee-paying schools), but the festival aimed to bring back the colour and costumes of 16th century fencers, when it was considered an essential part of a ‘gentleman’s education.’ The festival in Princes Arcade did bring in women fencers, too, however: a former English champion Mrs Freeman, and the Scotland top woman fencer Miss Arbuthnot were in the arcade for the festival.
One of the earliest tenants of the arcade was the Countess of Kinnoull, who opened a flower shop in Princes Arcade in 1932. Her husband, the Earl of Kinnoull, had an extraordinary political journey before his death at the age of 35 in 1938. Educated at Eton and a hereditary peer, he switched to the Labour Party in 1930 and spoke in favour of abolishing the House of Lords and ending hereditary peerages. He would meet Labour officials in the flower shop while helping out.
Society magazine Tatler published a feature on London’s arcades in November 1959. Three shops were featured from Princes Arcade: Jeremy toy shop, whose customers included the Duchess of Gloucester; Bayly’s Victoriana shop, for which the Queen Mother was supposedly a fan; and Arditti & Mayorcas, whose tapestries and textiles were sold mostly to galleries, museums and churches. None of these is still trading today.
Historical stories courtesy of www.britishnewspaperarchives.co.uk The British Library Board. 1. Daily News, London, 14 April 1931; 2. D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd, Dundee Courier, 21 January 1932; 3. Illustrated London News, The Tatler, 25 November 1959.
This arcade in films or books
Surprisingly, I found no films or books set in Princes Arcade. Possibly this is down to its more famous neighbours nearby, but if anybody spots anything, do let me know.
What’s your favourite shop in the arcade today?
What memories do you have of visits in years gone by?
Have you got any good stories to add on the past of this arcade?
Have you seen Princes Arcade in any films or books?
Does the arcade have its own website?
It appears not. Nor did I find any active social media pages for arcade itself.
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