Other

Liberty's - weather vane - Mayflower

Site: Liberty's - weather vane - Mayflower (1 memorial)

W1, Great Marlborough Street

Brought to our attention by Londonist, the weather vane atop Liberty's represents the Mayflower.

Arthur Lasenby Liberty (1843 - 1917) opened his shop in Regent Street in 1875 and it rapidly expanded into neighbouring properties. As the Regency 99-year leases ended the whole of Regent Street was redeveloped with tight control exerted over the design of the buildings to ensure an impressive but harmonious whole. Liberty employed architects Edwin T. Hall and his son Edwn S.. They designed the Regent Street building in the required Imperial Edwardian style (Ornamental Passions have a page about that building) but rather let rip with the building in Great Marlborough Street which was not subject to the design rules, so they used a style very popular at the time - Tudor Revival. The timbers of two ships were used in the construction of the shop: HMS Impregnable (formerly HMS Howe) and HMS Hindustan. As far as we can see Liberty's no longer has a presence on Regent Street.

Why the Mayflower? The Tudor period is defined as Henry VII - Elizabeth I, that's 1485 -1603. The Mayflower sailed in 1620, during the reign of James I of England, so choosing that for the weathervane involved some date flexibility. Liberty's has always specialised in decorative imported goods, perhaps referenced by a ship of colonisation. We're struggling here.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Liberty's - weather vane - Mayflower

Subjects commemorated i

The Sailing of the Mayflower

The ship that carried pilgrims from Britain to the New World. There were 102 ...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Anarchists

Anarchists

E1, Angel Alley

This art work is in the style of Donald Rooum. He was the Anarchists' self-effacing 'house artist' and chose to be photographed in front ...

36 subjects commemorated, 5 creators
Sante Maria weather vane

Sante Maria weather vane

WC2, Temple Place, 2

Made of beaten copper.  War-damaged in 1944 it was restored and re-erected in 1950.

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Charlotte Dujardin gold post box

Charlotte Dujardin gold post box

EN1, 5 Colman Parade, Southbury Rd

{On plaque attached to side of box:} This post box has been painted gold by Royal Mail to celebrate Charlotte Dujardin, Gold Medal winner...

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Borough Market Bell (2)

Borough Market Bell (2)

SE1, Middle Road, Borough Market

The bell says 'Since 1754', whilst the accompanying plaque says the market opened in 1756. We have tried to establish which of the dates ...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Start of the third Millennium in Belgrave Square

Start of the third Millennium in Belgrave Square

SW1, Belgrave Square

The poetry is from "Auguries of Innocence" by William Blake.For other armillary spheres see Wolff.

2 subjects commemorated, 2 creators