The term 'circus' as used here refers to an open space, usually circular, where a number of roads meet. Drake Circus was originally a large oval
roundabout built in the early 20th century at the junction of four main roads and several minor ones. The roundabout consisted of
Edwardian buildings housing shops, and from 1937 its south end carried the "Guinness Clock", which was visible to people travelling up Old Town Street and was a landmark in the city of the time. and was replaced by a new open roundabout to the north. Around this time the lower section of the main road to
Tavistock off this new roundabout was renamed Drake Circus. A two-level shopping centre with open malls and a large
C&A store was built, partly over the site of the original circus. It opened in 1971 and was also named Drake Circus. Plans were drawn up for a much larger centre, and after
Allders signed up as the first "
anchor" tenant in 2001, work started in February 2004 on demolishing the old centre and the adjoining Charles Street
multi-storey car park. The scheme suffered a setback in January 2005, when Allders went into
administration. New tenants
Next and
Primark committed in 2005 and the building opened in October 2006. On 3 February 2005, it was announced that the shopping centre had been sold by P&O Estates to
Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund for £55m. On 20 November 2006, it was announced that Kandahar Real Estate had taken a 50 per cent stake in the centre. The centre was bought by
British Land for £240 million in January 2011. In 2007, the centre's management introduced a code of conduct which, like one
Bluewater introduced in 2005, banned
hooded tops and
baseball caps. Clarke Nicholls Marcel (CNM London) were the civil and structural engineers for the new-build shopping centre. In 2019, an entertainment complex named
The Barcode was opened adjacent to the mall, which is operated by Drake Circus. ==Gallery==