Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain Eros is a Grade I listed building in the Westminster local planning authority area, England. First listed on 24 February 1958. Fountain. 3 related planning applications.

Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain Eros

WRENN ID
watchful-threshold-vetch
Grade
I
Local Planning Authority
Westminster
Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster MP: Rachel Blake (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
24 February 1958
Type
Fountain
Address
Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain Eros, Piccadilly Circus W1, City of Westminster
OS grid reference
TQ 295 806
Coordinates
51.50988, -0.13447
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, also known as "Eros," is a Grade I listed memorial fountain located in Piccadilly Circus, Westminster. Designed by Alfred Gilbert, it was constructed between 1892 and 1893 to honor the philanthropist Lord Shaftesbury. The fountain features a bronze octagonal base on a stepped platform, topped by a winged archer made of aluminium, which symbolizes the Angel of Christian Charity but is commonly referred to as Eros. The sculpture is noted for its remarkable naturalistic style, showcasing a variety of marine life, including "fishes of all kinds, and every class of molluscous and crustacean life, the crab, the lobster and such like," reflecting an early proto-Art Nouveau design.

Local climate

Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain Eros sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 95% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 98% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 57% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 3 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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