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

Millstones

Millstones

EC1, Great Sutton Street

We can't identify any river that ran through here (the Fleet would be the nearest) so perhaps these come from a windmill. But it's not pa...

1 subject commemorated
Richard Courtney Balding

Richard Courtney Balding

SE1, Southwark Bridge Road, 38

The pediment is at about ground level, between the window and the pavement railings. And yes, we had to clean the metal plate before we ...

2 subjects commemorated
Muses - Thalia

Muses - Thalia

WC2, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery - Staircase Hall - Half-way Landing

Lady Lesley Jowitt as Thalia the muse of comedy and bucolic poetry.

1 subject commemorated
Doorcase

Doorcase

N16, Stoke Newington Church Street, 171-3

This masonry fragment is probably part of a pediment and, to our eye, shows classical, not medieval, features. Perhaps the mansion had la...

1 subject commemorated
Royal Hospital Chelsea - frieze

Royal Hospital Chelsea - frieze

SW3, Royal Hospital Road, Royal Hospital Chelsea, Middle Court

In our photo you can see the Latin text on the frieze to the arcade. The statue faces the building and backs the Thames, and the camera. ...

5 subjects commemorated

Previously viewed

Thorney Island Society

Thorney Island Society

A local conservation and amenity group founded in 1985 (following a campaign to save Old Westminster Library) to protect and represent the interests of residents and businesses in the 'village' of ...

Group, Community / Clubs

1 memorial
St Mary's Hospital - Fifth Army

St Mary's Hospital - Fifth Army

W2, Norfolk Place, St Mary's Hospital - Cambridge wing

The red fox was the insignia of the Fifth Army.

2 subjects commemorated
William Reeve

William Reeve

Composer.  Born London.  1783 took a composing job at Astley's Amphitheatre.  Went on to compose at Covent Garden and Sadler's Wells theatres amongst others.  Died at home in Marchmont Street.

Person, Music / songs

1 memorial
Magna Carta pier - south

Magna Carta pier - south

TW20, Windsor Road, Fairhaven Memorial Kiosks

This is a multi-part monument across two sites.   The elements at this site (kiosks and piers) used to be further to the east, possibly w...

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Lion Brewery

Lion Brewery

The (Red) Lion Brewery, designed by Francis Edwards, stood on the South Bank from 1836. The brewery occupied the site now used by the Royal Festival Hall and its stables, warehouses, etc. were on a...

Building, Food & Drink

1 memorial