| Revision as of 05:47, 4 October 2012 editCydebot (talk | contribs)6,812,251 editsm Robot - Moving category Districts of London to Category:Areas of London per CFD at Misplaced Pages:Categories for discussion/Log/2012 September 27.← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 10:55, 6 May 2024 edit undoAlasdairDaw (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users4,319 edits Restoring category, with an explanation as requested. The 'migration' section includes information about London's pre-Windrush black population blackTag: Manual revert | ||
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{{for|the meat market in the City of London known as "West Smithfield"|Smithfield, London}} | ||
| {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}} | |||
| '''East Smithfield''' is the name of a road in the ] in east ], part of the ]. It was historically an alternative name for the liberty and parish of '''St Botolph without Aldgate'''.<ref>The National Gazetteer (1868)</ref> | |||
| {{Use British English|date=June 2015}} | |||
| {{infobox UK place | |||
| | country = England | |||
| | map_type = Greater London | |||
| | coordinates = {{coord|51.508355|-0.070821|display=inline,title}} | |||
| | region = London | |||
| | population = | |||
| | official_name = East Smithfield | |||
| | post_town = LONDON | |||
| | postcode_area = E | |||
| | postcode_district = E1 | |||
| | london_borough = Tower Hamlets | |||
| | dial_code = 020 | |||
| | static_image_name = File:The Royal Mint, London (378803870).jpg | |||
| }} | |||
| '''East Smithfield''' is a small locality in the ], east ], and also a short street, a part of the ]. | |||
| Once broader in scope, the name came to apply to the part of the ancient parish of ] that was outside of the ].<ref>The National Gazetteer (1868), this ref supports the case that ES was part of St B-W-A</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.londonlives.org/static/StBotolphAldgate.jsp|title = Background - St Botolph Aldgate - London Lives}}</ref> | |||
| The old ] and the eastern part of ] are located in the district. | |||
| ==History== | |||
| ] recounts the origin of the area from the ''Liber Trinitae'', where the ] ] was petitioned by 13 knights to grant them the wasteland to the East of the ] ], desiring to form a guild. The request was said to be granted on condition that each knight should <blockquote>"accomplish three combats, one above the ground, one below the ground, and the third in the water; after this, at a certain day in East Smithfield, they should run with spears against all comers; all of which was gloriously performed; and the same day the King named it '']'', and so bounded it from Ealdgate ])] to the place where the bars now are toward the east, &c. and again toward the south unto to the river of Thames, and so into the water, and throw his speare; so that all East Smithfield, with the right part of the street that goeth by Dodding Pond into the Thames and also the hospital of St Katherin's, with the mills that were founded in ]'s daies, and the outward stone wall, and the new ditch of the Tower, are of the saide fee and liberbertie."<ref name=Allen>Allen, Thomas ''The History and Antiquities of London, Westminster, Southwark, and parts adjacent'' pp.709–712 (George Virtue, 1839)</ref></blockquote> | |||
| ==The street== | |||
| The strip of land to the north of Aldgate came to be ], an extramural ward of the City of London. The open ground south of Aldgate was known as East Smithfield — derived from ''smoothfield''. Later, ] confirmed the liberties upon the heirs, and these were again confirmed in the reign of ]. By 1115, during the reign of ], the entire ''soke'', or ], was given to the church of Holy Trinity within Aldgate, which had been founded in 1107 by ], Henry's Queen. The prior of the Abbey was then to sit as an ''ex officio'' ] of London.<ref name=Allen/> The gift was not without problems. The ], Geoffrey de Mandeville had cultivated a piece of ground in East Smithfield, adjacent to the Tower, as a vineyard. He refused to give it up and defended it with the garrison.<ref name=Cooper> ''The Copartnership Herald'', Vol. III, no. 35 (Christmas 1933-January 1934) (Tower Hamlets History Online) accessed 23 March 2008</ref> | |||
| The street runs eastward from Tower Hill, with the name changing to ] after quarter of a mile. The street is on the route of both the ] and the ]. At one time the street was known as ''Upper East Smithfield'' with the eastern part of St Katharine's Way (the part within East Smithfield) known as ''Lower East Smithfield''.<ref>website, original resource From "The Copartnership Herald", Vol. III, no. 35 (Christmas 1933-January 1934) http://www.mernick.org.uk/thhol/stkatharine.html</ref> | |||
| ==History of the district== | |||
| The southern part of East Smithfield was given by ] as a site for the ], founded by ] (wife of ]), in 1148. Further foundations were bestowed by ] (widow of ]) and ] (wife of ]). The importance of the hospital was such that the whole of East Smithfield came to be deemed within the Precinct of St Katharine. A ] fair was granted in the district in 1229, and by 1236 Jews were settled here for protection by the Tower garrison — until their expulsion in 1290.<ref name=Cooper/> | |||
| ===Civil and ecclesiastical administration=== | |||
| ====Portsoken Ward==== | |||
| ] recounts the origin of the area from the ''Liber Trinitae'', where the ] ] was petitioned by 13 knights to grant them the wasteland to the East of the ] ], desiring to form a guild. The request was said to be granted on condition that each knight should <blockquote>"accomplish three combats, one above the ground, one below the ground, and the third in the water; after this, at a certain day in East Smithfield, they should run with spears against all comers; all of which was gloriously performed; and the same day the King named it '']'', and so bounded it from Ealdgate (]) to the place where the bars now are toward the east, &c. and again toward the south unto to the river of Thames, and so into the water, and throw his speare; so that all East Smithfield, with the right part of the street that goeth by Dodding Pond into the Thames and also the hospital of St Katherin's, with the mills that were founded in ]'s daies, and the outward stone wall, and the new ditch of the Tower, are of the saide fee and liberbertie."<ref name=Allen>Allen, Thomas ''The History and Antiquities of London, Westminster, Southwark, and parts adjacent'' pp.709–712 (George Virtue, 1839)</ref></blockquote> | |||
| The strip of land became known as the ], an extramural ward of the City of London which originally extended as far south of the Thames. The name East Smithfield - derived from ''smoothfield'' - was applied to an area corresponding, either exactly or approximately, to the Portsoken. Portsoken later lost its southern, riverside, section and the term East Smithfield was subsequently applied only to the part taken out of the Portsoken. | |||
| Between 1347–1351, the ] struck the City. Two cemeteries were opened in East Smithfield to take the dead from London. During the epidemic, 200 bodies a day were buried, in mass graves, stacked five deep. In 2007, a study led by the ], NY exhumed and examined 490 skeletons – finding that the disease afflicted disproportionately the already weak and malnourished.<ref> Roger Highfield 28 January 2008, '']'' accessed 23 March 2008</ref> In 1442, the neighbourhood "was constituted a Precinct free from jurisdiction civil or ecclesiastical, except that of the Lord Chancellor".<ref name=Cooper/> With the ] by ] in 1531, the land became the property of the Crown, and many of the religious houses were given to prominent nobles. The hospital of St Katharine was not seized, but re-established as a Protestant house — with houses and a brewery being built within the precints.<ref>Inwood, Stephen, ''A History of London'' pp. 45, (Macmillan, 1998), ISBN 0-333-67154-6</ref> | |||
| {{AI1|image=Stepney Civil Parish Map 1870.png|image-width=3000|image-left=-90|image-top=-1620|width =470|height=580|float=left|caption=East Smithfield is the part of the Parish of St Botolph Without Aldgate outside the City (in red). The remainder of the parish, to the north is the extramural City Ward of Portsoken (unlabelled, in grey)}} | |||
| ], ] and the ]. The latter moved from the Tower of London to new premises ''c.''1809]] | |||
| Foreign ships were not permitted to use the wharfs within the City, and St Katharine's Quay came to be used extensively for unloading these, particularly Dutch ships. Many French settled here, after the loss of ]. A large number were from the districts of Hammes and Guisnes, leading to a part of the Precinct becoming known as Hangman's Gains. With trade in the City regulated by the City, St Katharine became an area for foreign settlement.<ref name=Cooper/> At the end of the 19th century, the quay was the terminus for passenger boats arriving from northern Europe, and became the arrival point for ] fleeing persecution in eastern Europe. Many settled around ] and ], only a half–mile to the north.<ref name=Jews> Date accessed: 24 March 2008</ref> | |||
| ====Land ownership and privileges==== | |||
| The ] moved from the ], to a site at the end of East Smithfield in 1809. Today, this building, by ] and its gatehouse are all that remain; the rest being swept away by continual expansion, until in November 1975, the London Mint was closed and production transferred to ]. The site is now occupied by ]. | |||
| Later, ] confirmed the liberties upon the heirs, and these were again confirmed in the reign of ]. | |||
| By 1115, during the reign of ], the entire ''soke'', or ], was given to the church of Holy Trinity within Aldgate, which had been founded in 1107 by ], Henry's Queen. The prior of the Abbey was then to sit as an ''ex officio'' ] of London.<ref name=Allen/> The gift was not without problems. The ], Geoffrey de Mandeville had cultivated a piece of ground in East Smithfield, adjacent to the Tower, as a vineyard. He refused to give it up and defended it with the garrison.<ref name=Cooper> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602141912/http://www.mernick.co.uk/thhol/stkatharine.html |date=2 June 2008 }} ''The Copartnership Herald'', Vol. III, no. 35 (Christmas 1933-January 1934) (Tower Hamlets History Online) accessed 23 March 2008</ref> | |||
| Over time, the area had become divided and further sub-divided. In 1294, the liberty of the ] was formed around ] of the Order of ]. This site is now occupied by ].<ref>{{cite book | |||
| | last =Pennant | |||
| | first =Thomas | |||
| | authorlink = | |||
| | coauthors = | |||
| | title =Some Account of London | |||
| | publisher =J Faulder (digital edition from New York Public Library, 2007) | |||
| | year =1816 | |||
| | location =London | |||
| | pages =p372 | |||
| | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=w28BAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA372&dq=minories&as_brr=1&ei=6LtPR5y4GZW0pAL6lJCtAw | |||
| | doi = | |||
| | id = | |||
| | isbn = }}</ref> Similarly, to the east, was the liberty of ], around the Abbey of St Mary Graces. By the 17th century, the rights, peculiarities and administration of these tiny areas was becoming increasing anachronistic, and in 1686, they were subsumed into the ]. In 1828, ] were constructed on the site of the hospital, and some 11,000 persons were evicted from the slum to find their own replacement lodgings. From 1855, the whole area of the former East Smithfield was reunited under the administration of the ].<ref>Youngs, F. A. ''Guide to Local Administrative Units of England'', Volume I (London, 1979)</ref> | |||
| The southern part of East Smithfield was given by ] as a site for the ], founded by ] (wife of ]), in 1148. Further foundations were bestowed by ] (widow of ]) and ] (wife of ]). The importance of the hospital was such that the whole of East Smithfield came to be deemed within the Precinct of St Katharine. | |||
| ], ] and the ]. The latter moved from the Tower of London to new premises ''c.''1809]] | |||
| A further monastic house was the ], but this seems not to have had an administrative unit associated with it. | |||
| From 1855, the whole area of the former East Smithfield was reunited under the administration of the ].<ref>Youngs, F. A. ''Guide to Local Administrative Units of England'', Volume I (London, 1979)</ref> | |||
| ====County functions==== | |||
| The area was part of the ] of ], but military and most (or all) civil county functions were managed more locally, by the ], under the leadership of the ]. | |||
| The role of the ''Tower Division'' ended when East Smithfield became part of the new ] in 1889. The County of London was replaced by Greater London in 1965. | |||
| ===Plague=== | |||
| Between 1347 and 1351, the ] struck the City. Two cemeteries were opened in East Smithfield to take the dead from London. During the epidemic, 200 bodies a day were buried, in mass graves, stacked five deep. In 2007, a study led by the ], NY exhumed and examined 490 skeletons – finding that the disease afflicted disproportionately the already weak and malnourished.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-02-04 |title=Black Death targeted the weak - Telegraph |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/01/28/sciblack128.xml |access-date=2023-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204165842/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/01/28/sciblack128.xml |archive-date=4 February 2008 }}</ref> | |||
| ===Migration=== | |||
| By 1236 Jews were settled in the area for protection by the Tower garrison — until their expulsion in 1290. It's not entirely clear if the settled in East Smithfield, St Katharine's or both.<ref name=Cooper/> | |||
| In common with the neighbouring ], the parish has had a diverse population since the medieval period. | |||
| This pattern of diversity continued, during the late 16th and early 17th centuries the parish of ] as a whole (both the ] and East Smithfield areas) is recorded as having a population of at least 25 people identified as "blackamoors."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wood |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YhlAAAAMAAJ&q=in+search+of+shakespeare+bbc+book |title=In Search of Shakespeare |date=2003 |work= |publisher=BBC |isbn=9780563534778 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2012-07-19 |title=Britain's first black community in Elizabethan London |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18903391 |access-date=2023-10-26}}</ref> | |||
| They appear to have arrived as a result of the ], being freed from Spanish slave ships, or slavery in Spanish colonies, by English warships. These free black Londoners, some of whom had mixed African and Spanish ancestry, often found work as sailors or interpreters. Many were servants and one appears to have worked at the ]. The parish records from that time also reveal the presence of French, Dutch and Indian residents as well as at least one Persian and one East Indian (Bengali).<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Nicholl |first=Charles |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780143114628 |title=The Lodger: Shakespeare on Silver Street |date=2008 |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |isbn=9780141911878 |quote=fashionable novelty |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> | |||
| ] work by ]. The picture shows the ''Coach and Horses'' public house in East Smithfield. The racial mix of the community is evident.]] | |||
| The continuation of the black presence is illustrated from a court record from 1787, which noted that constables trying to make an arrest at the ''Shovel'' public house in East Smithfield, were ejected by the landlord and more than forty black drinkers.<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=July 1787, trial of Joseph Curry Thomas Riley (t17870711-4) |url=https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/print.jsp?div=t17870711-4 |access-date=26 October 2023 |website=Old Bailey Proceedings Online www.oldbaileyonline.org}}</ref> | |||
| Around 1821 the writer ] wrote a semi-autobiographical account of a visit to the ''Coach and Horses'' public house on Nightingale Lane (now called Sir Thomas More Street) in East Smithfield. The story tells of three upper class friends who tiring of high society events decide to “see a bit of life at the East End of Town”. Egan compares the East Ends informal egalitarian nightlife favourably to the formality of the ]. | |||
| {{Quote|every cove that put in his appearance was quite welcome, colour or country considered no obstacle...the group motley indeed; ], blacks, ], coalheavers, dustmen, women of colour, old and young, and a sprinkling of the remnants of once fine girls, &c. were all jigging together|]|The True History of Tom & Jerry: | |||
| or, Life in London (1821)<ref>Egan P, The True History of Tom & Jerry: | |||
| or, Life in London, London, Charles Hindley, 1821 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/43504/43504-h/43504-h.htm</ref>}} | |||
| ===Poverty and philanthropy=== | |||
| In 1844, "An Association for promoting Cleanliness among the Poor" was established, and they built a ] and laundry in Glasshouse Yard. This cost a single ] for bathing or washing, and by June 1847 was receiving 4,284 people a year. This led to an ] to encourage other municipalities to build their own, and the model spread quickly throughout the ]. Timbs noted that "... so strong was the love of cleanliness thus encouraged that women often toiled to wash their own and their children's clothing, who had been compelled to ''sell their hair'' to purchase food to satisfy the cravings of hunger".<ref>''Curiosities of London: Exhibiting the Most Rare and Remarkable'' John Timbs, pp. 33 (London, 1855)</ref> | In 1844, "An Association for promoting Cleanliness among the Poor" was established, and they built a ] and laundry in Glasshouse Yard. This cost a single ] for bathing or washing, and by June 1847 was receiving 4,284 people a year. This led to an ] to encourage other municipalities to build their own, and the model spread quickly throughout the ]. Timbs noted that "... so strong was the love of cleanliness thus encouraged that women often toiled to wash their own and their children's clothing, who had been compelled to ''sell their hair'' to purchase food to satisfy the cravings of hunger".<ref>''Curiosities of London: Exhibiting the Most Rare and Remarkable'' John Timbs, pp. 33 (London, 1855)</ref> | ||
| ===Economic Activity=== | |||
| A ] fair was granted in the district in 1229. The ] moved from the ], to a site at the end of East Smithfield in 1809. Today, this building, by ] and its gatehouse are all that remain; the rest being swept away by continual expansion, until in November 1975, the London Mint was closed and production transferred to ]. The site is intended to become the new Chinese Embassy.<ref>Architects Journal website https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/david-chipperfield-submits-reworking-of-royal-mint-for-chinese-embassy</ref> | |||
| In 1828, the entirety of Katharine's district, as well as southern East Smithfield were swept away to allow the construction of ]. Around 11,000 people were evicted and had to find new homes. | |||
| ==Notable People== | |||
| *], poet, born in East Smithfield around 1552.<ref>website accessed 5th May 2023 https://englishhistory.net/poets/edmund-spenser/</ref> | |||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| *] - Sometimes referred to as ''West Smithfield'' | *] - Sometimes referred to as ''West Smithfield'' | ||
| ==Transport== | ==Transport== | ||
| The nearest ] is ]. | The nearest ] is ]. | ||
| The nearest ] is ] on the ] and ]s. | The nearest ] is ] on the ] and ]s. | ||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| Line 46: | Line 97: | ||
| {{LB Tower Hamlets}} | {{LB Tower Hamlets}} | ||
| ] | |||
| {{coord|51.50826|N|0.07097|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title|format=dms}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 10:55, 6 May 2024
For the meat market in the City of London known as "West Smithfield", see Smithfield, London.Human settlement in England
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East SmithfieldLocation within East Smithfield is a small locality in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, east London, and also a short street, a part of the A1203 road. Once broader in scope, the name came to apply to the part of the ancient parish of St Botolph without Aldgate that was outside of the City of London.
The old Royal Mint and the eastern part of St Katherine's Docks are located in the district.
The street
The street runs eastward from Tower Hill, with the name changing to The Highway after quarter of a mile. The street is on the route of both the London Marathon and the London Triathlon. At one time the street was known as Upper East Smithfield with the eastern part of St Katharine's Way (the part within East Smithfield) known as Lower East Smithfield.
History of the district
Civil and ecclesiastical administration
Portsoken Ward
John Stow recounts the origin of the area from the Liber Trinitae, where the Saxon King Edgar was petitioned by 13 knights to grant them the wasteland to the East of the city wall, desiring to form a guild. The request was said to be granted on condition that each knight should
"accomplish three combats, one above the ground, one below the ground, and the third in the water; after this, at a certain day in East Smithfield, they should run with spears against all comers; all of which was gloriously performed; and the same day the King named it Knighten Guilde, and so bounded it from Ealdgate (Aldgate) to the place where the bars now are toward the east, &c. and again toward the south unto to the river of Thames, and so into the water, and throw his speare; so that all East Smithfield, with the right part of the street that goeth by Dodding Pond into the Thames and also the hospital of St Katherin's, with the mills that were founded in King Stephen's daies, and the outward stone wall, and the new ditch of the Tower, are of the saide fee and liberbertie."
The strip of land became known as the Portsoken, an extramural ward of the City of London which originally extended as far south of the Thames. The name East Smithfield - derived from smoothfield - was applied to an area corresponding, either exactly or approximately, to the Portsoken. Portsoken later lost its southern, riverside, section and the term East Smithfield was subsequently applied only to the part taken out of the Portsoken.
{{{annotations}}}
East Smithfield is the part of the Parish of St Botolph Without Aldgate outside the City (in red). The remainder of the parish, to the north is the extramural City Ward of Portsoken (unlabelled, in grey)
Land ownership and privileges
Later, Edward the Confessor confirmed the liberties upon the heirs, and these were again confirmed in the reign of William Rufus.
By 1115, during the reign of Henry I, the entire soke, or liberty, was given to the church of Holy Trinity within Aldgate, which had been founded in 1107 by Matilda, Henry's Queen. The prior of the Abbey was then to sit as an ex officio Alderman of London. The gift was not without problems. The Constable of the Tower, Geoffrey de Mandeville had cultivated a piece of ground in East Smithfield, adjacent to the Tower, as a vineyard. He refused to give it up and defended it with the garrison.
The southern part of East Smithfield was given by Holy Trinity Priory as a site for the Hospital of St Katharine, founded by Matilda (wife of Stephen of England), in 1148. Further foundations were bestowed by Eleanor (widow of Henry III) and Philippa (wife of Edward III). The importance of the hospital was such that the whole of East Smithfield came to be deemed within the Precinct of St Katharine.
A further monastic house was the Abbey of St Mary Graces (or Eastminster), but this seems not to have had an administrative unit associated with it.
From 1855, the whole area of the former East Smithfield was reunited under the administration of the Whitechapel District.
County functions
The area was part of the historic (or ancient) county of Middlesex, but military and most (or all) civil county functions were managed more locally, by the Tower Division (also known as the Tower Hamlets), under the leadership of the Lord-Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets (the post was always filled by the Constable of the Tower of London).
The role of the Tower Division ended when East Smithfield became part of the new County of London in 1889. The County of London was replaced by Greater London in 1965.
Plague
Between 1347 and 1351, the Black Death struck the City. Two cemeteries were opened in East Smithfield to take the dead from London. During the epidemic, 200 bodies a day were buried, in mass graves, stacked five deep. In 2007, a study led by the University of Albany, NY exhumed and examined 490 skeletons – finding that the disease afflicted disproportionately the already weak and malnourished.
Migration
By 1236 Jews were settled in the area for protection by the Tower garrison — until their expulsion in 1290. It's not entirely clear if the settled in East Smithfield, St Katharine's or both.
In common with the neighbouring St Katharine's Precinct, the parish has had a diverse population since the medieval period.
This pattern of diversity continued, during the late 16th and early 17th centuries the parish of St Botolph without Aldgate as a whole (both the Portsoken and East Smithfield areas) is recorded as having a population of at least 25 people identified as "blackamoors."
They appear to have arrived as a result of the war with Spain, being freed from Spanish slave ships, or slavery in Spanish colonies, by English warships. These free black Londoners, some of whom had mixed African and Spanish ancestry, often found work as sailors or interpreters. Many were servants and one appears to have worked at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The parish records from that time also reveal the presence of French, Dutch and Indian residents as well as at least one Persian and one East Indian (Bengali).
The continuation of the black presence is illustrated from a court record from 1787, which noted that constables trying to make an arrest at the Shovel public house in East Smithfield, were ejected by the landlord and more than forty black drinkers.
Around 1821 the writer Pierce Egan wrote a semi-autobiographical account of a visit to the Coach and Horses public house on Nightingale Lane (now called Sir Thomas More Street) in East Smithfield. The story tells of three upper class friends who tiring of high society events decide to “see a bit of life at the East End of Town”. Egan compares the East Ends informal egalitarian nightlife favourably to the formality of the West End.
every cove that put in his appearance was quite welcome, colour or country considered no obstacle...the group motley indeed; Lascars, blacks, jack tars, coalheavers, dustmen, women of colour, old and young, and a sprinkling of the remnants of once fine girls, &c. were all jigging together
— Pierce Egan, The True History of Tom & Jerry: or, Life in London (1821)
Poverty and philanthropy
In 1844, "An Association for promoting Cleanliness among the Poor" was established, and they built a bath-house and laundry in Glasshouse Yard. This cost a single penny for bathing or washing, and by June 1847 was receiving 4,284 people a year. This led to an Act of Parliament to encourage other municipalities to build their own, and the model spread quickly throughout the East End. Timbs noted that "... so strong was the love of cleanliness thus encouraged that women often toiled to wash their own and their children's clothing, who had been compelled to sell their hair to purchase food to satisfy the cravings of hunger".
Economic Activity
A Pentecost fair was granted in the district in 1229. The Royal Mint moved from the Tower of London, to a site at the end of East Smithfield in 1809. Today, this building, by Robert Smirke and its gatehouse are all that remain; the rest being swept away by continual expansion, until in November 1975, the London Mint was closed and production transferred to Wales. The site is intended to become the new Chinese Embassy.
In 1828, the entirety of Katharine's district, as well as southern East Smithfield were swept away to allow the construction of St Katharine Docks. Around 11,000 people were evicted and had to find new homes.
Notable People
- Edmund Spenser, poet, born in East Smithfield around 1552.
See also
- Smithfield, London - Sometimes referred to as West Smithfield
Transport
The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Tower Gateway.
The nearest London Underground station is Tower Hill on the District and Circle lines.
References
- The National Gazetteer (1868), this ref supports the case that ES was part of St B-W-A
- "Background - St Botolph Aldgate - London Lives".
- website, original resource From "The Copartnership Herald", Vol. III, no. 35 (Christmas 1933-January 1934) http://www.mernick.org.uk/thhol/stkatharine.html
- ^ Allen, Thomas The History and Antiquities of London, Westminster, Southwark, and parts adjacent pp.709–712 (George Virtue, 1839)
- ^ St. Katharine's and East Smithfield Archived 2 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine The Copartnership Herald, Vol. III, no. 35 (Christmas 1933-January 1934) (Tower Hamlets History Online) accessed 23 March 2008
- Youngs, F. A. Guide to Local Administrative Units of England, Volume I (London, 1979)
- "Black Death targeted the weak - Telegraph". 4 February 2008. Archived from the original on 4 February 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- Wood, Michael (2003). In Search of Shakespeare. BBC. ISBN 9780563534778.
- ^ "Britain's first black community in Elizabethan London". BBC News. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
- Nicholl, Charles (2008). The Lodger: Shakespeare on Silver Street. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 9780141911878.
fashionable novelty
- "July 1787, trial of Joseph Curry Thomas Riley (t17870711-4)". Old Bailey Proceedings Online www.oldbaileyonline.org. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
- Egan P, The True History of Tom & Jerry: or, Life in London, London, Charles Hindley, 1821 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/43504/43504-h/43504-h.htm
- Curiosities of London: Exhibiting the Most Rare and Remarkable John Timbs, pp. 33 (London, 1855)
- Architects Journal website https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/david-chipperfield-submits-reworking-of-royal-mint-for-chinese-embassy
- website accessed 5th May 2023 https://englishhistory.net/poets/edmund-spenser/
