Hercules Road

{{Short description|Street in Lambeth, London}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Use British English|date=June 2015}}

File:Pineapple Public House, Hercules Road - geograph.org.uk - 453041.jpg

Hercules Road runs north from Lambeth Road near Lambeth Palace, on the site of Penlington Place, in the London Borough of Lambeth, south London, England.{{cite book| editor1-first=Ben | editor1-last=Weinreb | editor1-link = Ben Weinreb |editor2-first=Christopher | editor2-last=Hibbert | editor2-link=Christopher Hibbert | title=The London Encyclopædia | chapter=Hercules Road | publisher=Macmillan | location=London | page=374 | year=1983 }}{{cite web| url=http://www.london-se1.co.uk/street/hercules-road | title=Hercules Road | website=london-se1.co.uk| accessdate=18 January 2015 }}

The road is named after Hercules Hall, which was built by and was the home of Philip Astley (1742–1814), riding instructor, horse-trainer, and acknowledged as the inventor of the modern circus.[https://books.google.com/books?id=E28oAAAAYAAJ&dq=philip+astley+-+native+of+Newcastle+under+Lyne&pg=PA474 The book of days: A miscellany of popular antiquities in connection with the calendar, including anecdote, biography, & history, curiosities of literature and oddities of human life and character] p.474. W. & R. Chambers, 1864 Performing nearby in an open field behind the present site of St John's Church, Waterloo, Astley realised the advantages of riding in a circle, and thus invented the circus ring. He was a principal among the many performers who made Lambeth a popular entertainment resort at that time.

Historically, Hercules Road is most well known for a former resident, the poet and visionary artist William Blake (1757–1827), who lived in a large house, 13 Hercules Buildings, and his address was Mr Blake Engraver, Hercules Buildings, Westminster Bridge.{{cite book| title=Blake | first=Peter | last=Ackroyd | date=1996 | publisher=Vintage | isbn=0749391766 }}{{cite web| url=http://landmark.lambeth.gov.uk/display_page.asp?section=landmark&id=2623 | title=William Blake's House, Hercules Road, Lambeth | website=landmark.lambeth.gov.uk | publisher=Lambeth Council | location=UK }} There is a series of mosaics inspired by Blake in a tunnel nearby.{{cite web| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2007/11/27/william_blake_anniversary_feature.shtml | title=10 things to know about William Blake | publisher=BBC London | location=UK }} The site is marked with a plaque.

In 1860 the actress and dancer Phyllis Broughton was born at 90 Hercules Buildings. She became a Gaiety Girl who made a fortune from her success.{{Citation |last=Innes |first=Eilidh |title=Broughton [real name Phyllis Harriet Wright; married name Thomson], Phyllis (1860–1926), dancer and actress |date=2023-11-09 |work=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-62580 |access-date=2024-02-10 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.62580 |isbn=978-0-19-861412-8}}

Hercules Road was a location for the film Passport to Pimlico.{{cite web| url=http://www.reelstreets.com/index.php?option=com_films_online&task=view&id=749 | title=Documenting the 'then' and 'now' of movie locations worldwide | website=ReelStreets | accessdate=19 February 2024}} At the conclusion of filming, the site had to be returned to the same bomb-damaged state as before, to enable the locals to claim war damage compensation. It is also the setting for Tracy Chevalier's 2007 novel Burning Bright.

The Pineapple public house is located at 53–55 Hercules Road.{{cite web| url=http://www.london-se1.co.uk/restaurants/info/314/the-pineapple | title=The Pineapple | website=london-se1.co.uk | publisher=London SE1 | location=UK }}