85 Fleet Street
| 85 Fleet Street | |
|---|---|
The main frontage in February 2007 | |
| Location | Fleet Street, London |
| Coordinates | 51°30′50″N 0°06′22″W / 51.5140°N 0.1060°W |
| Built | 1935 |
| Architect | Edwin Lutyens |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical style |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | 82–85, Fleet Street, 9 Salisbury Court |
| Designated | 5 June 1972 |
| Reference no. | 1064656 |
Shown in London | |
85 Fleet Street is a prominent building in Fleet Street, London. The building, which was commissioned by the Reuters new agency, is a Grade II listed building.[1]
History
The building was commissioned by the Reuters new agency in the early 1930s. The site it selected, on the south side of Fleet Street, had previously accommodated a building used by Punch magazine. The new building was designed by Edwin Lutyens in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1935.[1]
The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of six bays facing onto the street. The lower two bays were rusticated. The central bay featured a round headed opening, three bays high, which accommodated a doorway and a fine bronze statue by William Reid Dick known as "The Herald".[2][3] The statue was unveiled by Lutyens on 10 July 1939.[4] The upper floors (from the second to the fifth floor) were fenestrated by a series of square-shaped casement windows. Above the main structure, there were three more floors (from the sixth to the eighth floor) which were recessed with a concave façade and surmounted by a drum.[5]
In the 1970s, there was a branch of National Westminster Bank on the ground floor.[6]
The building accommodated the Press Association until it moved out to Vauxhall Bridge Road in 1995.[7][8][9] It also accommodated Reuters until it moved to 30 South Colonnade in Canary Wharf in 2005.[10][11][12] Reuters was the last major news outlet to leave Fleet Street at that time.[13] The building was subsequently occupied by a firm of solicitors, Powell Gilbert.[14]
See also
References
- ^ a b Historic England. "82–85, Fleet Street, 9 Salisbury Court (1064656)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- ^ "Herald". Victorian Web. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- ^ "Photograph of Sir William Reid Dick's sculpture 'The Herald' c. 1920–1934". Tate Images. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- ^ "City Angels (and a few devils)". Symbols and secrets. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- ^ "85 Fleet Street – The Reuters Building" (PDF). Fleet Street Heritage. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- ^ "Reuters and Press Association building in Fleet Street". London Picture Archive. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- ^ "Press Association leaves home of 24 years for 'dynamic' new HQ in Paddington". Press Gazette. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- ^ "Press Association drops 150-year-old name to signify new era beyond legacy media". The Drum. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
PA was located in Fleet Street before it relocated to Vauxhall Bridge Road in 1995
- ^ "PA announces location of new London headquarters". Hold The Front Page. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- ^ "Canary Wharf lures Reuters with purchase of old HQ". The Independent. 24 September 2003. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- ^ "Reuters leaves Fleet Street for new Canary Wharf HQ". FinExtra. 17 May 2005. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- ^ "Reuters makes £30m move from Fleet Street". The Guardian. 23 September 2003. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- ^ Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher; Keay, Julia; Keay, John (2008). The London Encyclopaedia. Pan MacMillan. p. 300. ISBN 978-1-4050-4924-5.
- ^ "Powell Gilbert". Chambers. Retrieved 23 February 2026.