Liberty: the Tudor store made from two ships

Liberty sits on the edge of Soho, where Great Marlborough Street meets Regent Street, and it is one of the few shops in London you can visit for the building alone. The main entrance is on Great Marlborough Street. Go in for the timber, stay for the fabric.

The building made from two ships

The current Great Marlborough Street building dates from 1924, seven years after Arthur Lasenby Liberty died. It is listed (Londonist gives the grade as II*, other sources say II). Its timbers came from two ships: HMS Impregnable, formerly HMS Howe, once the largest ship in the world, and HMS Hindustan. According to Londonist, the Great Marlborough Street frontage is the same length as HMS Hindustan.

The architects were the father-and-son team Edwin T and Edwin S Hall. The University of Exeter notes that the timber came from ships at the end of their lives, and that Nikolaus Pevsner was scathing about the building's scale, symmetry and closeness to a classical façade nearby. Not everyone fell for it at once.

Inside, the idea was homely. Small rooms are arranged around three central light wells, and some of the original fireplaces survive. Time Out describes an interconnecting jumble of rooms with the odd fireplace and cushioned window seat, a store that feels like a private room in a stately home. Look for the leaded windows and the central staircase as you climb.

Look up

On the roof is a gilded copper Mayflower weather vane, about 4 ft high. The Exeter page links it to the 300th anniversary of the voyage in 1920 and the fashion for American culture. From the street, it is worth stepping back for.

The building also runs from Carnaby Street in the east to Kingly Street in the west, according to Wikipedia, forming a three-storey archway over the northern entrance to the Kingly Street mall, which houses the Liberty Clock. Come at the hour if you can.

From Regent Street to the Tudor wing

Liberty opened in 1875. Time Out reports that Arthur Lasenby Liberty borrowed £2,000 from his future father-in-law and took a building on Regent Street with three staff. The early stock was printed fabrics and silk textiles imported from Asia and the Middle East, and fabric has been at the heart of the offer ever since. Liberty's 150th anniversary was in 2025, and a two-year refurbishment programme finished in 2022, restoring the building's heritage.

The prints

The thing to know is Tana Lawn. Liberty experimented with cotton lawn from the late 1890s, and in the early 1930s the then Cotton Buyer, William Hayes Dorell, helped establish it as a Liberty signature. It is named after Lake Tana in Ethiopia, where the long-staple cotton originated. Liberty's own notes tell the story, and its product copy calls it cotton that behaves like silk: ultra-fine and machine washable.

The Classics collection began in 1979 and reworks Art Nouveau motifs, paisleys, landscapes and ditsy florals. One example, Theo, is 100% cotton, 1.36 m wide and 76 g/sqm, washed at 40°C. Fabric is produced in 25 m bolts. Lasenby Cotton, a heavier quilting cotton named after the founder, launched in 2017.

What to look for: the tiny florals and the swirling Art Nouveau designs. Take a swatch, hold it to the window light, and then decide.

How to do Liberty well

• Hours: Monday to Saturday ten till eight. Sunday twelve till six, with browsing from half eleven. Bank holidays ten till eight. These are Liberty's own hours, so check before a special trip.
• Six floors: fashion, homewares, beauty treatments, a food hall and a restaurant, according to VisitLondon.
• Monogramming: Premier Inn's guide lists gold or silver foil initials at about £5 a letter, done while you wait, on Tuesday afternoons and Thursday evenings. Confirm with Liberty first.
• Store tours: guided tours of the listed building cover its history, craftsmanship, architecture and favourite departments. There are no private tours, places are limited and popular dates sell out. The Afternoon Tea Store Tour runs about two and a half hours at £110 per person, with tea at Seventy Five. Dates and booking are on Liberty's support page.

Where to sit: Seventy Five

On the second floor, Seventy Five is run by Goose + Berry, with head chef Joe Holness, formerly of Fera at Claridge's and Da Terra. It serves sharing-style modern British food: brunch to half eleven, all-day dining from half eleven and afternoon tea from one. OpenTable gives a price band of £26 to £40, and afternoon tea at £50 to £66 a head. Order the afternoon tea after a wander through the fabric rooms, and ask for a seat with a view of the building's woodwork.

The hour to go

Weekday mornings are the quiet ones for the staircase and the small rooms. Late afternoon suits the pre-theatre crowd who want a print to take home. Whichever you choose, finish under the Mayflower.