Last weekend I was at St Giles House, Dorset, with the Realisation Festival, of which I am a director. The beautiful country house is the home of the Earls of Shaftesbury, one of the which, the 7th Earl, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, is remembered as a remarkable Victorian social reformer.
When he died, it is said that half of London came onto the streets to pay their respects as his body was carried to Westminster Abbey. Shaftesbury Avenue is named after him, as is the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, Piccadilly Circus.
The fountain is mistakenly known as “Eros”, after the presumed figure atop the fountain. Only, the artist, Alfred Gilbert, actually placed there the god, Anteros. A replica of Anteros is at St Giles House, pictured above.
The god’s oft-forgotten story is the latest post at my Substack, A Golden String…