Piccadilly Circus

Fortnum and Mason is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 8pm and Sunday from 12noon to 6pm.

020 7734 8040

Fortnum & Mason is a luxurious department store situated in Piccadilly. It was established in 1707 by William Fortnum and Hugh Mason. Its fame rests almost entirely on its upmarket food hall, though only one of its several floors is devoted to food.

In 1761, William Fortnum's grandson Charles went into the service of Queen Charlotte, and this new-found royal affiliation led to an increase in business. The store began to stock speciality items, namely ready-to-eat luxury meals such as fresh poultry or game served in aspic jelly. During the Napoleonic Wars, the emporium supplied dried fruit, spices and other preserves to the British officers, and during the Victorian era it was frequently called upon to provide food for prestigious court functions. Queen Victoria even sent shipments of Fortnum and Mason's concentrated beef tea to Florence Nightingale's hospitals during the Crimean War. Fortnum & Mason is also famed for its luxury picnic hampers, which the store first distributed to the Victorian era’s high society, at events such as the Henley Regatta and the Ascot Races. These hampers — which contain luxury items such as Stilton cheese, champagne and smoked salmon — remain popular with England's upper classes, especially at Christmas time.

The store was acquired by Canadian billionaire, W. Garfield Weston, and in 1964 he commissioned the installation of a huge four-ton clock above the main entrance of the store as a tribute to its founders. Every hour four-foot models of William Fortnum and Hugh Mason emerge and bow to each other, with chimes and 18th century-style music playing in the background. The store is currently run by Weston’s granddaughters, Jana Weston Khayat and Kate Weston Hobhouse.

Christmas Deliveries!

Top - Home