Leicester Square

Leicester Square at night in 2005: a view towards the northeast corner.

Leicester Square ⁱ/ˈlɛstər/ is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. 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 by Cranbourn 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 the City of Westminster, and about equal distances (about 400 yards / 370 metres) north of Trafalgar Square, east of Piccadilly Circus, west of Covent Garden, and south of Cambridge Circus.

History

Leicester Square in 1750, looking north. The large house set behind a forecourt at the northeast corner is Leicester House, then the residence of Frederick, Prince of Wales.

Leicester Square in 1880, looking north east.

The Square is named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester, who purchased four acres (1.6 hectares) in St. Martin's Field in 1630; 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 of St. Martin's Parish of their right to use the previously common land. The parishioners appealed to King Charles I, and he appointed three members of the Privy Council to arbitrate. Lord Leicester was ordered to keep part of his land (thereafter known as Leicester Field and later as Leicester Square) open for the parishioners.

The area was developed in the 1670s. It was initially fashionable and Leicester House was once residence of Frederick, Prince of Wales but by the late 18th century, the Square was no longer a smart address and began to serve as a venue for popular entertainments. Leicester House became home of a museum of natural curiosities called the Holophusikon in the 1780s and was demolished about 1791–1792.

In 1848, Leicester Square was the subject of the land-law case of Tulk v. Moxhay. The plot's previous owner had agreed upon a covenant not to erect buildings. However, the law would not allow purchasers who were not 'privy' to the initial contract to be bound by subsequent promises. The judge, Lord Cottenham, decided that future owners could be bound by promises to abstain from activity. Otherwise, a buyer could sell land to himself to undermine an initial promise. Arguments continued about the fate of the garden, with Tulk's heirs erecting a wooden hoarding around the property in 1873. Finally, in 1874 the flamboyant Albert Grant (1830–1899) purchased the outstanding freeholds and donated the garden to the Metropolitan Board of Works, laying out a garden at his own expense. The title passed to the succeeding public bodies and is now in the ownership of the City of Westminster.

By the 19th century, Leicester Square was known as an entertainment venue, with many amusements peculiar to the era, including Wyld's Globe, which was built for the Great Exhibition of 1851 and housed a giant scale map of the Earth. Several hotels grew up around the square, making it popular with visitors to London. The Alhambra, a large theatre built in 1854, dominated the site, to be joined in 1884 by the Empire Theatre of Varieties. The square remains the heart of the West End entertainment district today.

During the Labour government's 1979 Winter of Discontent, refuse collectors went on strike. Leicester Square was used as an overflow dump, earning it the nickname of "Fester Square".

Features

Gardens

The Shakespeare fountain and statue

In the middle of the Square is a small park, in the centre of which is a 19th century statue of William Shakespeare surrounded by dolphins. The four corner gates of the park have one bust each, depicting Sir Isaac Newton, the scientist; Sir Joshua Reynolds, the first President of the Royal Academy; John Hunter, a pioneer of surgery; and William Hogarth, the painter. The most recent addition is a statue of film star and director Charlie Chaplin. On the pavement are inscribed the distances in miles to countries of the former British Empire.

Entertainment

Tom Cruise's handprints

Leicester Square is the centre of London's cinema land, and one of the signs marking the Square bears the legend "Theatreland". It is claimed that the Square contains the cinema with the largest screen and the cinema with the most seats (over 1600). The square is the prime location in London for major film premières and has seen the likes of the Harry Potter and James Bond film series, Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, and animation films such as Shrek; and co-hosts the London Film Festival each year. Similar to Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, the square is surrounded by floor mounted plaques with film stars names and cast handprints.

The Square is also the home for tkts, formerly known as the Official London Half-Price Theatre Ticket Booth. This booth is jointly operated by TKTS and LondonTown.com. Tickets for theatre performances taking place around the West End that day are sold from the booth for about half the usual price. The popularity of the booth has given rise to many other booths and stores around the Square that advertise half-price tickets for West End shows. It is claimed that at least some of these booths operate fraudulently. Despite having names like 'Official Half-Price Ticket Booth', they are not official and they do not always advertise the booking fees which commonly come with purchasing tickets.

The Square is home to several nightclubs, making it often very busy, particularly on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Major cinemas

Leicester Square's Odeon.

Leicester Square's Empire on a rainy night in May 2003

• Odeon Leicester Square, which dominates the east side of the square, had the first digital projector in Europe (1999), hosting most premieres with capacity for 1683 people, arranged in circle and stalls.
• The adjacent Odeon Mezzanine has five smaller auditoria (capacities of 50–60 each).
• Empire, on the north of the Square, is the next-largest cinema, with 1,330 seats in the main screen, as well as eight smaller screens, with 349, 96, 58, 49, 48, 42 and 23 seats. Eight of the screens are digital. The main screen and one smaller one can also play 3D films. Many premieres are hosted here.

• Odeon West End, on the south side, contains two screens, which can seat 1,000 altogether. Screen 1 holds 400 people and Screen 2 holds 600. It is used for smaller premieres.
• Vue, on the north side, near the north east corner, was previously the Warner Brothers Village, a multiplex that hosted only Warner Bros. film premieres. Together with the rest of the Warner Village chain, it was bought out by Vue in 2004.

Other cinemas

• A short distance from the west of the Square, on the south side of Panton Street, is the Odeon Panton Street, another four-screen Odeon cinema.
• Just to the North of the square, Prince Charles Cinema is a cheap-ticket second-run and cult cinema famed for its regular showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and a sing-along version of The Sound of Music.
• Cineworld is a short distance down Coventry Street in the Trocadero Centre.

Clubs, bars, restaurants

Just off Leicester Square

• Hippodrome, London
• The Venue Leicester Square (West End theatre)

Media

Global Radio has its headquarters on the east side of Leicester Square, close to the Odeon Leicester Square. The building houses the radio stations 95.8 Capital FM, Classic FM, Xfm London, Choice FM, Gold, Heart and LBC.

In what was formerly Home (a seven-floor superclub launched in 1999, which went into receivership after having its licence revoked by police for one month in March 2001 because of drugs issues, and at which Paul Oakenfold was a resident D.J.), is now an MTV UK television studio, used for the UK version of Total Request Live and the Russell Brand–fronted show 1 Leicester Square. It was also used for the first series of BBC Saturday morning show TMi.

Also mentioned in the song Emit Remmus on the Californication album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Other attractions

Leicester Square Christmas Fair.

The square regularly hosts a fair each winter and a stage is erected for performances connected to other events such as the Chinese New Year.

Infrastructure

The main electrical 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 in Wimbledon, at Plough Lane, behind the former Wimbledon FC football ground, before which the cables are above ground.

The square is set to change in its appearance over the next few years as Westminster Council is planning a new design. The envisioned changes will not significantly alter the square's character but will, amongst other things, enhance its function as a backdrop for film premieres. The implementation of the square commenced in December 2010 and is expected to be completed by April 2012, in time for London 2012.

See also

• Leicester Square tube station
• List of eponymous roads in London

External links

London/Leicester Square travel guide from Wikitravel

• History of Leicester Square
• Leicester Square Webcam - 8 preset views from the Radisson Edwardian Hampshire Hotel
• Detailed information about the history and buildings of Leicester Square from the Survey of London
• Leicester Square webcam
• More on the history of Leicester Square at www.VictorianLondon.org
• Leicester Square Television
• History of Leicester Square's Theatres and Cinemas