Gracechurch Street
Encyclopedia
Gracechurch Street is a street in the City of London
which forms part of the A10. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, offices and Leadenhall Market
.
At its southern end, the street begins near Christopher Wren
's Monument to the Great Fire of London
, at a junction with King William Street
, Eastcheap
and Cannon Street
. Heading north, it crosses Lombard Street
/Fenchurch Street
, and continues forward into Bishopsgate
.
The closest mainline railway station is Fenchurch Street
and the nearest London Underground
station is Monument.
Perhaps Gracechurch Street's most famous attraction is Leadenhall Market
, a covered market dating back to the 14th century and Grade II* listed building since 1972.
. The street is in the heart of Roman Londinium
; it runs directly over the site of the basilica
and forum
.
In medieval times a corn market was held by St. Benet Gracechurch (a church destroyed in the Great Fire) at the junction of Gracechurch Street and Fenchurch Street/Lombard Street
with vendors directed to sell their wares there. The existence of such markets can be seen from the derivation of their names, gaers or gers meaning a blade of grass or herb and faenum meaning hay.
The Religious Society of Friends
(Quakers) had a meeting house
on Gracechurch Street. William Penn
was arrested on 14 August 1670 for delivering a sermon in the street in front of the building after having been forbidden to preach indoors. It burned down in 1821 but was rebuilt. Many of its members had already moved to Stoke Newington
, a couple of miles north along more or less the same street, though it changes its names. The world's first school bus
was set up to run between Newington Academy for Girls
, a Quaker school set up there in 1824, and Gracechurch Street Meeting House. For a time it "became one of the most important Quaker Meetings, and the neighbourhood around it became the centre of the Quaker business community in the city. By the eighteenth century 20-25% of the immediate population were Quakers. City Friends mingled piety with prosperity and earned reputations as sober, honest tradesmen."
During its long history, the street was for a period named Gracious Street.
's Pride and Prejudice
as being the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, the aunt and uncle of the five Bennet sisters. The former Swan-with-Two-Necks inn is the scene of Estella's meeting with Pip in Charles Dickens
' Great Expectations
.
The street has lent its name to the Gracechurch Shopping Centre in Sutton Coldfield
, Birmingham
, which was named after the street by the property company based in Gracechurch Street responsible for its creation.
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
which forms part of the A10. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, offices and Leadenhall Market
Leadenhall Market
Leadenhall Market is a covered market in the City of London, located at Gracechurch Street but with vehicular access also available via Whittington Avenue to the north and Lime Street to the south and east and additional pedestrian access via a number of narrow passageways.-History:The market dates...
.
At its southern end, the street begins near Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
's Monument to the Great Fire of London
Monument to the Great Fire of London
The Monument to the Great Fire of London, more commonly known as The monument, is a 202 ft tall stone Roman Doric column in the City of London, England, near the northern end of London Bridge. It stands at the junction of Monument Street and Panda Bear Hill, 202 ft from where the Great...
, at a junction with King William Street
King William Street (London)
King William Street is the name of a street in the City of London, England. It runs from a junction at the Bank of England, meeting Poultry, Lombard Street and Threadneedle Street, south-east, where it meets a junction with Gracechurch and Cannon Street. It continues south after this junction, and...
, Eastcheap
Eastcheap
Eastcheap is a street in the City of London. Its name derives from cheap, market, with the prefix "East" distinguishing it from the other former City of London market of Westcheap . In medieval times Eastcheap was the City's main meat market, with butchers' stalls lining both sides of the street...
and Cannon Street
Cannon Street
Cannon Street is a road in the south of the City of London. It runs roughly parallel with the River Thames, and about 250 metres north of it. It is the site of the ancient London Stone.-Etymology:...
. Heading north, it crosses Lombard Street
Lombard Street, London
Lombard Street is a street in the City of London.It runs from the corner of the Bank of England at its north-west end, where it meets a major junction including Poultry, King William Street, and Threadneedle Street, south-east to Gracechurch Street....
/Fenchurch Street
Fenchurch Street
Fenchurch Street is a street in the City of London home to a number of shops, pubs and offices. It links Aldgate at its eastern end with Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street to the west. To the south of Fenchurch Street and towards its eastern end is Fenchurch Street railway station...
, and continues forward into Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate is a road and ward in the northeast part of the City of London, extending north from Gracechurch Street to Norton Folgate. It is named after one of the original seven gates in London Wall...
.
The closest mainline railway station is Fenchurch Street
Fenchurch Street railway station
Fenchurch Street railway station, also known as London Fenchurch Street, is a central London railway terminus in the south eastern corner of the City of London, England. The station is one of the smallest terminals in London in terms of platforms and one of the most intensively operated...
and the nearest London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
station is Monument.
Perhaps Gracechurch Street's most famous attraction is Leadenhall Market
Leadenhall Market
Leadenhall Market is a covered market in the City of London, located at Gracechurch Street but with vehicular access also available via Whittington Avenue to the north and Lime Street to the south and east and additional pedestrian access via a number of narrow passageways.-History:The market dates...
, a covered market dating back to the 14th century and Grade II* listed building since 1972.
History
The word Gracechurch derives from Garscherchestrete, Gres-cherch and Gras-cherche with Gracechurch not being in use until after the destruction of the street in the Great Fire of LondonGreat Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
. The street is in the heart of Roman Londinium
History of London
London, the capital of the United Kingdom , has a recorded history that goes back over 2,000 years. During this time, it has grown to become one of the most significant financial and cultural capitals of the world. It has experienced plague, devastating fire, civil war, aerial bombardment and...
; it runs directly over the site of the basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
and forum
Forum (Roman)
A forum was a public square in a Roman municipium, or any civitas, reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along with the buildings used for shops and the stoas used for open stalls...
.
In medieval times a corn market was held by St. Benet Gracechurch (a church destroyed in the Great Fire) at the junction of Gracechurch Street and Fenchurch Street/Lombard Street
Lombard Street, London
Lombard Street is a street in the City of London.It runs from the corner of the Bank of England at its north-west end, where it meets a major junction including Poultry, King William Street, and Threadneedle Street, south-east to Gracechurch Street....
with vendors directed to sell their wares there. The existence of such markets can be seen from the derivation of their names, gaers or gers meaning a blade of grass or herb and faenum meaning hay.
The Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
(Quakers) had a meeting house
Meeting house
A meeting house describes a building where a public meeting takes place. This includes secular buildings which function like a town or city hall, and buildings used for religious meetings, particularly of some non-conformist Christian denominations....
on Gracechurch Street. William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
was arrested on 14 August 1670 for delivering a sermon in the street in front of the building after having been forbidden to preach indoors. It burned down in 1821 but was rebuilt. Many of its members had already moved to Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
, a couple of miles north along more or less the same street, though it changes its names. The world's first school bus
School bus
A school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...
was set up to run between Newington Academy for Girls
Newington Academy for Girls
The Newington Academy for Girls, also known as Newington College for Girls, was a Quaker school established in 1824 in Stoke Newington, then north of London. In a time when girls' educational opportunities were limited, it offered a wide range of subjects "on a plan in degree differing from any...
, a Quaker school set up there in 1824, and Gracechurch Street Meeting House. For a time it "became one of the most important Quaker Meetings, and the neighbourhood around it became the centre of the Quaker business community in the city. By the eighteenth century 20-25% of the immediate population were Quakers. City Friends mingled piety with prosperity and earned reputations as sober, honest tradesmen."
During its long history, the street was for a period named Gracious Street.
Cultural impact
Gracechurch Street is mentioned in Jane AustenJane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England...
as being the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, the aunt and uncle of the five Bennet sisters. The former Swan-with-Two-Necks inn is the scene of Estella's meeting with Pip in Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' Great Expectations
Great Expectations
Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
.
The street has lent its name to the Gracechurch Shopping Centre in Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, which was named after the street by the property company based in Gracechurch Street responsible for its creation.