I've cheated today because I actually think the side views and back of this London icon are more interesting than the main entrance hence the three photos rather than one. I work a few minutes walk from Liberty and if I have half an hour spare I quite often end up here.
One of the things I love about it isn't the obvious, the mock Tudor frontage, but the fact that the brand is housed in a collection of buildings reflecting how it has grown. Since 1875 it's been the home of eclectic design, mixing the traditional with more contemporary products. Arthur Liberty started the business with a loan of £2000 and a lease on half of 218a Regent Street. Eighteen months later he'd repaid the loan and taken over the rest of the building. As the business grew, adjoining properties were purchased and merged - look at the bridge in the bottom right picture. The Great Marlborough Street part of today's store, the main frontage, was built in 1924 when there was a fashion for Tudor revival and using the timber from two ships: HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan.
Historically fascinating. Fashionably eclectic. Beautifully London.
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