Erection date: 14/5/1900
{Not known.}
In 1900 John Lewis erected a new memorial on their building consisting of a bronze half-length profile of Byron placed in an ornate Portland-stone frame. This was placed on the second floor of the new frontage at No. 24. The figure was taken from a proof engraving of the painted portrait at Newstead Abbey. We were delighted to find this image, at .
The building was destroyed in an air raid on 18 September 1940. have some photos of the aftermath, of which, images 2, 3 and 4, make it clear that this memorial would have been destroyed.
We thank Steve Roffey for the research at the Royal Society of Arts on which this entry is based.
Imogen at the archive told us that after the war until 1960 the JL buildings on Holles Street were rather temporary so it’s unlikely that there was any memorial to Byron during this time.
Site: Lord Byron (4 memorials)
W1, Holles Street, John Lewis
In the world of plaques this is an important site since the first ever official plaque (our P1) was placed by the (Royal) Society of Arts on a house here. Just a shame that it was lost and that replacing it has proved so troublesome.
Over the years there have been 4 Byron memorials here, which we have imaginatively labelled: P1, P2, P3, P4.
We thank Steve Roffey for the research on which these pages are based. Prime sources: , .
Also, in July 2025 we visited the in Cookham where Archivist Imogen was immensely helpful and provided some extra details to our understanding. She added that at various times John Lewis has used the Byron connection in its branding: c.1900 a portrait of Byron was included on the firm’s letterhead and then in the 1950s the foyer of the Byron Room Restaurant (the partners’ dining room we think) was decorated with a mural representing Byron’s life.
Sources include: .
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