Britannic House

Britannic House was designed by Edwin Lutyens and built in 1924-27 for the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. It is located on the northwest corner of Finsbury Circus on a plot between Moorgate and the circus.

Finsbury Circus was originally created in 1812 in Moorfields, one of the last pockets of open land in the city of London. At the south end stood Bethlehem Hospital, a building constructed in 1675 according to a design by Robert Hooke, but which was torn down in 1814 due its dilapidated state. The hospital moved into a new building in Southwark. The gardens of the circus was laid out with a circuit of lime trees in 1815, and use of the gardens was restricted to the residents of the surrounding buildings. Britannic House replaced the last of the circus' original buildings. 

Britannic House is a seven-storey steel structure, with a concave facade on to the oval-shaped circus. The details are classical and according to Nikolaus Pevsner inspired by North Italian mannerism. The statues are the work of Francis Derment Wood.   

The Anglo-Persian Oil Company changed its name to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1935 and became British Petroleum (BP) in 1954.

The west facade faces Moorgate, a street named after a 15th century gate in the city walls, demolished in 1761-62. 

Opposite Britannic House stands Salisbury House, built in 1901 according to designs by architects Davis & Emmanuel. The Building to the right is Electra House by John Belcher (1902)