Leicester Square (pronounced "Lester Square") is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London. It is within the City of Westminster, and about equal distances (about 400 yards or 300 metres) north of Trafalgar Square, east of Piccadilly Circus, west of Covent Garden, and south of Cambridge Circus.
The Square is named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester, who purchased four acres (1.6 hectares) of land in St. Martin's Field in 1630; by 1635, he had built himself a large house, known as Leicester House, at the northern end of it. The area in front of the house was then enclosed, thus depriving the inhabitants of St. Martin's Parish of their right to use the previously common land. The parishioners appealed to King Charles I for assistance, and he appointed three members of the Privy Council to arbitrate. Lord Leicester was ordered to keep part of his land (which thereafter was known as Leicester Field and later as Leicester Square) open for use by the parishioners.
In the middle of the Square is a small park, in the centre of which is a 19th century statue of William Shakespeare surrounded by dolphins. The four corner gates of the park have one bust each, depicting Sir Isaac Newton, the scientist; Sir Joshua Reynolds, the first President of the Royal Academy; John Hunter, a pioneer of surgery; and William Hogarth, the painter. The most recent addition is a statue of film star and director Charlie Chaplin. On the pavement are inscribed the distances in miles to countries of the former British Empire.
Leicester Square is the centre of London's cinema land, and one of the signs marking the Square bears the legend "Theatreland". It is claimed that the Square contains a cinema with the largest screen and a cinema with the most seats (over 2000). UK film and Royal premieres are regularly hosted at one of the square's four cinemas. Similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the square is surrounded by floor mounted plaques with film stars names and cast handprints.
The Square is also the home for 'tkts', formerly known as the Official London Half-Price Theatre Ticket Booth. This booth is jointly operated by TKTS and LondonTown.com. Tickets for theatre performances taking place around the West End that day are sold from the booth for about half the usual price. The popularity of the booth has given rise to many other booths and stores around the Square that advertise half-price tickets for West End shows. It is claimed that at least some of these booths operate fraudulently. Despite having names like 'Official Half-Price Ticket Booth', they are not official and they do not always advertise the booking fees which commonly come with purchasing tickets.
The Square is home to several nightclubs, making it often very busy, particularly on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Affixed to the corner of the Swiss Centre, in the northwest corner of the square, is an elaborate mechanical clock, installed in 1984. The Swiss Centre is marked for demolition so the clock may not be there for a few years. The square regularly hosts a fair each winter and a stage is erected for performances connected to other events such as Chinese New Year.
Source: Wikipedia
Leicester Square at Christmas
360º panorama
Leicester Square
Webcam
