Oxford Circus

Oxford Circus is a busy road junction where Oxford Street and Regent Street meet in the West End of London. It stands at the heart of the city’s shopping district and is also the entrance to Oxford Circus tube station. The junction was first built in 1819 as part of John Nash’s Regent Street development and was originally called Regent Circus North. Nash designed it with a concave shape so carriages could turn easily, though the plan was scaled down after Parliament rejected his first proposal. The buildings around the circus were built in a Palladian style with fluted Corinthian pilasters and artificial stone capitals. The junction has seen many changes over the centuries. In the 1910s and 1920s, architect Henry Tanner redesigned the four quadrants around the circus in a symmetrical French-inspired style. The north-eastern quadrant once housed the Peter Robinson department store, which later became Topshop, attracting around 28,000 shoppers a day at its peak. The buildings are now Grade II listed and made of Portland stone with steel frames and slate roofs. The circus has also been a site for protests, including demonstrations by Extinction Rebellion. Visitors to Oxford Circus find a lively junction with constant movement from buses, taxis and pedestrians. The tube station sits below, connecting the Central, Bakerloo and Victoria lines. Four quadrant buildings frame the crossing, each with its own history. The north-eastern building once hosted a recording studio used by George Martin’s AIR Studios until 1991. The area remains one of London’s busiest pedestrian crossings, with over 40,000 people passing through every hour at peak times.