Poultry, London

Poultry
	Looking east down Poultry toward Bank junction in 2009
Length	110 m (360 ft)
Location	London, United Kingdom
Postal code	EC2
Nearest train station	Bank
Coordinates	51°30′49″N0°5′27.84″W / 51.51361°N 0.0910667°W
West end	Cheapside
East end	Mansion House Street

Last updated January 07, 2024

Poultry (formerly also Poultrey) 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.

Etymology

Poultry takes its name, like other roads nearby such as Milk Street and Bread Street, from the various produce once sold at Cheapside (meaning "market-place" in Old English). John Stow, writing at the end of the 16th century, noted that "the poulterers are but lately departed from thence into other streets".^[1]

History

The rounded-corner triangular block lining the south side of the street, which was much more divided into units, in 1877

The thoroughfare was also known for some time as Conningshop Lane/Coneys shop lane due to the brace of three stuffed coney skins over a notable poulterer's stall, thus who also served game.^[2] From the 15th to early 17th century, the lane had several taverns, but few were rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666.^[3]

Part of north side hosted the church of Saint Mildred. Rebuilt after the Great Fire to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren, it was demolished in 1872^[4] and its site used to build the Gresham Life Assurance office.^[3] In 1891, Henry B. Wheatley wrote that, with the removal of the church,

"the clearing away of the old houses on both sides of the way, and the erection in their place of large blocks of offices and shops of considerable architectural pretensions, and the general widening of the thoroughfare, the Poultry has since 1850 been entirely changed in character and aspect."^[5]

The street gave its name to a prison, Poultry Compter. It was a brick building in its heyday having fifteen wards, of which one for Jews. It was closed in the early 19th century and its prisoners transferred to the new White Cross/Whitecross Street Compter/Prison.^[6]

Notable buildings

Although short it is lined by notable buildings. No 1 Poultry is a postmodern office and retail building which is home to the Coq d'Argent restaurant, which includes a rooftop terrace and formal garden, and takes up what were numbers 1 to 17. Opposite, a wide alley, Grocers' Hall Court, leads to the livery hall of the Worshipful Company of Grocers, one of the City's original twelve great livery companies that ranks second in their order of precedence. Its main entrance is on Princes Street.

The bulk of the north side 27–35 Poultry was the London headquarters of Midland Bank, a Grade I listed building.^[7]

Related Research Articles

The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London, ranking second in order of precedence.

Newgate was one of the historic seven gates of the London Wall around the City of London and one of the six which date back to Roman times. Newgate lay on the west side of the wall and the road issuing from it headed over the River Fleet to Middlesex and western England. Beginning in the 12th century, parts of the gate buildings were used as a gaol, which later developed into Newgate Prison.

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.

Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836. It expanded in the Midlands, absorbing many local banks, and merged with the Central Bank of London Ltd. in 1891, becoming the London City and Midland Bank.

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The Borough Compter was a small compter or prison initially located in Southwark High Street but moved to nearby Tooley Street in 1717, where it stood until demolished until 1855. It took its name from 'The Borough', a historic name for the Southwark area of London on the south side of the River Thames from the City of London. This replaced a lock-up as part of the city's court house under the jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen of the city, and their High-Bailiff of Southwark. This first court house was converted from the old church of the parish St Margaret. A floor was made across the level of the church's gallery and the windows below that were blocked in, the Court Room being on the first floor. This structure was destroyed in the Great Fire of Southwark in 1676.

The Giltspur Street Compter was a compter or small prison, designed by English architect and surveyor George Dance the Younger, mainly used to hold debtors. It was in Giltspur Street, Smithfield, close to Newgate, in the City of London, between 1791 and 1853.

Poultry Compter was a small prison that stood at Poultry, part of Cheapside in the City of London. The compter was used to lock up minor criminals and prisoners convicted under civil law and was run by one of the City's sheriffs. It operated from the 16th century until 1815. It was pulled down in 1817 and replaced with a chapel.

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Gresham Street in the City of London is named after the English merchant and financier Thomas Gresham.

St Mildred, Poultry, was a parish church in the Cheap ward of the City of London dedicated to Anglo-Saxon Saint Mildred. It was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London, and demolished in 1872. St Mildred in the Poultry was the burial place of the writer Thomas Tusser. Some description of the church and its monuments is given in John Stow's Survey of London.

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Beer Lane was a short street of the City of London from at least 1570 to 1910. It ran from almost the east end of Great Tower Street, from opposite Seething Lane, to 53 Lower Thames Street, opposite the east warehouse block of Custom House. John Stow wrote "At the east end of Tower Street, on the south side, have ye Beare Lane, wherein are many fair houses, and runneth down to Thames Street."

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. 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.

Davygate is a major shopping street in the city centre of York, in England.

Coney Street is a major shopping street in the city centre of York, in England. The street runs north-west from the junction of Spurriergate and Market Street, to St Helen's Square. New Street leads off the north-east side of the street, as does a snickelway leading to the Judges Court hotel, while several snickelways lead from the south-west side down to the River Ouse, including Blanshard's Lane, and paths leading to City Screen.

References

↑ Quoted in Wheatley 1891, Volume 3, p.116
↑ Timbs, John (1855). Curiosities of London: Exhibiting the Most Rare and Remarkable Objects of Interest in the Metropolis. D. Bogue. p. 397.
1 2 Wheatley 1891, Volume 3,p.116
↑ Wheatley 1891, Volume 2, p.540
↑ Wheatley 1891, Volume 3, p.117
↑ Wheatley 1891, Volume 3, pp.117 and 502
↑ Historic England (5 June 1972). "Midland Bank (Grade I) (1064598)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 4 March 2019.

Sources

Wheatley, Henry B. (1891). London Past and Present: Its History, Associations and Traditions. Vol. 3. London: John Murray.* Google Maps

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[1] Quoted in Wheatley 1891, Volume 3, p.116

[2] Timbs, John (1855). Curiosities of London: Exhibiting the Most Rare and Remarkable Objects of Interest in the Metropolis. D. Bogue. p. 397.

[whe116-3] 1 2 Wheatley 1891, Volume 3,p.116

[4] Wheatley 1891, Volume 2, p.540

[whe117-5] Wheatley 1891, Volume 3, p.117

[6] Wheatley 1891, Volume 3, pp.117 and 502

[7] Historic England (5 June 1972). "Midland Bank (Grade I) (1064598)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 4 March 2019.

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