Qualla: Royal Arcade, London https://qualla.com/royal-arcade-london en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:15 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/royal-arcade-london-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Royal Arcade, London https://qualla.com/royal-arcade-london Royal Arcade, London: Introduction https://qualla.com/royal-arcade-london/ Photo credit Rev Stan from London, UK, CC BY 2.0. William Hodgson Brettell opened his shirtmakers in The Arcade in 1880 — he was 24 years old, occupying unit 12. A few years later, Queen Victoria became a customer. The appointment brought the royal prefix that has stayed ever since. It is the kind of detail that sounds like it should be a story about privilege, but is actually a story about a young tailor with a good address and a quality product, who happened to be in the right place at the right time.

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Image: Rev Stan from London, UK | CC BY 2.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/royal-arcade-london-wp/gcpv-royal-arcade-london-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Royal Arcade, London: A Proposal Rejected and Rebuilt https://qualla.com/royal-arcade-london/ Photo credit CC BY-SA 3.0. The idea for an arcade in this part of Mayfair was first proposed in 1864, and it was ambitious: a longer covered walkway that would have linked Old Bond Street all the way through to Regent Street. The proposal was rejected because the demolition required was too extensive and w...

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Image: CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/royal-arcade-london-wp/gcpv-royal-arcade-london-a-proposal-rejected-and-rebuilt.mp3 0:06 2 full Royal Arcade, London: What the Glass Roof Covers https://qualla.com/royal-arcade-london/ Photo credit Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0. The Royal Arcade's architectural character comes from its details rather than its scale. A saddled glass roof runs the length of the arcade, flooding the interior with diffuse light without the harshness of direct sun. Decorated stucco arches frame each section; Ionic columns sup...

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Image: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK | CC BY 2.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/royal-arcade-london-wp/gcpv-royal-arcade-london-what-the-glass-roof-covers.mp3 0:06 3 full Royal Arcade, London: The Shops and Their World https://qualla.com/royal-arcade-london/ Photo credit Camerawalker, CC BY 3.0. The Royal Arcade sits between Albemarle Street and Old Bond Street — two of Mayfair's defining thoroughfares — in a neighbourhood that has been associated with luxury trade since the 18th century. Bond Street has sold fine art, jewellery, and tailoring for centuries; Albemarle St...

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Image: Camerawalker | CC BY 3.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/royal-arcade-london-wp/gcpv-royal-arcade-london-the-shops-and-their-world.mp3 0:06 4 full Royal Arcade, London: On Film and in the Street https://qualla.com/royal-arcade-london/ Photo credit Edwardx, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Royal Arcade has served as a film location more than once, its untouched Victorian interior useful to directors seeking period settings without extensive dressing. The Parent Trap (1998), Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008), and the Agatha Christie television episode The Th...

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Image: Edwardx | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/royal-arcade-london-wp/gcpv-royal-arcade-london-on-film-and-in-the-street.mp3 0:06 5 full