Starting at the Royal Academy, our latest hunt involved exploring Piccadilly.
Teams were formed in the Annenberg Courtyard overlooked by a statue of Joshua Reynolds. He was one of the Royal Academy’s founders and was their first president, holding the position from 1768 until his death in 1792.
Known for his portraits, some of Reynold’s subjects were women whose behaviour could be considered a little Naughty. Women, such as his close friend Kitty Fisher, who was a high-class prostitute. Although it was rumoured she was his mistress this was never proved.
Which leads us into the subject of the treasure hunt….
Naughty Or Nice
Piccadilly contains a lot of famous and infamous history and this treasure hunt enables you to discover some naughty as well as nice heritage.
After hunt reception
Instead of our usual after hunt cream tea, this time we had a Prosecco reception at the Jewel Bar just off Piccadilly Circus.
This is a grade II listed building built in 1909. It is of historic interest as it is an early 20th century commercial building combining the designs of two notable architects – Edward Keynes Purchase and Reginald Blomfield.
Blomfield, who designed the ground floor façade was the chief architect employed to remodel John Nash’s Regent Street designs during the 1910s and 20s.