Milk Street in the City of London, England, was the site of London's medieval milk market. It was the location of the parish church of St Mary Magdalen which was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and then of Honey Lane Market and the City of London School. [1] The street was seriously damaged by German bombing during the Second World War and has since been completely rebuilt. Nothing remains of its former buildings.
The street runs between Gresham Street in the north and Cheapside in the south. The southern end beyond Russia Row is pedestrianised. On its western side it is joined to Wood Street by Compter Passage (pedestrianised). On its eastern side it is joined by Russia Row. [2]
Archaeological investigations of a site on the corner of the modern Milk Street and Russia Row by the Museum of London in 1976–77 found Roman remains. [3] A medieval Jewish mikveh (ritual bath) was excavated here, and is now displayed in the Jewish Museum London.
Milk Street is first mentioned as "Melecstrate" in a source dating from c. 1132–1150. [4] It was the site of medieval London's milk market [5] [6] and is also recorded as "Melchstrate" (1227), "Melkestrate" (1231), "Melcstrate", "Melkstrete", "Milkstrate" (1278–79), "Milcstrate" (1279), and "Milkestretende". Sources record that there was a "great Fire in Milkstrete and Bread Street" in 1264. [4]
Sir Thomas More, author of Utopia (1516) was born in Milk Street in February 1478 [5] and a plaque at the north end of the street marks the approximate spot. Sir Thomas Gresham was also in 1519, born in Milk Street. The south end of the street was the site of the parish church of St Mary Magdalen before the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The parish was then merged with the adjacent St Lawrence Jewry [7] and Honey Lane Market built on the site which at one time had 105 butchers' stalls. [8] Edward Hatton noted in 1708 that the market was known for its meat, fish and poultry. [4]
By 1835 the market had closed and the City of London School was built on the market site on the corner with Russia Row. [8] It was paid for with money bequeathed for the purpose by John Carpenter, city clerk in the reign of King Henry V. [7] It outgrew this site and in 1883 the school moved to the Victoria Embankment. [9]
The street was seriously damaged by German bombing on 29 December 1940 [7] at its southern end and at the north end on the western side. [10] It has since been completely rebuilt with offices and some retail premises at ground level. The east side between Gresham Street and Russia Row is an office building of 386,000 square feet (35,900 m2) [11] known as 30 Gresham Street that was developed by Land Securities in 2002–03. It was described at the time as "the biggest speculative office development in the capital". [12]
As a result of Second World War bombing and post-war redevelopment, nothing remains of Milk Street's original buildings or of the small courts and alleys that once joined it on both sides: Mitre Court and Feathers Court on its western side, and Mumford Court and Honey Lane Market on the eastern side. Robin Hood Alley, which has also been called Robinson's Court, Robin Hood Court and Robin Court, once joined it to Russia Row but that alley also no longer exists. [2] [13]
Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, England, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, where it becomes Poultry, is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and Bank station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St Paul's tube station and square.
Gresham Street in the City of London is named after the English merchant and financier Thomas Gresham.
Cheap is a small ward in the City of London, England. It stretches west to east from King Edward Street, the border with Farringdon Within ward, to Old Jewry, which adjoins Walbrook; and north to south from Gresham Street, the border with Aldersgate and Bassishaw wards, to Cheapside, the boundary with Cordwainer and Bread Street wards. The name Cheap derives from the Old English word "chep" for "market".
All Hallows, Honey Lane was a parish church in the City of London, England. Of medieval origin, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt; the site became part of Honey Lane Market, which was in turn partially cleared to make way for the City of London School in the 19th century. Much of the area was destroyed during the bombing in World War II and has been redeveloped. The name Honey Lane is retained in a nearby walkway.
Old Jewry is a one-way street in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It is located within Coleman Street ward and links Poultry to Gresham Street.
Foster Lane is a short street within Cheap ward, in the City of London, England. It is situated northeast of St Paul's Cathedral and runs southbound Gresham Street to Cheapside.
Wood Street is a street in the City of London, the historic centre and primary financial district of London. It originates in the south at a junction with Cheapside; heading north it crosses Gresham Street and London Wall. The northernmost end runs alongside The Postern, part of the Barbican estate, stopping at Andrewes House. Today Wood Street lies within the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap.
St Mary Magdalen, Milk Street, was a parish church in the City of London, England, dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene. Originally constructed in the 12th century, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt. The location was converted into a market, then from 1835 to 1879 was the site of the City of London School.
Queen Street is a street in the City of London which runs between Upper Thames Street at its southern end to Cheapside in the north. The thoroughfares of Queen Street and King Street were newly laid out, cutting across more ancient routes in the City, following the Great Fire of London in 1666; they were the only notable new streets following the fire's destruction of much of the City.
Lombard Street is a street notable for its connections with the City of London's merchant, banking and insurance industries, stretching back to medieval times.
Poultry is a short street in the City of London, which is the historic nucleus and modern financial centre of London. It is an eastern continuation of Cheapside, between Old Jewry and Mansion House Street, towards Bank Junction.
This is a list of the etymology of street names in the City of London.
Trump Street is a street in the City of London that was originally known as Trumpadere Street, probably after the trumpet or horn makers who once worked there or in the adjacent Trump Alley. It was built after the Great Fire of London (1666) but completely destroyed by bombing during the Second World War and has since been entirely rebuilt.
Blossom's Inn was a tavern which stood in Lawrence Lane in the City of London from the 14th century until 1855. It became a substantial coaching inn and was used as a staging post by carriers of goods. In the 19th century, the lease was bought and it became the parcel depot of the Great Eastern Railway. Its name was used for a major property development at the end of the 20th century and the site is now part of the large complex of 30 Gresham Street.
Lawrence Lane is a street in the City of London that runs from Trump Street in the south to Gresham Street in the north. Its final section in the north is pedestrianised. An alley also joins it to King Street in the north. It once ran south to join Cheapside but that end was blocked following post-Second World War rebuilding. It was known as St Lawrence Lane from the 13th to the 18th centuries due to its proximity to the church of St Lawrence Jewry and until King Street was built was the main route from Cheapside to the London Guildhall.
30 Gresham Street is an office building in Gresham Street in the City of London of 386,000 sq ft developed by Land Securities in 2002-03 and occupied by Commerzbank and Investec. When built, it was described as "the biggest speculative office development in the capital". The building is bounded in the south by Russia Row and Trump Street, in the east by Lawrence Lane, and in the west by Milk Street. It is on the site of the former Blossom's Inn as well as a number of other small alleys and courts such as Robin Hood Court, Russia Court, Mumford Court and Castle Court.
The Swan with Two Necks was a coaching inn in the City of London that, until the arrival of the railways, was one of the principal departure points for travel to the north of England from London. Its site was given over in the early 1860s to a goods and parcels depot for a firm of railway agents and carriers.
Honey Lane Market was an historic market near Cheapside in the City of London.
Media related to Milk Street, London at Wikimedia Commons