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Soper Lane

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Soper Lane was located in the Cordwainers Street Ward just west of Walbrook Street and south of Cheapside Street. Soper Lane was home to many of the soap makers and shoemakers of the city (Stow 1:251). The housing in Soper Lane was poor, made up predominantly of dive sheds. Local merchants brought moveable stalls to this area to sell their goods near the largest market in the city, St. Paul’s Churchyard. The market opened at dawn in the winter and six in the morning during the summer, with store owners usually sleeping under their counters to prevent theft (Barker 232). Soper Lane was not a major road in the city in the medieval period. During the early modern period the housing on Soper Lane was eventually built up five stories high. This increase in the wealth and prestige of Soper Lane was due to its location in the city and the role this street played in the processional route. Prior to the development of the mayoral processional route, Soper Lane had very little significance in the make-up of the city.
Soper Lane became a major processional route through the city for both the Lord Mayor and the monarch during the time of coronation. Soper Lane was located between the two main hilltops of London. During the coronation of the monarch, the king or queen would spend the previous night sleeping in the Tower. The monarch would begin the processional route at the east end of the city (Tower Street), continue along Mark Lane and then travel west along Fenchurch Street. The monarch would head north along Gracechurch Street and then west along Cheapside Street until he or she reached St. Paul’s Churchyard. The monarch would continue to head north along Ludgate and proceed along Fleet Street until he or she reached the west end of the city. The monarch would eventually be crowned at Westminster the following day (Manley 223). Every October 29th, the Lord Mayor would make his traditional walk from the Guildhall (place of civic government) to Westminster to be sworn in as the new mayor of the city (Manley 219). The Lord Mayor would leave the Guildhall along Ironmonger Lane and cross Cheapside Street along Soper Lane. The Lord Mayor would proceed to Downgate where he would sail down to Westminster to participate in his coronation. The Lord Mayor would return to the city at Paul’s Stairs and head north towards St. Paul’s Churchyard. The Lord Mayor would continue to the Little Conduit and return to St. Paul’s where he would hear a sermon. The Lord Mayor would leave St. Paul’s and return along Cheapside Street to the Guildhall. From the Guildhall the Lord Mayor would travel along Cheapside Street towards the east end of the city, following Gracechurch Street and Fenchurch Street to Aldgate. From Aldgate, the Lord Mayor would head west across the Strand and along Cheapside Street back to the Guildhall. Soper Lane is the north/south, east/west location where the Lord Mayor’s and the monarch’s processional routes crossed (Manley 226).
During both processions, street pageantry was performed. The street pageants may not necessarily have been heard by the parties they were intended for due to the loud and festive atmosphere created by the processions. The performance at Soper Lane during the monarchical ceremonies may have been the most significant. Here the monarch would pass a sword to the Lord Mayor, who would carry the sword ahead of the procession for the remainder of the ceremony to show the union between the monarch and the people (Manley 220). The pageant at Soper Lane acted out the ceremony of the monarch being crowned and reiterated the importance that the city of London played the greatest significance to the monarach’s success. A section of Thomas Middleton’s The Triumphs of Truth was performed at Soper Lane. A section of Thomas Dekker’s The Magnificent Entertainment was also performed at Soper Lane end. Dekker celebrates King James’ family and the presence of an heir to the throne. Dekker also reminds the king that the taxes that he will collect come from the city and the king’s importance to keep peace. Soper Lane’s main significance, therefore, was its location as an intersecting point between the Lord Mayor’s procession and the procession of the monarch.

References

Cite this page

MLA citation

Scott, Kevin. Soper Lane. The Map of Early Modern London, Edition 6.6, edited by Janelle Jenstad, U of Victoria, 30 Jun. 2021, mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/SOPE1.htm.

Chicago citation

Scott, Kevin. Soper Lane. The Map of Early Modern London, Edition 6.6. Ed. Janelle Jenstad. Victoria: University of Victoria. Accessed June 30, 2021. mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/SOPE1.htm.

APA citation

Scott, K. 2021. Soper Lane. In J. Jenstad (Ed), The Map of Early Modern London (Edition 6.6). Victoria: University of Victoria. Retrieved from https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/editions/6.6/SOPE1.htm.

RIS file (for RefMan, RefWorks, EndNote etc.)

Provider: University of Victoria
Database: The Map of Early Modern London
Content: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

TY  - ELEC
A1  - Scott, Kevin
ED  - Jenstad, Janelle
T1  - Soper Lane
T2  - The Map of Early Modern London
ET  - 6.6
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/06/30
CY  - Victoria
PB  - University of Victoria
LA  - English
UR  - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/SOPE1.htm
UR  - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/xml/standalone/SOPE1.xml
ER  -

TEI citation

<bibl type="mla"><author><name ref="#SCOT2"><surname>Scott</surname>, <forename>Kevin</forename></name></author>. <title level="a">Soper Lane</title>. <title level="m">The Map of Early Modern London</title>, Edition <edition>6.6</edition>, edited by <editor><name ref="#JENS1"><forename>Janelle</forename> <surname>Jenstad</surname></name></editor>, <publisher>U of Victoria</publisher>, <date when="2021-06-30">30 Jun. 2021</date>, <ref target="https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/SOPE1.htm">mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/SOPE1.htm</ref>.</bibl>

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