Jul 29, 2026 · 15 min · 13 segments
Oxford Street is Europes busiest street and with shops and department stores a place so mnay that come to London visit! There is so much more to this street in its history and in this podcast we'll…
Looking at the post-war, after its main store was destroyed, John Lewis operated from properties on the other side of Holy Street to the east until the completion of its new store to the west.
Relinquishing these properties then enabled it to purchase the whole of the west side.
Subsequently, the entire block between Hull Street and John Prince's Street was sold to the Harrod de Warden estate to land securities for redevelopment.
Designed by T.P. Bennett and partners, it would provide small units of retail accommodation on either side of a central flagship department store, namely British Home Stores, until its closure in 2016.
Atop the Oxford Street frontage, a six-storey block was constructed to house the London College of Fashion, behind which was a cluster of taller tower blocks providing office space Began in 1959, the work was largely completed within two years.
It was one of the largest post-war redevelopment projects to be undertaken in the West End.
From August 1963 until April 1968, part of Oxford Street had to be closed to traffic so that Oxford Circus tube station could be rebuilt to incorporate the new Victoria Line, which began serving the station on 7 March 1969, its official opening.
In September 1973, a shopping bag bomb was detonated by the IRA at the offices of the Prudential Assurance Company, injuring six people.
A second bomb was detonated by the IRA next to Selfridge's in December 1974, injuring three people and causing £1.5 million worth of damage.
An undiscovered bomb that had been booby-trapped exploded without any injuries.
On 26 October 1981, Kenneth Halworth, an explosives officer from the Metropolitan Police, was killed while defusing a bomb planted by the IRA in the basement toilet of a Wimpy bar in Oxford Street.
The IRA also detonated a bomb at the John Lewis department store in December 1992, along with another in nearby Cavendish Square, injuring four people.
The human billboard Stanley Green began selling on Oxford Street in 1968, advertising his belief in the link of proteins to sexual libido and the dangers therein.
He regularly patrolled the street with a placard headlined, Less Passion from Less Protein, and advertised his pamphlet, Eight Passion Proteins with Care, until his death in 1993.
Looking at the post-war, after its main store was destroyed, John Lewis operated from properties on the other side of Holy Street to the east until the completion of its new store to the west.
Relinquishing these properties then enabled it to purchase the whole of the west side.
Subsequently, the entire block between Hull Street and John Prince's Street was sold to the Harrod de Warden estate to land securities for redevelopment.
Designed by T.P. Bennett and partners, it would provide small units of retail accommodation on either side of a central flagship department store, namely British Home Stores, until its closure in 2016.
Atop the Oxford Street frontage, a six-storey block was constructed to house the London College of Fashion, behind which was a cluster of taller tower blocks providing office space Began in 1959, the work was largely completed within two years.
It was one of the largest post-war redevelopment projects to be undertaken in the West End.
From August 1963 until April 1968, part of Oxford Street had to be closed to traffic so that Oxford Circus tube station could be rebuilt to incorporate the new Victoria Line, which began serving the station on 7 March 1969, its official opening.
In September 1973, a shopping bag bomb was detonated by the IRA at the offices of the Prudential Assurance Company, injuring six people.
A second bomb was detonated by the IRA next to Selfridge's in December 1974, injuring three people and causing £1.5 million worth of damage.
An undiscovered bomb that had been booby-trapped exploded without any injuries.
On 26 October 1981, Kenneth Halworth, an explosives officer from the Metropolitan Police, was killed while defusing a bomb planted by the IRA in the basement toilet of a Wimpy bar in Oxford Street.
The IRA also detonated a bomb at the John Lewis department store in December 1992, along with another in nearby Cavendish Square, injuring four people.
The human billboard Stanley Green began selling on Oxford Street in 1968, advertising his belief in the link of proteins to sexual libido and the dangers therein.
He regularly patrolled the street with a placard headlined, Less Passion from Less Protein, and advertised his pamphlet, Eight Passion Proteins with Care, until his death in 1993.
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