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TY - ELEC
A1 - The MoEML Team
A1 - Holmes, Martin
ED - Jenstad, Janelle
T1 - Documents that form part of the encyclopedia component of the MoEML project.
T2 - The Map of Early Modern London
PY - 2020
DA - 2020/06/26
CY - Victoria
PB - University of Victoria
LA - English
UR - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/mdtEncyclopedia.htm
UR - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/xml/standalone/mdtEncyclopedia.xml
ER -
RT Web Page
SR Electronic(1)
A1 The MoEML Team
A1 Holmes, Martin
A6 Jenstad, Janelle
T1 Documents that form part of the encyclopedia component of the MoEML project.
T2 The Map of Early Modern London
WP 2020
FD 2020/06/26
RD 2020/06/26
PP Victoria
PB University of Victoria
LA English
OL English
LK https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/mdtEncyclopedia.htm
Documents that form part of the encyclopedia component of the
Programmer, 2018-present. Junior Programmer, 2015-2017. Research Assistant, 2014-2017. Joey Takeda was a graduate student at the University of British Columbia in the Department of English (Science and Technology research stream). He completed his BA honours in English (with a minor in Women’s Studies) at the University of Victoria in 2016. His primary research interests included diasporic and indigenous Canadian and American literature, critical theory, cultural studies, and the digital humanities.
Director of Pedagogy and Outreach, 2015–present. Associate Project Director, 2015–present. Assistant Project Director, 2013-2014. MoEML Research Fellow, 2013. Kim McLean-Fiander comes to
Janelle Jenstad is Associate Professor of English at the University of Victoria, Director of
Programmer at the University of Victoria Humanities Computing and Media Centre (HCMC). Martin ported the MOL project from its original PHP incarnation to a pure eXist database implementation in the fall of 2011. Since then, he has been lead programmer on the project and has also been responsible for maintaining the project schemas. He was a co-applicant on MoEML’s 2012 SSHRC Insight Grant.
We’d also like to acknowledge students who contributed to
These are all MoEML team members since 1999 to present. To see the current members and structure of our team, see
Founded in
The Abbey of St. Mary Graces is a chapel built in around
Abchurch Lane runs north-south from
Lombard Street to Candlewick (Cannon) Street. The
Agas Map labels it Abchurche
lane
. It lies mainly in Candlewick
Street Ward, but part of it serves as the boundary between Langbourne Ward and Candlewick Street Ward.
Addle Hill or Athelyngstrete ran north from Knightrider Street up to Carter Lane (Stow 404).
According to
Aldermanbury ran north-south, between Lad Lane in the south and Love Lane in the north and parallel between Wood Street in the west and Basinghall Street in the east. It lay wholly in Cripplegate Ward.
Aldgate was the easternmost gate into the walled
city. The name Aldgate
is thought to come from one of four sources:
Eastern gate
(Ekwall 36), ale
, public gate
or open to all
, or old gate
(Bebbington
20–21).
The Aldgate Bars were posts that marked the eastern limits of the City of London. They were located at the western end of Whitechapel and the eastern end of Aldgate Street. Stow makes no attempt to describe them in detail apart from mentioning their geographic importance as boundary markers (Stow). The bars were removed in the eighteenth century (Harben).
Aldgate Street ran slightly south-west from Aldgate until it reached a pump, formerly a sweet well. At that point, the street forked into two streets. The northern branch, called Aldgate Street, ran west until it ran into Cornhill at Lime Street. At an earlier point in history, Cornhill seems to have extended east past Lime Street because the church of St. Andrew Undershaft was called St. Andrew upon Cornhill (Harben 10).
All Hallows, London Wall is a church built east of
Bishopsgate, near or on the City Wall. The church is visible on the Agas map
northwest of Broad Street and up against the south
side of the City Wall. The label All Haloues in y Wall
is west of the church. In
his description of Broad Street Ward, Stow notes only the location of the
church and the three distinguished people interred therein by 1601.
The church of All Hallows Barking is in Tower Street Ward on the southeast corner of Seething Lane and on the north side of Tower Street. Stow describes it as a fayre parish Church
.
All Hallows the Great was a church located on the south side of Thames Street and on the east side of Church Lane. faire Church with a large
cloyster
, but remarks that it has been foulely defaced and ruinated
(Stow 1: 235).
The Almshouses of Wood Street were located on the east side of the street, south of Bowyers’ Hall. Carlin and Belcher note that the almshouses were built in by request to the
(Carlin and Belcher 64).
Andro Morris Key, also known as Andro Morris Quay or Andrew Morris Key, was one of the so-called Andrew morice kay
.
Not to be confused with Hartshorn Alley, which is also known by the name Angel Alley
.
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
Arundel House (c.
Arundel Stairs provided access to Arundel House from the Thames.
The Atrium near St. Paul’s Cathedral was located on the west side of the cathedral, adjacent to St. Peter College Rents and the Stationers’ Hall.
Austin Friars was a church on the west side of Broad Street in Broad
Street Ward. It was formerly part of the Priory of Augustine Friars, established in 1253. At the dissolution
of the monastery in 1539, the West end [of the church] thereof inclosed from
the steeple, and Quier, was in the yeare 1550. graunted to the Dutch Nation in
London [by
(Stow). The Quier
and side Isles to the Quier adioyning, he reserued to housholde vses, as for
stowage of corne, coale, and other things
(Stow). The church, completely rebuilt in the nineteenth century and
then again mid-way through the twentieth century, still belongs to Dutch
Protestants to this day.
Ballardes Lane is marked on the 1520 map as branching off of Chancery Lane. Carlin and Belcher note that
the street is now (i.e., Carey Street
,
as it is still called today (Carlin and Belcher).
According to Harben, the first mention of this Carey Street
is from
Bankside ran along the south bank of the Thames from Winchester house to the place where Blackfriars
Bridge would later be built. Described by Weinreb as redolent of squalor and vice,
the name
Barbican was a historically significant street that ran east-west, connecting Aldersgate Street in the west with Redcross Street and Golden Lane in the east. Barbican was more then halfe
contained by Cripplegate Ward, with the rest lying within Aldersgate Ward (Stow 1:291). The street is labeled on the Agas map as Barbican
.
Barbican Manor was a manor on Barbican Street.
There is a Barbican
label on the Agas map, but it is unclear whether it refers to the street or
the manor. The position of the feature on the Agas map near the Barbican
label corresponds to the manor’s
position on the 1520 map. According to
Barbican Tower was a watchtower or barbican to the northeast of the London Wall.
According to
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
Bartholomew Lane was in Broad Street Ward and ran north-south from the junction of Throgmorton Street and Lothbury to Threadneedle Street. Bartholomew Lane is visible on the Agas map running
southeast on the west side of St. Batholomew by the
Exchange. It is labelled bar eelmew
la
. Stow was the first to
record the street as Bartholomew Lane in the
Bartholomew’s Lane (West Smithfield) is listed in Carlin and Belcher
and is marked on the corresponding 1520 map (Carlin and Belcher). On that map,
it runs along the south side of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. It is neither marked on the Agas map
nor mentioned by
Basing Lane ran west from Bow Lane to Bread Street. The part from Bow Lane to the back door of the Red Lion (in Watling Street) lay in Cordwainer Street Ward, and the rest
in Breadstreet Ward. Stow did not
know the derivation of the street’s name, but suggested it had been called
the Bakehouse in the fourteenth century, whether ment for the Kings
bakehouse, or of bakers dwelling there, and baking bread to serue the market
in Bredstreete, where the bread was sold, I know not
(Stow).
Located on the banks of the Thames, Baynard’s Castle was built sometime
in the by
(Weinreb and Hibbert 129). The castle passed to
who by forfeyture for
fellonie, lost his Baronie of little Dunmow
(Stow 1: 61). From the time it was built, Baynard’s Castle was the headquarters of London’s
army until the reign of
when it was handed over to the Dominican Friars,
the Blackfriars whose name is still commemorated along that part of the
waterfront
(Hibbert 10).
The house of Robert Beauchamp, burned in the Great Fire.
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
According to the 1520 map, Bear (London Wall) was located just outside of Cripplegate.
Harben’s entry notes that a Cock or Bear Alley
(Harben).
The Bear Garden was never a garden, but rather a polygonal bearbaiting arena whose exact locations across time are not known (Mackinder and Blatherwick 18). Labelled on the Agas map as The Bearebayting
, the Bear Garden would have been one of several permanent structures—wooden arenas, dog kennels, bear pens—dedicated to the popular spectacle of bearbaiting in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Bear Inn (Basinghall Street) was on Basinghall Street. It is not marked on the Agas map but is next to the Girdler’s Hall on the 1520 map (Historical Towns Trust).
According to John Stow, the Bear’s Head was a brothel in Southwark.
Beer Lane ran north-south from Tower Street to Thames
Street in Tower Street Ward. Stow notes that Beer Lane included many faire
houses
.
According to John Stow, the Bell was a brothel in Southwark.
Bell Alley ran west from Bishopsgate Street without the Wall (Harben 61).
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
For information about the Bell Inn, Gracechurch Street, a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit
For information about the Bell Savage Inn, a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
Bell Yard, Temple Bar ran north-south between Fleet Street in the south and what is now Carey Street in the north. It was to the north of Temple Church and Temple Bar, to the west of St. Dunstan in the West, and to the east of St. Clement Danes. According to Harben, the name derived from the tenement called
(65).le Belle
Benbridges Inn was a large house on
the northwest corner of Lime Street.
The Inn appears to be named after Ricardus de Pembrugge, a Knight and owner
of a large piece of land in Lime Street
Ward in 1376 (Harben; BHO). In 1454 the draper Ralph Holland bestowed the large
messuage to the Master and Wardens of the Fraternity of Tailors and Linen
Armourers of St John the Baptist (Harben; BHO). Soon thereafter they set up a fayre large frame of timber
for a large house and built three other tenement buildings adjoining it
(Stow; BHO).
Also known as Paul’s Wharf Hill. Named for the church of St. Benet, Paul’s Wharf.
According to
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
Although its name evokes the pandemonium of the archetypal madhouse, Bethlehem (Bethlem, Bedlam) Hospital was not always an asylum. As Priorie of Cannons with brethren and
sisters
, founded in one of the Sheriffes of London
(Stow 1: 164). We know from
Bevis Marks was a street south of the City Wall that ran east-west from Shoemaker Row to the north end of St. Mary Axe Street. It was in Aldgate Ward. Bevis Marks was continued by Duke’s Place.
Billingsgate (Bylynges gate or Belins Gate), a water-gate and harbour located on the north side
of the Thames between London Bridge
and the Tower of London, was
London’s principal dock in
As noted by Ekwall, [t]he name Thames Street was applied to the whole length of the street, but there were several alternative names for sections of it
(Ekwall 28)—one of which is Billingsgate Street, in Billingsgate Ward, also sometimes referred to as ‘
Billiter Lane ran north-west from
Fenchurch to Leadenhall, entirely in Aldgate Ward. Nearby landmarks included Blanch Appleton facing the opening of
Billiter Lane on the south side
of Fenchurch and Ironmongers’ Hall to the west of Billiter Lane on the north side of Fenchurch. Nearby churches were St. Catherine Cree on Leadenhall and All Hallows Staining adjacent to the Clothworkers’ Hall) and St. Katharine Coleman on Fenchurch. On the Agas map, Billiter Lane is labelled Bylleter la.
Birchin Lane was a short street running north-south between Cornhill Street and Lombard Street. The north end of Birchin Lane lay in Cornhill Ward, and the south end in Langbourne Ward.
An inn on the north side of Bridewell.
Bishopsgate Street ran north from Cornhill Street to the southern end of Shoreditch Street at the city boundary. South of
Cornhill, the road became Gracechurch Street, and the two streets formed a
major north-south artery in the eastern end of the walled city of London, from
London Bridge to Shoreditch. Important sites included: Bethlehem Hospital, a mental hospital, and Bull Inn, a place where plays were performed before
(Weinreb and Hibbert
67).
Bishop’s Palace was located on the north-west side of St. Paul’s Church. It was bordered on the north by Paternoster Row and on the west by Ave Maria Lane. It is not labelled on the Agas map.
For information about the Black Bull Inn, Bishopsgate Street, a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
The largest and wealthiest friary in England, Blackfriars was not only a
religious institution but also a cultural, intellectual, and political centre of London. The friary housed
London’s Dominican friars (known in England as the Black friars) after their move from
the smaller Blackfriars precincts in Holborn. The Dominicans’ aquisition of the site,
overseen by
Standing just west of Holborn Bridge, the site that would become the original Blackfriars
precinct was acquired by the Dominican friars (known in England as the Black friars) circa
The third house of the Dominican friars (known in England as the Black friars) in London
stood at the former Augustinian canons’ house at St. Bartholomew’s. With the return of Catholic worship under
The history of the two Blackfriars theatres is long and fraught with legal and political struggles. The story begins in
Blanch Appleton was a manor on Fenchurch Street
next to St. Katherine Coleman in Aldgate Ward.
It is marked on the Agas map as Blanch chapelton
. discontinued,
and therefore forgotten, so as no-thing
remaineth for memorie, but the name of Mart Lane
(Stow 113).
The site was claimed by the Mayor and Commonality of the City in Blanch Appleton Court
(Harben).
Located on St. Laurence Lane, Guildhall, Blossoms Inn was a
travelers inn. Our Agas coordinates for the inn are based on
Cooks’ house.
A tavern in Knightrider Steet on the corner of Do Little Lane.
Boss Alley (Billingsgate) is not labelled on
the Agas map, but an unmarked alley is visible on the Agas map in the place corresponding to
Boss Alley (Queenhithe) was in Queenhithe Ward. It is labelled
on the Agas map as Boſs allee
.
St. Botolph’s Wharf was located in Billingsgate Ward on the north bank of the Thames. Named after
Built over the River Lea at the behest of builded on Arches of stone
(Stow 1: 253).
Bow Lane ran north-south between Cheapside and Old Fish Street in the ward of Cordwainer Street. At Watling Street, it became Cordwainer Street, and at Old Fish Street it became Garlick Hill. Garlick Hill-Bow Lane was built in the 890s to provide access from the port of Queenhithe to the great market of Cheapside (Sheppard 70–71).
Bread Street ran north-south from the Standard in Cheapside to Knightrider Street, crossing Watling Street. It lay wholly in the ward of Bread Street, to which it gave its name.
Bread Street Hill ran north-south between Old Fish Street and Thames Street.
The label for this street on the Agas Map reads Bread
ſtreat
, but we know from Stow that Bread Street Hill falls between Huggen
lane
and S. Mary Mounthaunt
(St. Mary Mounthaunt is another name for Old Fish Street Hill) (2.1).
Stow says that by 1302 the bakers in London were obligated to sell their bread at a central market, eventually giving its name to Breadstreet.
The Bricklayers’ Hall was east of Billiter Lane and stood on the south side of the street running west from the water pump near Aldgate. This street was named Leadenhall Street in the seventeenth century but was considered part of Aldgate Street when Stow was writing. Stow mentions the hall only in passing in his survey, so he neglects the hall’s appearance and history (Stow). The hall was incorporated in 1568 but by the eighteenth century the Bricklayers had abandoned it. Thereafter, it was used as a synagogue by Dutch Jews (Harben).
Bridewell, once palace, then prison, was an intriguing site in the early modern period. It changed hands several times before falling into the possession of the BrideWell
.
Broad Street ran north-south from All Hallows, London Wall to Threadneedle Street and to a Pumpe ouer against Saint
(Stow). Broad Street, labelled Bennets churchBrode Streat
on the Agas map, was entirely in
Broad Street Ward. The street’s name was a
reference to its width and importance (Harben).
A wharf opposite of St. Mary Somerset Church.
Browne’s Place was rebuilt from
Located east of Minories Street and later renamed Peacock Place or Court (Harben 466), Brown’s Alley is not featured on the Agas map.
Budge Row ran east-west through Cordwainer Street ward. It passed through the ward from Soper Lane in the west to Walbrook in the east. Beyond Soper Lane, Budge Row became Watling Street. Before it came to be known as Budge Row, it once formed part of Watling Street, one of the Roman roads (Weinreb and Hibbert 107).
Butchers’ Alley ran parallel to Pentecost Lane to the Butchers’ Hall on the east side of Christ Church. It is not labelled on the Agas map.
Camomile Street lay south of the city wall from Bevis Marks
to Bishopsgate Street. Camomile Street is the seventeenth century
name for a street that was nameless when the streete which runneth by the north ende of saint Marie
streete
.
Candlewick, or Candlewright Street as it was sometimes called, ran east-west from Walbrook in the west to the beginning of Eastcheap at its eastern terminus. Candlewick became Eastcheap somewhere around St. Clements Lane, and led into a great meat market (Stow 1 :217). Together with streets such as Budge Row, Watling Street, and Tower Street, which all joined into each other, Candlewick formed the main east-west road through London between Ludgate and Posterngate.
According to John Stow, the Cardinal’s Hat was a brothel in Southwark.
Cardinal’s Hat Tavern was a tavern that likely sat at the meeting of Cornhill and Lombard Street.
Carey Lane ran east-west, connecting Gutter Lane in the east and Foster Lane in the west. It ran parallel between Maiden Lane in the north and Cheapside in the south. The Agas Map labels it Kerie la
.
Carter Lane ran east-west between Creed Lane in the west, past Paul’s Chain, to Old Change in the East. It ran parallel to St. Paul’s Churchyard in the north and Knightrider Street in the south. It lay within Castle Baynard Ward and Farringdon Ward Within. It is labelled as Carter lane
on the Agas map.
According to John Stow, the Castle was a brothel in Southwark.
The Agas map labels this small street Castell hill
. In
Castle Alley(21). There does not seem to be any information in Stow about this hill or alley. Stow does talk about a Castle Lane further west, between the Blackfriars and the Thames, near the Fleet River.
Castle Alley was a small passage that ran north-south along the western side of the Royal Exchange, connecting Threadneedle street and Cornhill. It crossed the boundary lines of Cornhill and Broad Street wards, and was named for the sign of the Castle Tavern (Stow).
Located south of the Aldgate Bars according to Stow’s
Catherine Wheel Alley ran west from Bishopsgate Street without the Wall. The alley derived its name from the nearby Catherine Wheel Inn (Harben 131).
Chancery Lane was built sometime
around in
(Bebbington 78).
The Charnel House and Chapel of St. Edmund and Mary
Magdalen was a mortuary chapel in Bishopsgate
Ward on the east side of Bishopsgate
Street. Prockter and Taylor suggest that the
Charnel House and Chapel of St. Edmund and Mary
Magdalen is the long, solitary building within the walled compound
northwest of the Artillery Yard on the Agas
map. References to this chapel are sparse in historical records,
but we know from Stow that it was founded about the yeare 1391. by William
Euesham Citizen and Peperer of London, who was there buried
(Stow).
The London Charterhouse refers to a series of buildings located at the north-east end of Charterhouse Lane to the west of Aldersgate Street near Smithfield. Throughout the early modern period, the Charterhouse served many functions: prior to the Reformation, it was a Carthusian monastery; however, after the execution of
Charterhouse Lane was a narrow road that ran north-south between the London Charterhouse and St. John’s Street. The street earned its name due to its proximity to the London Charterhouse, which housed Carthusian monks. Following the dissolution of London monasteries
A house once belonging to the Abbots of Chartsey. Near Boss Lane.
If monuments could speak, the Cheapside Cross would
have told a tale of kingly love, civic pride, and sectarian violence. The Cross, pictured but not labelled on the
Agas map, stood in Cheapside between Friday Street and Wood
Street. St. Peter Westcheap lay to its
west, on the north side of Cheapside. The
prestigious shops of
Cheapside, one of the most important streets in early modern London, ran east-west between the Great Conduit at the foot of Old Jewry to the Little Conduit by St. Paul’s churchyard. The terminus of all the northbound streets from the river, the broad expanse of Cheapside separated the northern wards from the southern wards. It was lined with buildings three, four, and even five stories tall, whose shopfronts were open to the light and set out with attractive displays of luxury commodities (Weinreb and Hibbert 148). Cheapside was the centre of London’s wealth, with many mercers’ and goldsmiths’ shops located there. It was also the most sacred stretch of the processional route, being traced both by the linear east-west route of a royal entry and by the circular route of the annual mayoral procession.
This messuage is not identified on the Agas Map but Prockter and Taylor label a house in this
vicinity Ghertsey House
(21). Stow talks about an inn used
by the abbots of Chertsey Abbey in Surrey, wherein they were lodged when they repayred to the Citie
(2:11).
Chick Lane ran north-south from Tower Hill into Tower
Street. Stow confirms that it ran on the east of Barking
church
. It is likely that Chick Lane also featured the diuers houses lately builded, and other
incrochmentes
found directly above the lane on the west side of Tower Hill (Stow).
Located in Farringdon Within Ward, Christ’s Hospital was a opened in
Church Lane was a semi-circular lane that wrapped around the south side of the parish church of St. Dunstan in the East, in Tower Street Ward. Both ends of Church Lane led south off Tower Street.
The city ditch was part of London’s medieval defence system that ran along the outside of the wall
from the Tower to Fleet River. According to much filth (conveyed forth of the Citie) especially dead dogs, were there laid or cast
(Stow sig. L7v). The ditch
was filled in and covered with garden plots by the time of
The City Dog House, located in northern London, was adjacent to Moorfields and was located outside of The Wall and the city wards. On the Agas map, it is labelled as Dogge hous
. Built in
According to
One of the Inns of Chancery.
Cockpit Alley, later called Pitt Court, was one of a series of narrow alleys that ran southwest to northeast between Drury Lane in the west and Great Wild Street (now just Wild Street) in the east. It took its name from the Cockpit Theatre which was located in the alley or very nearby. It is not labelled in the Agas Map, but appears clearly on the Rocque map of 1746.
Little is known about Cokedon Hall, but Carlin and Belcher note that it was in existence around sometime at the South west end of Marte lane I reade of
(Stow 1: 132).
Coldharbour was a mansion dating back to at least
Coldharbour Lane, or Colderherburghlane, ran south from Thames Street to Coldharbour on the east side of All Hallows the Less (Historical Towns Trust).
College Hill was located on the boundary between Vintry Ward and
Dowgate Ward. It is visible on the Agas map and marked as Whythyngton College
.
Columbe Brewhouse was located northwest of the Ironmongers’ Hall off of Fenchurch Street. Though little is known about the Columbe Brewhouse itself, the name dates back to at least brewhouse called
(Carlin and Belcher 71, Ekwall 173).
Initially named for its proximity to the Poultry Compter, Compter Alley is now Chapel Place (Poultry) (Ekwall 172). Directly south of the Grocers’ Hall, the alley ran from the Poultry Compter to Poultry.
Not labelled on the Agas map, the Conduit upon Cornhill is thought to have been located in the middle of Cornhill and opposite the north end of Change Alley and the eastern side of the Royal Exchange
(Harben 167; BHO). Formerly a prison, it was built to bring fresh water from Tyburn to Cornhill.
Conduit upon Dowgate was a water conduit in Dowgate Ward. It flowed from the upper end of Dowgate Street to the Thames (Stow 248). Dowgate marks the end of the water conduit where it flows into the Thames. According to Stow, the conduit was built in
Cornhill was a significant thoroughfare and was part of the cityʼs main major east-west thoroughfare that divided the northern half of London from the southern half. The part of this thoroughfare named Cornhill extended from St. Andrew Undershaft to the three-way intersection of Threadneedle, Poultry, and Cornhill where the Royal Exchange was built. The name Cornhill
preserves a memory both of the cornmarket that took place in this street, and of the topography of the site upon
which the Roman city of Londinium was built.
Cow Face, commonly referred to as [t]anners sold hides in this seld until
(Carlin and Belcher 71).
Cow Lane, located in the Ward of Farringdon Without, began at Holborn Street, and then curved north and east to West Smithfield. Smithfield was a meat market, so the street likely got its name because cows were led through it to market (Bebbington 100). Just as Ironmonger Lane and Milk Street in Cheapside market were named for the goods located there, these streets leading into Smithfield meat market were named for the animals that could be bought there.
According to John Stow, the Crane was a brothel in Southwark.
Cripplegate was one of the original gates in the city wall (Weinreb, Hibbert, Keay, and Keay 221; Harben). It was the northern gate of a large fortress that occupied the northwestern corner of the Roman city.
A graveyard for London prostitutes also called a single women’s’ church yard
by John Stow. The Cross Bones served as a burial place for women deprived of a Christian burial because of their association with the brothels of Southwark.
According to John Stow, the Cross Keys was a brothel in Southwark.
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
For information about the Cross Keys Inn, Gracechurch Street, a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
One of the smallest London friaries, Crossed Friars (also known as
Crouched Friars or Crutched Friars) housed the
signe of the Crowne
and later a Brewhouſe called the Crowne
located on the east side of Warwicke Lane near Newgate Market on the northern boundary of Castle Baynard Ward (Stow 404, 408). Harben mentions a Crown Court
out of Warwicke Lane in Castle Baynard Ward while Strype mentions a Crown Inn
with a passage to Newgate Market (Harben Crown Court and Strype Book 3, pp. 230). We’ve listed these locations as the same in lieu of further information. Agas Map coordinates are based on geographical information given by
Located east of St. Botolphs without Aldgate, the Crown Inn was given to Christ Church
in
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
Crutched Friars was a street that ran east-west from Poor Jewry Lane to the east end of Hart Street above Seething Lane. When Stow wrote, most of Crutched Friars was known as Hart Street, so Stow only uses the name Crutched Friars to refer to Crutched Friars Priory (Harben). Since Stow does not name the street that ran from Aldgate to Woodroffe Lane, it could have been known as Hart Street, Crutched Friars, or something different.
Cuckold’s Haven or Cuckold’s Point and the horn-topped pole that stood on the banks of the Thames were notorious in early modern London. The location was known for adultery both committed and threatened, and was referred to widely in the period’s literature. The Horne Faire of Charlton celebrated the association of the site with an act of cuckoldry involving
Dark lane was a small street that was located just north of Queenhithe and was connected to Timberhithe Street.
Running north-to-south, Deep Ditch was the boundary between the Moorfields and Hospital of St. Mary Bethlehem. Henry Harben describes the history of the site as follows: In Agas’ map a stream is shown here flowing into the City Ditch, which may be the remains of the Walbrook, the bed of which has been found under Blomfield Street, and might be referred to by
Harben 195
Distaff Lane was in Bread
Street Ward. There is some discrepancy between the Agas Map and the information in Stow. On the Agas Map, Distaff
Lane (labelled Diſtaf la.
) appears to run south
off Maiden Lane, terminating before it reaches Knightrider Street. Stow tells us, in his delineation of the
bounds of Bread Street Ward, that Distaff Lane runneth downe to Knightriders street, or olde Fishstreete
(1.345). Our map truncates Distaff Lane before Knightrider Street.
Do Little Lane was a small lane that ran north-south between Carter Lane in the north and Knightrider Street in the south. It ran parallel between Sermon Lane in the west and Old Change Street in the east. It lay within Castle Baynard Ward. It is labelled as Do lytle la.
on the Agas map.
Dodding Pond may have been a lane somewhere east of the Tower of London and near the Abbey of St. Mary Graces (Harben).
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
Dowgate was a watergate opening to the Thames in Dowgate Ward, near Walbrook (Harben Dowgate). According to Carlin and Belcher, Dowgate was a place where ships unloaded (Carlin and Belcher 72). According to Harben, Dowgate was called Duuegate
, Douuegate
, or Douegate
, in the 12th and 13th centuries but because u
for an n
, the gate also became known as Downgate (Harben Dowgate). According to Harben, The site is now occupied by Dowgate Dock (Harben Dowgate).
Dowgate Street is a high street that runs north-south from Candlewick Street to the Thames. According to Dowgate
(Harben Dowgate Hill). According to downe going or descending
, because the street descends to the Thames (Stow 248).
Draper’s Hall was a livery company hall on the
north side of Throgmorton Street in Broad Street Ward. On the Agas map, Drapers’ Hall appears as a large house with three
round towers, thus resembling the architecture of Hampton Court Palace and some
of the college gates at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Stow records that the hall was built by
Dudley’s House was located just north of Candlewick Street, before it meets Walbrook Street. According to
According to
Dune House was located in Tower Street Ward. fayre house
with a high tower of Bricke
that was built by one of the owners, ouerlooke his neighboures
(Stow 97).
Durham House was located in the Strand, west of Ivy Lane. It stood at the border between the Duchy of Lancaster and Westminster.
East Smithfield is a district located east of the
City of London and northeast of the Tower of
London. Its name derives from
smoothfield
, with the prefix east
helping
to differentiate it from the Smithfield northwest
of Cripplegate (Harben). As time progressed, it transformed from
what Stow describes as a plot of ground
with very few houses into
a densely populated area by the mid-seventeenth century(Stow; Harben).
Eastcheap Street ran east-west, from
Tower Street to St. Martin’s Lane. West of New Fish Street/Gracechurch Street, Eastcheap was known as Great Eastcheap
. The portion of the street to the
east of New Fish Street/Gracechurch Street was known as Little Eastcheap
. Eastcheap (Eschepe or Excheapp) was the site of a medieval food market.
Falcon Inn was a tavern in the Bankside area and was a popular destination for many Elizabethan playwrights.
Fenchurch Street (often called pork and peas
after her sister,
Fetter Lane ran north-south between
Holborn Street and Fleet Street, in the ward of Farringdon Without, past the east side of the
church of Saint Dunstan’s in the West. Stow consistently calls this street
Fewtars Lane
, Fewter Lane
, or Fewters Lane
(2:21, 2:22), and claimed that it was so called of Fewters (or
idle people) lying there
(2:39).
Finch Lane (labelled Finke la.
on the Agas map) was a small north-south lane that ran between Threadneedle Street and Cornhill. The north half of the lane was in Broadstreet Ward and the latter half was in Cornhill Ward. It is likely that the lane is named after
Finimore Lane ran east-west between Old Fish Street Hill and Bread Street Hill in Queenhithe Ward. The lane is not visible on the Agas Map, but we have marked it running just south of St. Nicholas Olave church based on evidence from Stow.
Finsbury Field is located in northen London outside the London Wall. Note that MoEML correctly locates Finsbury Field, which the label on the Agas map confuses with Mallow Field (Prockter 40). Located nearby is Finsbury Court. Finsbury Field is outside of the city wards within the borough of Islington (Mills 81).
Fisher’s Folly was a large house on the east side of
Bishopsgate Street, within the boundary of
Bishopsgate Ward and a few houses away from the
Dolphin Inn. Fisher’s Folly
is not marked on the Agas map. By
Fleet Street runs east-west from Temple Bar to Fleet Hill (Ludgate Hill), and is named for the Fleet River. The road has existed since at least the
Foster Lane ran north-south between Cheapside in the south and Oat Lane in the north. It crossed Lily Pot Lane, St. Anne’s Lane, Maiden Lane, and Carey Lane. It sat between St. Martin’s Lane to the west and Gutter Lane to the east. Foster Lane is drawn on the Agas Map in the correct position, labelled as Forster Lane
.
Friday Street passed south through Bread Street Ward, beginning at the cross in Cheapside and ending at Old Fish Street. It was one of many streets that ran into Cheapside market whose name is believed to originate from the goods that were sold there.
Galley Key was a port on the north bank of the Thames, east of London Bridge, and south of Lower Thames Street in Tower Ward.
Galley Row was a short because Galley men dwelled there
(Stow).
Garlick Hill ran north from the
Thames. Before it reached Cheapside,
it became Bow Lane. The name Garlick Hill
preserves a memory of
the steep incline (now partially flattened) leading away from the river.
Like Bread Street, Garlick Hill was built in the ninth
century; it provided access from the haven of Queenhithe (just to the west of
Garlick Hill) to the main market
street of Cheapside.
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Goldsmiths’ Row was a section on the south side of Cheapside, by Cheapside Cross. Goldsmiths’ Row and the shops and homes of other wealthy merchants made the street an elite and attractive one.
Gracechurch Street ran north-south from Cornhill Street near Leadenhall Market to the bridge. At the southern end, it was called
New Fish Street
. North of Cornhill, Gracechurch
continued as Bishopsgate Street, leading through
Bishop’s Gate out of the walled city into the
suburb of Shoreditch.
Running parallel to Dowgate, Grantam Lane spanned north to south from Thames Street to the Thames.
Brewer’s Lane
(Harben).
Gray’s Inn was one of the four Inns of Court.
Enduring for over three centuries, longer than any other London friary, Greyfriars garnered support
from both England’s landed elite and common Londoners. Founded in
Grub Street could be found outside the walled city of London. It ran north-south, between Everades Well Street in the north and Fore Lane in the south. Grub Street was partially in Cripplegate ward, and partially outside the limits of the city of London.
Guildhall Yard was a square outside Guildhall.
The Gunfoundry was a large house and enclosed yard
on the north side of Houndsditch where cannon and
Brasse Ordinance
were made (Stow). It was in Portsoken
Ward. According to brethren
(Stow).
According to John Stow, the Gunn was a brothel in Southwark.
Gutter Lane ran north-south from Cheapside to Maiden Lane. It is to the west of Wood Street and to the east of Foster Lane, lying within the north-eastern most area of Farringdon Ward Within and serving as a boundary to Aldersgate ward. It is labelled as Goutter Lane
on the Agas map.
Half Moon was a messuage with a garden in East Smithfield. According to the 1633 edition of
divers Feoffees, between the Parishes of Alhallowes in Lumbard-street, and Saint Andrews Vndershaft(Stow 155).
Half Moon Alley ran west from Bishopsgate Street without the Wall (Harben 287).
Located southwest of Houndsditch in Portsoken Ward (Harben 289), Hand Alley is not featured on the Agas map.
Erected in the
According to Walter George Bell, Hare House was a property in Ram Alley left by upon trust for 1,000 years, that every Sunday thirteen pennyworth of bread should be given to thirteen poor people of the parish after service in St. Dunstan’s church
(Bell 296).
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Hart Street ran east-west from Crutched Fryers and the north end of Seething Lane to Mark Lane. In Stow’s time, the street began much further east, running from the north end of Woodroffe Lane to Mark Lane (Harben; Stow).
Hartshorn Alley ran north-south from
Leadenhall Street to Fenchurch Street (Harben; BHO). Stow notes that Hartshorn
Alley is mid way on that South side [of Leadenhall Street], betwixt Aldgate and
Limestreet
, and characterises it as a way that goeth through into
Fenchurch streete ouer against [i.e., across from] Northumberland house
(Stow; BHO).
Hatfield House, generally termed Hatfield Palace or Old Palace to refer to the location prior to its renovation in
Named after its owner,
Heneadge House lies along the lane leading to Bevis Marks (Stow 150).
One of the most opulent sites in early modern London, Henry VII’s Chapel still stands in the eastern wing of Westminster Abbey. The structure was initially intended
to monumentalize
Hog Lane ran east-west into the north-east corner
of Little Tower Hill. It should not be confused
with the Hog Lane north of Houndsditch. Hog
Lane, also called Hog Street in Stow’s
Holborne Street ran east-west from the junction of Hosier Lane, Cock Lane and Snow Hill to St. Giles High Street, and passed through Farringdon Without Ward and Westminster.
Holborn Bridge or Oldboorne bridge (Stow; BHO) spanned the Fleet Ditch at Holborn Street. Located in the ward of Farringdon Without, the bridge was part of a major westward thoroughfare.
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Holy Trinity was located west of Aldgate and north of Leadenhall
Street. the Parishes of S. Marie Magdalen, S.
Michael, S. Katherine, and the blessed Trinitie,
which now was made but one Parish of the holy Trinitie
(Stow). Before
A component of London’s pestilential past, Holy Trinity Churchyard in East Smithfield was a graveyard for victims of London’s first great plague. The churchyard was east of Little Tower Hill, south of Hog Lane (East Smithfield) and north of St. Katherine’s Hospital. As the number of plague victims increased, these graveyards ran out of space and Holy Trinity Priory was used to ensure that the dead were buried in holy ground.
Holy Trinity Priory, located west of Aldgate and north of Leadenhall
Street, was an Augustinian Priory.
Stow notes that in the parishes of Saint Marie Magdalen, S. Michael, S. Katherine, and the blessed Trinitie, which now was made but one Parish of the holy Trinitie
(Stow).
Before
Founded in the Priory of St. John the Baptist, Holywell
.
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Also known as Smithfield Pond.
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Hosier Lane ran west from Pie Corner in Smithfield. It was named for the hosiers who worked on the lane in the fourteenth century. The hosiers later moved to Bow Lane off Cheapside, which then became known as Hosier Lane.
Running southeast from Bishopsgate Street to Aldgate Street outside the city wall,
Houndsditch Street passed through Bishopsgate Ward and Portsoken Ward.
It was first paved in (within the limits of Hounds-ditch)
dwell many a good and honest Citizen
(Stow sig. L7v).
Huggin Lane ran north-south between Thame
Street and Knightrider Street.
Although
Huggin Lane (Wood Street) ran east-west connecting Wood Street in the east to Gutter Lane in the west. It ran parallel between Cheapside in the south and Maiden Lane in the north. It was in Cripplegate Ward. It is labelled as Hoggyn la
on the Agas map.
Previously called the New Inn or Beaumontes Inn, this house once belonged to the Earls of Huntington. The Huntington house marks the eastern corner of Castle Baynard Ward.
According to Weinreb, Hibbert, Keay, and Keay, Hyde Park was the largest of the royal parks. The land was used as a hunting ground from
The Inn of the Bishop of Chester resided on the western side of the present entrance to Somerset House
(Williams 1450). Not to be confused with Strand Inn’s original name, Chester Inn.
Inner Temple was one of the four Inns of Court
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first purpose-built stage
on property fronting on Old Street in Finsbury
(Giles-Watson 172). Although the name of the stage/playhouse, if it had one, is now lost, we find traces of its existence in the legal record.
Joiners’ Hall was built on the company’s property in Thames Street, some time between
According to almost at the North end thereof, is the Armourers Hall, which
Both of these streets appear on the Named from
(1965).
a mansion house of the kings
called King’s Artice
on Lime Street (Stow 114). The record grown out of knowledge
(Stow 114).
Stow recounts a common belief relating to the Pope’s Head Tavern and the other stone buildings surrounding it: that it was at some point the property of the monarch, possibly as far back as King John (155) . Sugden accepts this as a possibility, but other writers have been skeptical 418; Joseph Moser, writing in
it has been ſaid, that the Pope’s Head Tavern, Cornhill, was formerly one of King John’s palaces; but this ſuggestion aroſe merely from its having upon its frontthe arms of England before the time of Edward the IIId : therefore a much more probable conjecture is, that, even in thoſe early days, this houſe was a tavern, and that the achievement which we have juſt noticed was intended for a ſign .
The King’s Wardrobe, built in the 14th century between St. Andrew’s Hill and Addle Hill near Blackfriars Precinct, was originally a repository for royal clothing, but later housed offices of the royal household and became a key seat of government (Sugden 557). Stow explains its significance:
In this houſe of late yeares, is lodged Sir
Stow 1598 299
rer of the Exchequer, and one of her Maieſties Priuy
Councel. The ſecret letters & writings touching the eſtate of the realme, were
wont to be introlled in the kings Wardrobe, and not
in the Chauncery, as appeareth by the Records.
Knightrider Street ran east-west from Dowgate to Addle Hill, crossing College Hill, Garlick Hill, Trinity Lane, Huggin Lane, Bread Street, Old Fish Street Hill, Lambert or Lambeth Hill, St. Peter’s Hill, and Paul’s Chain. Significant landmarks included: the College of Physicians and Doctors’ Commons.
Lambeth Hill ran north-south between Knightrider Street and Thames Street. Part of it lied in Queenhithe Ward, and part in Castle Baynard Ward. The Blacksmiths’ Hall was located on the west side of this street, but the precise location is unknown.
Leadenhall Street ran east-west from Cornhill Street to Aldgate Street. All three form part of the same road from Aldgate to Cheapside (Weinreb and Hibbert 462). The street acquired its name from Leadenhall, a onetime house and later a market. The building was reportedly famous for having a leaden roof (Bebbington 197).
The Leathersellers Hall was a hall belonging to the Leathersellers in Bishopsgate Ward east of Bishopsgate Street and north of St. Helen’s church. The Leathersellers Hall is not instantly recognizable on the Agas map. It is one of the houses north of St. Helen’s church and south of the walled garden by the west end of St. Mary Axe church. The hall is, however, featured on Richard Blome’s 1755 map of Bishopsgate Ward.
Lime Street is a street that ran north-south from Leadenhall Street in the north to Fenchurch Street in the south. It was west of St. Andrew Undershaft and east of Leadenhall. It appears that the street was so named because people made or sold Lime there (Stow; BHO). This claim has some historical merit; in the 1150s one Ailnoth the limeburner lived in the area (Harben; BHO).
Lincoln’s Inn was one of the four Inns of Court.
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The Little Conduit in Cheapside, also known as the Pissing Conduit, stood at the western end of Cheapside outside the north corner of Paul’s Churchyard. On the Agas map, one can see two water cans on the ground just to the right of the conduit.
Little Tower Hill was a common northeast of the Tower of London, between East Smithfield and the Minories.
According to Stow, it had become greatly diminished by building of
tenements and garden plots
by certaine
faire Almes houses, strongly builded of Bricke and timber, and couered with
slate for the poore
(Stow).
A prison for bishops, Lollard’s Tower was made up of two stone towers originally meant for bells at two corners on the west end of St. Paul’s.
Lombard Street was known by early modern Londoners as a place of commerce and trade. Running east to west from Gracechurch Street to Poultry, Lombard Street bordered Langbourn Ward, Walbrook Ward, Bridge Within Ward, and Candlewick Street Ward.
The city of London, not to be confused with the allegorical character (
As the only bridge in London crossing the Thames until
London Stone was, literally, a stone
that stood on the south side of what is now Cannon Street (formerly Candlewick Street). Probably Roman in origin, it is
one of London’s oldest relics. On the Agas map, it is visible as a small
rectangle between Saint Swithin’s
Lane and Walbrook, just
below the nd
consonant cluster in the label Londonſton
.
London Wall was a long street running along the inside of the northern part of the City Wall. It ran east-west from the north end of Broad Street to Cripplegate (Prockter and Taylor 43). The modern London Wall street is a major traffic thoroughfare now. It follows roughly the route of the former wall, from Old Broad Street to the Museum of London (whose address is 150 London Wall).
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According to almost at the North end thereof, is the Armourers Hall, which
Both of these streets appear on the
Love Lane, Thames Street was situated within Billingsgate (or Belingsgate) ward (Hughson 91). Billingsgate ward is two wards to the west of the Tower of London. The Agas map shows that the lane goes from north to south—up to St. Andrew Hubbard and down to Thames Street. It runs parallel to the streets St. Mary-at-Hill and Botolph Lane.
Love Lane, Wood Street ran east-west, connecting Aldermanbury in the east and Wood Street in the west. It ran parallel to Addle Street in the north and Lad Lane in the south. It lay within Cripplegate Ward, and is labelled as Lone la.
on the Agas map.
Located in Farringdon Within Ward, Ludgate was a gate built by the Romans (Carlin and Belcher 80). for his owne honor
(Stow 1: 1).
Lumley House was a large house on the west side of Woodroffe Lane, north of Tower
Hill. It was built by
during the
There were as many as four streets in early modern London called Maiden Lane (Ekwall 122). The Maiden Lane to which this page refers
was shared between Cripplegate Ward, Aldersgate Ward, and Farringdon Within. It ran west from Wood
Street, and originated as a trackway across the Covent Garden
(Bebbington 210) to St. Martin’s Lane.
Maiden Lane (Southwark) is not to be confused with Maiden Lane. Maiden Lane (SouthwarK) ran between Dead Man’s Place and Gravel Lane in Southwark and is alternatively referred to as Maid Lane (Sugden 328). It appears on the
Manor of the Rose was a residence on Suffolk Lane in Dowgate Ward.
According to
Mark Lane ran north-south from Fenchurch Street to Tower
Street. It was for the most parte of this Towerstreet warde
(Stow). The north end of the street, from Fenchurch Street to Hart
Street was divided between Aldgate Ward
and Landbourn Ward. Stow says Mark Lane was so called of a Priuiledge sometime
enjoyed to keepe a mart there, long since discontinued, and therefore forgotten,
so as nothing remaineth for memorie
(Stow). Modern scholars have suggested that it was
instead named after the mart, where oxen were fattened for slaughter (Harben).
The hall of the
Merchant Taylors’ School was a grammar school founded by
According to large, builded of Stone, with three arched Gates towards the street
(Stow 1: 234).
Middle Temple was one of the four Inns of Court
Part of the Middle Temple complex, repaired by Sir Amias Paulet in the reign of Henry VIII.
Within the Middle Temple complex on the west side of Middle Temple Lane.
Milk Street, located in Cripplegate Ward, began on the north side of Cheapside, and ran north to a square formed at the intersection of Milk Street, Cat Street (Lothbury), Lad Lane, and Aldermanbury.
Mincing Lane ran north-south from Fenchurch Street to Tower
Street. All of the street was part of Tower
Street Ward
except the corner house[s] towardes Fenchurch
streete
, which were in Langbourn
Ward (Stow). Stow notes
that the street was named after tenements there sometime pertayning to
the Minchuns or Nunnes of Saint Helens in Bishopsgate streete
(Stow). Stow also makes a definitive link between
the lane and London’s commercial history.
Located on the eastern boundary of Portsoken Ward (Harben 417), the Minories Bars are not featured on the Agas map.
Running south from Aldgate Street to Little Tower Hill, Minories derives its name from the Abbey of St. Clare, called the Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare, which stood at the street’s midpoint (Harben 416).
Montfichet’s Tower was a fortress on Ludgate Hill in London.
A low-lying marshy area just northeast of Moorgate and on the way to the Curtain, Moorfields was home to a surprising range of activities and accompanying cultural associations in early modern London. Beggars and the mentally ill patients of neighbouring Bethlehem Hospital often frequented the area. Some used the public space to bleach and dry linen, and the full of noysome waters
(Stow 2: 77) until
New Alley was a north-south alley in Cornhill Ward and was one of three alleys that were destroyed in the construction of the Royal Exchange, alongside Swan Alley and St. Christopher’s Alley. While the Agas map does not label New Alley, evidence suggests that it did appear in the earlier variation of the map.
The New Exchange was built by
New Fish Street (also known in the New Fyſhe ſtreate
. Variant spellings include Street of London Bridge
, Brigestret
, Brugestret
, and Newfishstrete
(Harben 432; BHO).
One of the Inns of Chancery.
For information about the Newington Butts, a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
Nicholas Lane, or, as Stow called it, St. Nicholas Lane, ran north-south from Lombard Street to Candlewick Street. It was probably named for St. Nicholas Acon, which stood on the lane. Nicholas Lane still survives in modern London, although it is now interrupted by King William Street.
Running south from East Smithfield, Nightingale Lane defined a portion of Portsoken Ward’s original eastern boundary (Harben 441–442). Nightingale Lane is not featured on the Agas map.
Noble Street ran north-south between Maiden Lane in the south and Silver Street in the north. It is all of Aldersgate street ward
(Stow). On the Agas map, it is labelled as Noble Str.
and is depicted as having a right-hand curve at its north end, perhaps due to an offshoot of the London Wall.
Noble Street is not to be confused with Watling Street, which bears Noble
as a variant toponym.
Northumberland House was a stately home in Crutched Friars Lane, south of Aldgate. It was built by and named after
Oat Lane ran east-west, connecting Noble Street in the west to Staining Lane in the east. It is drawn on the Agas map in the correct position and is labelled as Ote la
. It was in Aldersgate Ward.
The Old Bailey ran along the outside of the London Wall near
Newgate (Stow 304). It is labelled on the Agas map as Olde baily
.
Old Fish Street Hill ran north-south between Old Fish Street and Thames
Street. old
Fishstreete hill
and Saint Mary Mounthaunt Lane
.
Three houses east of the cooks’ house Sign of King David.
Standing at London Stone, the site of Oxford House was associated with the
temporal governance of the city and the livery from the Oxford House
or
Oxford place by London Stone
, after the Earls of Oxford who dwelt there. The site subsequently housed
lord mayors
Paul’s Chain was a street that ran north-south between St Paul’s Churchyard and Paul’s Wharf, crossing over Carter Lane, Knightrider Street, and Thames Street. It was in Castle Baynard Ward. On the Agas map, it is labelled Paules chayne
. The precinct wall around St. Paul’s Church had six gates, one of which was on the south side by Paul’s Chain. It was here that a chain used to be drawn across the carriage-way entrance in order to preserve silence during church services.
Paul’s Cross Churchyard, also known as the Cross Yard, is the area on the northeast side of St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was one of the principal bookselling areas in early modern London.
According to Schofield, Paul’s Wharf is one of the oldest wharfs on the Thames (Schofield 181). Located in both Castle Baynard Ward and Queenhithe Ward, Paul’s Wharf was situated near St. Paul’s Cathedral and St. Benet. Since Paul’s Wharf was only blocks away from St. Paul’s Cathedral, the clergy used the wharf as a point of travel.
Pentecost Lane ran north from Newgate Street past St. Nicholas Shambles, now Roman Bath Street. Pentcost Lane is not featured on the Agas map.
One of the public stairs on the Surrey side of the Themes above London Bridge.
Tenements on the northern corner of St. Peter’s Hill Lane.
Petty Cannons, also referred to as Cannon Alley, is an alley connecting St. Paul’s Churchyard to Paternoster Row. Its name derives from the canon’s houses that occupied the site (Harben 121).
On the Agas map there are nine rectangular and square pike gardens, or artificial fishponds, located in the liberty of Southwark among the bear and bullbaiting arenas. These nine pike gardens, however, give only an approximate indication of the size, shape, and location of early modern London’s three major aquaculture operations—the Winchester House Pike Garden, the King’s (or Queen’s) Pike Garden, and the Great Pike Garden—each of which dates to the Middle Ages. These fishponds relied on two separate types of holding areas: the vivarium, or breeding pond, and the servatorium, or holding pond. To catch and sort fish, workers drained the shallow ponds through diversion conduits equipped with gates and sluices. Freshwater fish cultivated in estate gardens were considered a luxury dish well into the eighteenth century, especially the pike, an aggressive predator that was admired and feared in
Pissing Alley or Pissing Lane ran east-west from the end of Basing Lane to Friday Street. On the Agas map, this location is named Piſſing La.
By the eighteenth century, this section of the street had been renamed Little Friday Lane. Modern Cannon Street replaced this street (Harben).
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Pope’s Head Alley ran south from Cornhill to Lombard Street, and was named for the Pope’s Head Tavern that stood at its northern end. Although it does not appear on the Agas Map, its approximate location can be surmised since all three streets still exist. Although Imprinted by
(Stow 1598). Booksellers proliferated the alley in the early years of the
The Pope’s Head Tavern in Cornhill lay at the
north end of Pope’s Head Alley, to which it gave its name. It was a substantial
stone building dating back to the reign of
Porter’s Hall was a shortlived theatre in Blackfriar’s Precinct. The theatre was opened in
Pudding Lane is most famously known as the
starting point of the Great Fire of 1666. Pudding Lane ran south from Little Eastcheap down to Thames Street, with New Fish Street
(Newfyshe Streat) framing it on the west and
Botolph Lane on the east. The only
intersecting street on Pudding Lane is St. George’s Lane, and the nearby parishes include
St. Margaret’s, St.
Magnus’s, St. Botolph’s, St. George’s, and St.
Leonard, Eastcheap. On Ekwall’s map it is labeled as Rother (Pudding) Lane
after Stow’s account of the
lane’s former title. Pudding Lane is contained
within Billingsgate Ward.
Puddle Wharf was a water gate along the north bank
of the Thames (Stow). Also known as Puddle Dock, it was located in Castle Baynard Ward, down from St. Andrew’s Hill. Puddle Wharf was built in
Queenhithe is one of the oldest
havens or harbours for ships along the Thames. landing place
. Queenhithe
was known in the ninth century as Aetheredes hyd or the landing place of
Aethelred
. Aethelred was the son-in-law of Alfred the Great (the first king
to unify England and have any real authority over London), an
Once a street in front of Queenhithe.
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
Ram Alley, now known as Hare Place, was a small alley that ran north-south off of Fleet Street, opposite Fetter Lane. Once a conventual sanctury
, Ram Alley developed into a chartered abode of libertinism and roguery
(Beresford 46).
Located in Queenhithe, Ratten Lane spanned south from Timberhithe Street to the Thames.
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
Located east of Minories Street (Harben 501), Red Lion Alley is not featured on the Agas map.
Rose Alley was in Farringdon Within Ward between Newgate Street and Paul’s Cross Churchyard (Ekwall). Though referred to since the 18th century as Rose Street
, it was previously known as Rose Alley
(Harben).
Located in Broad Street Ward and Cornhill Ward, the Royal Exchange was opened in
According to
Salisbury Court Theatre was a private indoor theatre owned by Richard Gunnell and William Blagrove.
According to Weinreb, the theatre was built in
According to Stow, the Salisbury House was the temporary lodging house of the Bishops of Salisbury when called to London for various administrative duties (Stow 322).
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
Located along The Strand in Westminster, the site of Savoy Hospital was initially the manor of
Also known as Serjeants’ Inn, Holborn.
Seething Lane ran north-south from the junction of
Hart Street and Crutch
Fryers through to Tower Street. The
lane, in Tower Street Ward, was marked by a church
at each end; on the northwest corner stood St. Olave,
Hart Street and on the southeast corner was All
Hallows Barking. Stow describes the lane as one with diuers
fayre and large houses
(Stow).
A residence once belonging to the Prior of Sempringham. Located in Cow Lane.
A house once belonging to the Sentlegar family in Southwark, eventually divided into tenements. Near to the Bridge House.
According to
Sewersditch is a heteronym for Shoreditch, the drainage ditch that gave its name to the marshy neighbourhood of Shoreditch. The ditch was built over by the early modern period, but was known to Stow, who mentions it in his
Shaft Alley was near the
northwest corner of Leadenhall Street and St. Mary Axe Street in
Lime Street Ward. During the eighteenth century, the alley was directly
opposite East India House. Stow says that the name for the alley came
from a maypole laid [on iron hooks] along ouer the doores, and vnder the
Pentises of one rowe of houses, and Alley gate, called of the
shaft
(Stow). As an eyewitness, Stow recounts that the alley
retained its name long after the maypole was sawn into pieces and burnt
following a particularly powerful sermon given at St. Paul’s Cross by Stephen,
curate of St. Katherine Cree.
Sheen’s House, or Richmond Palace, was a royal residence in Richmond since the time of
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
Shoe Lane, or Shoe Alley as it was sometimes called in the
sixteenth century (Ekwall 110), was
outside the city wall, in the ward of Faringdon Without. It ran north-south, parallel to the course of
the Fleet River. Until
A suburban neighbourhood located just north of Moorfields and outside Londonʼs City Wall, Shoreditch was a focal point of early modern theatrical culture. Following a boom in Londonʼs population
Shoreditch Street, also called Sewersditch, was a continuation of
Bishopsgate Street, passing
northward from Norton Folgate to the small town of Shoreditch, a suburb of London in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, for which the road was likely named. Shoreditch first appears in
manuscripts in ditch of Sceorf
[or Scorre]
(Weinreb and Hibbert
807).
A cooks’ house three houses west of the Old Swan Brewhouse.
Silver Street was a small but historically significant street that ran east-west, emerging out of Noble Street in the west and merging into Addle Street in the east. Monkwell Street (labelled Muggle St.
on the Agas map) lay to the north of Silver Street and seems to have marked its westernmost point, and Little Wood Street, also to the north, marked its easternmost point. Silver Street ran through Cripplegate Ward and Farringdon Ward Within. It is labelled as Syluer Str.
on the Agas map and is drawn correctly. Perhaps the most noteworthy historical fact about Silver Street is that it was the location of one of the houses in which
Running east-west from Shoe Lane to the Fleet, Smallbridge Lane delineated the southern border of Blackfriars (Holborn) (Holder 19). It is not featured on the Agas map.
One of the
Smithfield was an open, grassy area located outside the Wall. Because of its location close to the city centre, Smithfield was used as a site for markets, tournaments, and public executions. From
A soke belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Stow locates this building near the Blackfriars, although its exact location is not known.
Somerset House (labelled as Somerſet Palace
on the Agas map) was a significant site for royalty in early modern London. Erected in
Soper Lane was located in the Cordwainers Street Ward just west of Walbrook and south of Cheapside. Soper Lane was home to many of the soap makers and shoemakers of the city (Stow 1:251). Soper Lane was on the processional route for the lord mayor’s shows.
Spitalfields was a large area of open fields east
of Bishopsgate Street and a good distance north of
Aldgate and Houndsditch. Spitalfields, also
recorded as
Spittlefields
and
Lollesworth,
is
unmistakable on the Agas map. The large expanse of fields is clearly marked
The Spitel Fyeld.
There have been many relics unearthed during archeological excavations in Spitalfields.
Harben notes that St. Alphage was originally on the north side of the Wall near
Cripplegate (Harben). However, St. Alphage parish must have
straddled the Wall, because both
St. Andrew Holborn was a parish church in Farringdon Without Ward, located on Holborn street between Fetter Lane and Shoe Lane. It is located on the Agas map and is labelled as S. Andrews
. According to the largest of his parish churches, measuring 32 by 19 meters and costing £9,000
(Weinreb and Hibbert 741).
St. Andrew Undershaft stands at the southeast corner of St. Mary Axe Street in Aldgate Ward.The church of St. Andrew Undershaft is the final resting place of
St. Anthony’s Hospital was associated with St. Benet Fink Parish, whose St. Benet Fink Church was on the opposite side of Threadneedle Street. According to the christians obtayned of the king that it should be dedicated to our blessed Lady, and since an Hospital being there builded, was called S. Anthonies in London
(Stow 144). The hospital consisted of a church, almsnouse, and school. By Stow’s time of writing (
The Dictionary of London notes St. Audoen sits at the north corner of Warwick Lane, in Farringdon Ward Within.
According to
St Augustine Papey was a church on the south side
of the city wall and opposite the north end of
St. Mary Axe Street. The church dated from the
twelfth century and in
A priory of Augustinian canons once encompassing St. Bartholomew the Great, St. Bartholomew the Less, and St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. Dissolved by Henry VIII.
St. Botolph, Aldgate was a parish church near Aldgate at the junction of Aldgate Street and Houndsditch. It was
located in Portsoken Ward on the north side of
Aldgate Street. Stow notes that the
Church hath beene lately new builded at the speciall charges of the
Priors of the holy Trinitie
before
the Priory was dissolved in
St. Botolph without Bishopsgate stood on the west
side of Bishopsgate Street north of Bishopsgate. It was in Bishopsgate Ward. St. Botolph without
Bishopsgate is featured on the Agas map, south of Bethlehem Hospital and west of Houndsditch. It is labelled
S. Buttolphes.
St. Christopher le Stocks was originally built on Threadneedle Street on the banks of Walbrook before was dedicated to the patron saint of watermen
(Weinreb and Hibbert 751). The church has been known by many names, which include St. Christopher upon Cornhull
, St. Christopher in Bradestrete
, and St. Christopher near le Shambles
(Harben; BHO). Since the 14th century, the church has been known as some variant of St. Christopher le Stocks, which derives from its proximity to the Stocks Market. The church is not labelled, but is identifiable, on the Agas map.
There may have been two alleys known as St. Christopher’s Alley in early modern London. The alley with this name on the south side of Threadneedle Street was destroyed to make way for the Royal Exchange, which opened in
East of the Spital Fields, also known as Stebanheath.
St. Ethelburga was a church on the east side of Bishopsgate Street, south of Bishopsgate and east of St. Mary Axe. The church was in Bishopsgate
Ward. St. Ethelburga, described by Stow
as a small Parish Church
(Stow), is
located on the Agas map northwest of S. Elen
and immediately east of the
gate
in the Busshopp
gate Streate
label.
The church is visible on the Agas map along Fenchurch Street. Before the
St. George Church was on Botolph Lane in Billingsgate Ward. The church dates back at least to
Located in Southwark, St. George Fields was a popular open space for public gatherings. The fields provided the space for the welcoming of such guests as
St. George’s Lane was just outside the London Wall and near
Newgate. In Flete
.
St. George Lane (Billingsgate) ran east-west between Botolph Lane and Pudding Lane. It is labelled on
the Agas map as S. georg la.
.
For information about St. Giles, Cripplegate, a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
According to
St. Helen’s was a priory of Benedictine nuns located
in Bishopsgate Ward between St. Mary Axe Street and Bishopsgate Street. St. Helen’s is visible on the Agas map with the
label
S. Elen
written in the churchyard. Stow and Harben inform us that the
priory was set up in 1212 by William Basing, the dean of St.
Paul’s Cathedral (Stow;
Harben).
St. James (Clerkenwell) was founded in Clarken Well
.
According to
The St. James Duke’s Place
(Stow 146–149).
The buildings on the site were destroyed in the Great Fire and then rebuilt (Sugden 281). The church was active until
St. John the Baptist’s Chapel of the Savoy was built by
St. Katherine was an old parish church absorbed by Holy Trinity Priory
in
One of the parishes that became part of Holy Trinity Priory
in
St. Katherine Coleman was also called St. Katherine and All Saints and All Hallows Coleman Church (Harben). The church can be found on the Agas map, west of Northumberland House. It is labelled
Not to be confused with St. Katherine Church, St. Katherine Cree was an old parish church in Aldgate Ward located on the north side of Leadenhall Street between Aldgate and St. Mary Axe. Stow reports that the church was so old that one had to descend seven steps to enter it. He also adds that the church’s steeple and bell tower, built in 1504, were the most recent additions (Stow). St. Katherine Cree is also known by the names St. Katherine and the Blessed Trinity and St. Katherine Christ Church. The Church is drawn on the Agas map on the north side of Leadenhall Street, south of Holy Trinity Priory and east of the well in Aldgate Street. It has no label accompanying it.
Founded by the Royal Foundation of St. Katherine, St. Katherine’s by the Tower was both a hopsital and a church. Its surrounding land became the precinct of St. Katherine’s by the Tower, which, according to Weinreb, was a precinct independent of Aldgate Ward (Weinreb 720, 778).
St. Katherine’s Hospital was a religious hospital that, according to Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica, was
founded in was not much inferior to
that of [St.] Paules [Cathedral]
(Stow).
In early modern London, there were two Laurence Lanes: St. Lawrence Poultney Lane, which served as the boundary between Downgate and Candlewick wards, and St. Laurence Lane, Guildhall which was in Cheap ward (Harben). The latter Laurence Lane, to which this page refers, held great importance in the procession of mayoral pageants. It ran north-south, connecting Cheapside at the south and Cateaton Street (labelled on the Agas map as Ketton St.
) in the north. It ran parallel between Milk Street to the west and Ironmonger Lane to the east. It is drawn correctly on the Agas map and is labelled as S. Laurence lane.
St. Leonard’s church—also known as
The church of St. Magnus the Martyr, believed to be founded some time in the 11th century, was on the south side of Thames Street just north of London Bridge. According to Stow, in its churchyard haue béene buried many men of good worſhip, whoſe monumentes are now for the moſt part vtterly defaced
, including
The church of St. Martin Orgar, named for Dean Orgar who gave the church to the canons, has been wrongly located by the maker of the Agas map. The church is drawn in Bridge Ward Within, south of Crooked Lane and west of New Fish Street on St. Michael’s Lane. However, the church was actually located one block northwest in Candlewick Street Ward, on the east side of St. Martin’s Lane just south of Candlewick Street.
The church of St. Mary Axe was a church on the west side of St. Mary Axe
Street in Lime Street Ward. Stow asserts the church’s full name
and dedication was S. Marie the virgine, Saint Vrsula, and the 11000. Virgins
and believed that its common name, St. Mary Axe, derived from a sign near the
church’s east side (Stow). However, a
document written during the reign of
St. Mary Axe ran north-south from the church of St. Augustine Papey to Leadenhall Street. Stow remarks that the east side of the street belonged to Aldgate Ward, while the west side lay within the boundary of Lime Street Ward (Stow). It was named after the church of St. Mary Axe, located near the northwest corner of the street.
A chapel located just north of All Hallows Barking. some haue written that his heart was buried there vnder the high altar
(Stow 130).
St. Mary Magdalen (Aldgate), is an old parish church absorbed by Holy Trinity Priory in 1108. According to Stow, the church was begun by
Parish containing the St. Mary Magdalen Church.
St. Mary Spital was an Augustinian Priory and Hospital on the east side of Bishopsgate Street. The Priory dates from 1197. The old precinct of St. Mary Spital is visible on the Agas map. The church itself was demolished after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. By the time the Agas map was drawn, many of the priory buildings had been removed and the area appears sparse.
Also known as St. Mary Matfelon, Whitechapel Church was located on Whitechapel Street.
St. Michael, Aldgate, was an old parish church that
was absorbed by Holy Trinity Priory in 1108 along
with the parishes of St. Mary Magdalen, Aldgate,
and St. Katherine Cree. According to a papal bull
written during the pontificate of
The parish of St. Michael, Cornhill was one of two parishes within Cornhill Ward. Although not much geographical information is known about the parish of St. Michael, Cornhill, the births, marriages, and deaths of its parishioners were detailed in the parish register, beginning in
According to
St. Nicholas Church was situated on the north side of St. Nicholas Shambles street in Farringdon Within Ward. The church was demolished amid
According to
St. Nicholas Acon was located in Langbourn Ward, its parish extending into Candlewick Street Ward (Harben 437). While it was not depicted on the Agas map, Prockter and Taylor note that St. Nicholas Acon stood on the west side of St. Nicholas Lane towards the northern end
(Prockter and Taylor 51). According to Weinreb, Hibbert, Keay, and Keay, Acons
is possibly derived from Haakon
, the name of one of the benefactors (Weinreb, Hibbert, Keay, and Keay 802).
The church of St. Olave, Hart Street is found on
the south side of Hart Street and the northwest
corner of Seething Lane in Tower Street Ward. It has been suggested that the church was founded
and built before the Norman conquest of a proper [i.e. appropriate] parrish
(Stow).
According to a small thing, and without any note-worthie monuments
(Stow). It was destroyed in the Great Fire and was not rebuilt (Carlin and Belcher 91).
St. Olave (Southwark) was a church dedicated to S. Tovolles
.
A street near the bank of the Thames near to St. Thomas’ Hospital.
St. Paul’s Cathedral was—and remains—an important church in London. In
Surrounding St. Paul’s Cathedral, St. Paul’s Churchyard has had a multi-faceted history in use and function, being the location of burial, crime, public gathering, and celebration. Before its destruction during the civil war, St. Paul’s Cross was located in the middle of the churchyard, providing a place for preaching and the delivery of Papal edicts (Thornbury).
For information about St. Paul’s Theatre, a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
St. Peter le Poor was a parish church on the west
side of Broad Street. It is visible on the Agas
map south of Austin Friars, bearing the number 24.
That it was sometime peraduenture a poore Parish
gave it the name le Poor
(Stow). Its name distinguished it
from the other London churches dedicated to St. Peter. Stow mentions that at
this present there be many fayre houses, possessed by rich marchants and other
near the church, suggesting
that the parish was no longer impoverished (Stow).
St. Peter upon Cornhill stood at the highest point of the city in the south east of Cornhill Ward. According to a tablet preserved within the church, St. Peter upon Cornhill was founded by not by what authority
(Stow 1: 194) the tablet was written.
St. Peter’s College Rents were located on the west side of St. Paul’s Cathedral, next to the Atrium and northwest of the Stationers’ Hall. The building was, as Carlin and Belcher note, founded by
(Carlin and Belcher 92).
According to
St. Saviour (Southwark) dates back at least
to Overies
referring to its being over
the
Thames, that is, on its southern bank.
After S. Mary Owber
.
This large parish on the south bank of the Thames was part of the deanery of Southwark, in the diocese of Winchester and the province of Canterbury.
Staining Lane ran north-south, starting at Maiden Lane in the south and turning into Oat Lane in the north. It is drawn correctly on the Agas map and is labelled as Stayning la
. It served as a boundary between Cripplegate and Aldersgate wards.
Stangate Stairs provided river access to the Thames from its east bank, directly opposite Westminster Hall.
One of the Inns of Chancery.
A lane in Queenhithe, which Stow mentions was named after a brothel called The Stew.
North out of Newgate, Stinking Lane runs parallel to both Pentecost Lane and Butchers’ Alley. Ekwall notes Stinking Lane as a euphemistic variant of Fowle Lane, while Stow notes Stinking Lane was also known as Chick Lane.
The Stocks Market was a significant market for fish and flesh
in early modern London, located south of Poultry, north of Bucklersbury, and west of Walbrook Street in Cornhill Ward (Weinreb, Hibbert, Keay, and Keay 879). The building of the Stocks Market was commissioned by
the only fixed pair of stocks in the city(Weinreb, Hibbert, Keay, and Keay 879). It was destroyed in the Great Fire, rebuilt, and then replaced in
According to Sugden, Strand Bridge was A bdge. that crossed the brookrunning from St. Clements Well across from the S. and down S. Lane, Lond.
(Sugden 489). Stow (pp. 91-97) tells us that the bridge and a number of other features including several inns and tenements were pulled downe, and made leuell ground, in the yeare
One of the Inns of Chancery.
Strand Lane was a narrow and rather winding thoroughfare leading to the Embankment a few yards to the east of Somerset House
(Thornbury).
According to
We are awaiting further confirmation of this street’s position.
Sugarloaf Alley ran north-south from Leadenhall Street to Fenchurch
Street, on the west side of Bricklayers’ Hall. Stow indicates that
it was called Sprinckle allie
but had been renamed Sugarloaf Alley after a
shop sign.
The Sun Tavern was a victualing house on the east side of New Fish Street, just north of London Bridge between lower Thames Street and Little Eastcheap.
According to John Stow, the Swan was a brothel in Southwark.
There were a number of alleys named
Swan Alley was a north-south alley that bordered Cornhill Ward’s north side and Broad Street Ward’s south end. It opened into Cornhill Ward and therefore was included within Cornhill Ward’s limits.
Temple Bar was one of the principle entrances to the city of London, dividing the Strand to the west and Fleet Street to the east. It was an ancient right of way and toll gate. Walter Thornbury dates the wooden gate structure shown in the Agas Map to the early Tudor period, and describes a number of historical pageants that processed through it, including the funeral procession of
A church used by both Middle and Inner Temples.
Thames Street was the longest street in early modern London, running east-west from the ditch around the Tower of London in the east to St. Andrew’s Hill and Puddle Wharf in the west, almost the complete span of the city within the walls.
The Barge was a tenement building located in Cheap Ward. The structure was the remains of a medieval manor house.
For information about the Boar’s Head, a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
The Castle was a large stone house in Cornhill ward, located on the north side of Cornhill at the western side of the Royal Exchange. Part of it was removed for the expansion of the Royal Exchange in
The Cockpit, also known as the Phoenix, was an indoor commercial playhouse planned and built by the theatre entrepreneur and actor in Drury Lane
, but G. E. Bentley offers a more precise description:
(Bentley vi 49). Herbert Berry adds that the playhouse was three-eights of a mile west of the western boundary of the City of London at Temple Bar
(Berry 624), and Frances Teague notes that it was on the east side of Drury Lane
and that [t]he site was long preserved by the name of Cockpit Alley, afterwards Pitt Court
(Teague 243).
The Cockpit-in-Court, or The Cockpit-at-Court, was a private Caroline playhouse for members of the royal household, and was located within Whitehall Palace. Its name arose from the fact that it was formerly a cockfighting site at court. It should not be confused with The Cockpit Theatre, which was located near Drury Lane.
Wood Street Counter had been removed there from Bread Street in
(Harben 166). Tracing its history back ever further, Carlin and Belcher note that the prison was initially located in the Broken Seld around
In
The Deanery at St. Paul’s Cathedral served as the residence for the dean of the cathedral from in
(Schofield 153).
The Elephant was located in the ward of Southwark, south of the Thames and west of the London Bridge. It was part of a row of twelve licensed brothels or stewhouses along Bankside that reopened after for a season
in
Located between Horsepool and the Fleet River, the Elms, as John Stow notes, was a place of execution named after the once flourishing number of elm trees on site. Stow refers to the area as Le elmes
or le two elmys
. By Stow’s lifetime the expansion of London meant the namesake trees had been cut down.
According to Weinreb, Hibbert, Keay, and Keay, the Fortune was built for
For information about the Globe, a modern map marking the site where the it once
stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
The Green Gate was a house on the south side of Leadenhall Street, east of Leadenhall in Lime Street Ward. Stow’s interest went beyond the building itself and its location; he was confounded by the misdemeanours that occurred within it. The Green Gate was the site of not one but two robberies.
Located in Bishopsgate Ward without the Wall, the Half Moon housed
For information about the Hope, a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
The four principal constituents of the Inns of Court were:
Erected by armour, and habiliments of warre
(Stow 1:126).
A brewhouse in Distaff Lane. Flourished in the reign of
According to Taylor, Maidenhead was a lodging house frequented by various carriers (Taylor A4v, B1r).
Taylor identifies the Maidenhead as being
in Cat-eatonſtreet,
neere the guildhall
(Taylor A4v). Norman
corroborates this account and adds futher specificity by stating that it stands at the corner of
Old Jewry and Gresham street [formerly Cateaton Street]
(Norman 247).
Being from
Edward H. Sugden describes the Maidenhead tavern in Ram Alley as the worst of all dens of infamy in that notorious court
(Sugden 328).
The printshop of Nathaniel Butter (BBTI 11586), at St Austin’s Gate, Cursitors Alley. The
For information about the Red Bull, a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
For information about the Red Lion, a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
Built in
The Steelyard was the chief outpost of the
A brothel in Queenhithe Ward, in the area around Salt Wharf.
Named for its location on the bank of the Thames, the Strand leads outside the City of London from Temple Bar through what was formerly the Duchy of Lancaster to Charing Cross in what was once the city of Westminster. There were three main phases in the evolution of the Strand in early modern times: occupation by the bishops, occupation by the nobility, and commercial development.
The Swan was the second of the Bankside theatres. It was located at Paris Garden. It was in use from
For information about the The Theatre,
a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
Originally built as a Roman fortification for the provincial city of Londinium in the second century C.E., the London Wall remained a material and spatial boundary for the city throughout the early modern period. Described by high and great
(Stow 1: 8), the London Wall dominated the cityscape and spatial imaginations of Londoners for centuries. Increasingly, the eighteen-foot high wall created a pressurized constraint on the growing city; the various gates functioned as relief valves where development spilled out to occupy spaces
The dwelling house of
The Wrestlers was a house in Bishopsgate Ward located on the north side of Camomile Street, near the city wall and Bishopsgate (Stow; BHO). The house predates the Wrestlers Court located on the opposite (south) side of Camomile Street. Wrestlers Court was named after the house, which was later renamed Clark’s Court
Threadneedle Street ran east-west from Bishopsgate Street to Cornhill and the Stocks Market. It
passed the north end of the Royal Exchange and was
entirely in Broad Street Ward. Threadneedle Street, also called
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
Three Cranes Stairs provided access to the Thames from Three Cranes Lane.
Three Cranes Tavern was a popular tavern in early modern London, located on Three Cranes Lane.
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
The Three Cups Inn was located in Bread Street Ward at the southwest intersection of Bread Street and Watling Street. The Inn provided food, drink, and shelter for employees, guests, carriers and their horses. It was a hub for public transportation and shipping into and out of the capital and was a home to the inn holder, servants, and their families. It provided employment and a community meeting place. It acted as a landmark in the city for at least four hundred years.
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
Throgmorton Street was in Broad Street Ward and ran east-west from Broad Street to Lothbury and Bartholomew Lane. Throgmorton Street appears unlabelled on the Agas map running west from Broad Street, under the Drapers’ Hall. Stow’s description of Throgmorton Street is somewhat more detailed than that of other streets because he had a personal connection to it: his father owned land there.
TheTower Ditch, or Tower
Moat, was part of the Tower of London’s
medieval defences. It was built by the
Tower Hill was a large area of open ground north and
west of the Tower of London. It is most famous as a place of execution;
there was a permanent scaffold and gallows on the hill for the execution of
such Traytors or Transgressors, as are deliuered out of the Tower, or otherwise to the Shiriffes of
London
(Stow).
Tower Street ran east-west from Tower Hill in the east to St. Andrew Hubbard church. It was the principal street of Tower Street Ward. That the ward is named after the street indicates the cultural significance of Tower Street, which was a key part of the processional route through London and home to many wealthy merchants who traded in the goods that were unloaded at the docks and quays immediately south of Tower Street (for example, Billingsgate, Wool Key, and Galley Key).
A ditch to the north of Christ’s Hospital, filled in by
THis antient and famous City of London, was firſt founded by
NEW Troy my name: when firſt my fame begun /
By Trajon
Trig Lane was the lane leading down from Thames Street (now called Upper Thames Street) to the river landing place called Trig Stairs on the north bank of the Thames. Trig Lane was in a fairly rowdy area full of water traffic, sailors, and porters.
Trinity Lane ran north-south between
Old Fish Street (Knightrider Street) and Thames Street, between Garlick Hill and Huggin Lane, entirely in the ward of Queenhithe. On the Agas map, it is
labelled Trinitie lane
.
Tyburn is best known as the location of the principal gallows where public executions were carried out from the late 12th century until the 18th (Drouillard, Wikipedia). It was a village to the west of the city, near the present-day location of Marble Arch (beyond the boundary of the Agas Map). Its name derives from a stream, and its significance to Stow was primarily as one of the sources of piped water for the city; he describes how In the yeare
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
Standing along Nightingale Lane at the middle of a Foord
that served as the boundary between the Parish of St. Mary Whitechapel
and the Parish of St. Botolph Aldgate (Stow sig. M2v), Wapping Mill is not featured on the
Agas map.
Watling Street ran east-west between St. Sythes Lane in Cordwainer Street Ward and Old Change in Bread Street Ward. It is visible on the Agas map under the label Watlinge ſtreat
.
Noble Street
(Stow 200). This should not lead to confusion with Noble Street in Aldersgate Ward. There is an etymological explanation for this crossover of names. According to Ekwall, the name Watling
ultimately derives from an Old English word meaning king’s son
(Ekwall 81-82). Watling Street remains distinct from the Noble Street in Aldersgate Ward.
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
Weigh House was a building on the north side of Cornhill Ward that was used for weighing imported merchandise. While the house is not labelled on the Agas map, Mary Lobel and W. H. Johns suggest that it appears below the Merchant Taylor’s Hall (Lobel and Johns).
In the middle ages, Westcheap was the main market west of the Walbrook, so called to distinguish it from Eastcheap, the market
in the east. By
Westminster Abbey was a historically significant church, located on the bottom-left corner of the Agas map. Colloquially known as
Westminster Hall is the only surviving part of the original Palace of Westminster
(Weinreb and Hibbert 1011) and is located on the west side of the Thames. It is located on the bottom left-hand corner of the Agas map, and is labelled as Weſtmynſter hall
. Originally built as an extension to
Westminster Stairs was an important site in early modern London that provided access to the Thames from Westminster Abbey. Used during royal processions and by rivermen throughout daily life, Westminster Stairs was known as being a place of bustling activity.
One of the five prisons in Southwark.
Whitechapel was a street running east-west to the
Aldgate Bars from the east. Stow comments that
the street, like Aldgate Street, was fully
replenished with buildings outward, & also pestered with diuerse Allyes,
on eyther side
(Stow).
This page points to the district known as Whitefriars. For the theatre, see Whitefriars Theatre.
According to
One of the lesser known halls or private playhouses of Renaissance London, the Whitefriars, was home to two different boy playing companies, each of which operated under several different names. Whitefriars produced many famous boy actors, some of whom later went on to greater fame in adult companies. At the Whitefriars playhouse in 1607–1608, the Children of the King’s Revels catered to a homogenous audience with a particular taste for homoerotic puns and situations, which resulted in a small but significant body of plays that are markedly different from those written for the amphitheatres and even for other hall playhouses.
Whitehall Palace, the Palace of Whitehall or simply Whitehall, was one
of the most complex and sizeable locations in the entirety of early modern Europe. As the primary place of residence for monarchs from
[i]t lay on the left bank of the Thames, and extended from nearly the point where Westminster Bdge. now crosses the river to
Scotland Yard, and from the river back to St. James’s Park
(Sugden 564-565).
Whitehall Stairs was an important location in early modern London. Providing a point of access to the Thames from Whitehall, the stairs were used by both the public and members of the royal family. Although the stairs are rarely alluded to in early modern literature, they appear in a number of texts about daily life in London during the time period.
Stow does not indicate what side of the street the house sits on, but the Dictionary of London points us to the two intersecting streets of Monkwell Street and Silver Street. This great house once belonged to the Nevill family, but later became Windsor House.
Wood Street ran north-south, connecting at its southernmost end with Cheapside and continuing northward to Little Wood Street, which led directly into Cripplegate. It crossed over Huggin Lane, Lad Lane, Maiden Lane, Love Lane, Addle Lane, and Silver Street, and ran parallel to Milk Street in the east and Gutter Lane in the west. Wood Street lay within Cripplegate Ward. It is labelled as Wood Streat
on the Agas map and is drawn in the correct position.
Woodroffe Lane ran north-south from Crutched Friars south to Tower Hill. The lane was
in Aldgate Ward and was named after the Woodruffe family
(Harben). Stow writes that the lane was a
place of great benevolence. There were fourteen proper almes houses
built from brick and
wood in Woodruffe Lane and the tenants haue their
dewllinges rent free, and ii.s. iiii.d. the peece: the first day of euery moneth for euer
(Stow).
This empty location document was added in order to align our gazetteer with REED London Online (RLO). We have adopted RLO’s authority name, location type, and modern map coordinates. Learn more about RLO and its collections at https://cwrc.ca/reed.
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