Streets from the Agas Map of Early Modern London

Civitas Londinum is a bird’s-eye view of London first printed from woodblocks in about 1561. Widely known as the Agas map,from a spurious attribution to surveyor Ralph Agas (c.1540-1621), the map offers a richly detailed view both of the buildings and streets of the city and of its environment. No copies survive from 1561, but a modified version was printed in 1633.


Abchurch Lane runs north-south from Lombard Street to Candlewick (Cannon) Street. The Agas Map labels it Abchurche lane. It lies mainly in Candlewick Street Ward, but part of it serves as the boundary between Langbourne Ward and Candlewick Street Ward.

Aldermanbury ran north-south, between Lad Lane in the south and Love Lane in the north and parallel between Wood Street in the west and Basinghall Street in the east. It lay wholly in Cripplegate Ward.

Aldgate Street ran slightly south-west from Aldgate until it reached a pump, formerly a sweet well. At that point, the street forked into two streets. The northern branch, called Aldgate Street, ran west until it ran into Cornhill at Lime Street. At an earlier point in history, Cornhill seems to have extended east past Lime Street because the church of St. Andrew Undershaft was called St. Andrew upon Cornhill (Harben).

Barbican was a historically significant street that ran east-west, connecting Aldersgate Street in the west with Redcross Street and Golden Lane in the east. Barbican was more then halfe contained by Cripplegate Ward, with the rest lying within Aldersgate Ward (Stow 1:291). The street is labeled on the Agas map as Barbican.

Bartholomew Lane was in Broad Street Ward and ran north-south from the junction of Throgmorton Street and Lothbury to Threadneedle Street. Bartholomew Lane is visible on the Agas map running southeast on the west side of St. Batholomew by the Exchange. It is labelled bar eelmew la. Stow was the first to record the street as Bartholomew Lane in the 1598 edition of A Survey.

Basing Lane ran west from Bow Lane to Bread Street. The part from Bow Lane to the back door of the Red Lion (in Watling Street) lay in Cordwainer Street Ward, and the rest in Breadstreet Ward. Stow did not know the derivation of the street’s name, but suggested it had been called the Bakehouse in the fourteenth century, whether ment for the Kings bakehouse, or of bakers dwelling there, and baking bread to serue the market in Bredstreete, where the bread was sold, I know not (Stow).

Beer Lane ran north-south from Tower Street to Thames Street in Tower Street Ward. Stow notes that Beer Lane included many faire houses.

Bell Yard, Temple Bar ran north-south between Fleet Street in the south and what is now Carey Street in the north. It was to the north of Temple Church and Temple Bar, to the west of St. Dunstan in the West, and to the east of St. Clement Danes. According to Harben, the name derived from the tenement called le Belle (65).

Bennet’s Hill. Also known as Paul’s Wharf Hill. Named for the church of St. Benet, Paul’s Wharf.

Bevis Marks was a street south of the City Wall that ran east-west from Shoemaker Row to the north end of St. Mary Axe Street. It was in Aldgate Ward. Bevis Marks was continued by Duke’s Place.

Billiter Lane ran north-west from Fenchurch to Leadenhall, entirely in Aldgate Ward. Nearby landmarks included Blanch Appleton facing the opening of Billiter Lane on the south side of Fenchurch and Ironmongers’ Hall to the west of Billiter Lane on the north side of Fenchurch. Nearby churches were St. Catherine Cree on Leadenhall and All Hallows Staining adjacent to the Clothworkers’ Hall) and St. Katharine Coleman on Fenchurch. On the Agas map, Billiter Lane is labelled Bylleter la.

Birchin Lane was a short street running north-south between Cornhill Street and Lombard Street. The north end of Birchin Lane lay in Cornhill Ward, and the south end in Langbourne Ward.

Bishopsgate Street ran north from Cornhill Street to the southern end of Shoreditch Street at the city boundary. South of Cornhill, the road became Gracechurch Street, and the two streets formed a major north-south artery in the eastern end of the walled city of London, from London Bridge to ShoreditchImportant sites included: Bethlehem Hospital, commonly corrupted to the short form -bedlam, a mental hospital and Bull Inn, where plays were performed before Shakespeare’s time (Weinreb and Hibbert 67).

Bow Lane ran north-south between Cheapside and Old Fish Street in the ward of Cordwainer Street. At Watling Street, it became Cordwainer Street, and at Old Fish Street it became Garlick Hill. Garlick Hill-Bow Lane was built in the 890s to provide access from the port of Queenhithe to the great market of Cheapside (Sheppard 70–71).

Bread Street ran north-south from the Standard in Cheapside to Knightrider Street, crossing Watling Street. It lay wholly in the ward of Bread Street, to which it gave its name.

Bread Street Hill ran north-south between Old Fish Street and Thames Street. The label for this street on the Agas Map reads Bread streat, but we know from Stow that Bread Street Hill falls between Huggen lane and S. Mary Mounthaunt (St. Mary Mounthaunt is another name for Old Fish Street Hill) (2.1).

Broad Street ran north-south from All Hallows, London Wall to Threadneedle Street and to a Pumpe ouer against Saint Bennets church (Stow). Broad Street, labelled Brode Streat on the Agas map, was entirely in Broad Street Ward. The street’s name was a reference to its width and importance (Harben).

Budge Row ran east-west through Cordwainer Street ward. It passed through the ward from Soper Lane in the west to Walbrook in the east. Beyond Soper Lane, Budge Row became Watling Street. Before it came to be known as Budge Row, it once formed part of Watling Street, one of the Roman roads (Weinreb and Hibbert 107).

Butchers’ Alley ran parallel to Pentecost Lane to the Butchers’ Hall on the east side of Christ Church. It is not labelled on the Agas map.

Camomile Street lay south of the city wall from Bevis Marks to Bishopsgate Street. Camomile Street is the seventeenth century name for a street that was nameless when Stow wrote his Survey of London. Stow merely calls it the streete which runneth by the north ende of saint Marie streete.

Candlewick, or Candlewright Street as it was sometimes called, ran east-west from Walbrook in the west to the beginning of Eastcheap at its eastern terminus. Candlewick became Eastcheap somewhere around St. Clements Lane, and led into a great meat market (Stow 1:217). Together with streets such as Budge Row, Watling Street, and Tower Street, which all joined into each other, Candlewick formed the main east-west road through London between Ludgate and Posterngate.

Carey Lane ran east-west, connecting Gutter Lane in the east and Foster Lane in the west. It ran parallel between Maiden Lane in the north and Cheapside in the south. The Agas Map labels it Kerie la.

Carter Lane ran east-west between Creed Lane in the west, past Paul’s Chain, to Old Change in the East. It ran parallel to St. Paul’s Churchyard in the north and Knightrider Street in the south. It lay within Castle Baynard Ward and Farringdon Ward Within. It is labelled as Carter lane on the Agas map.

Chancery Lane was built sometime around 1160 by the Knights Templar on land they owned. It ran north-south between Fleet Street at the south end to Holborn in the North, and was originally called New Street. The current name dates from the time of Ralph Neville, who was Bishop of Chichester and Lord Chancellor of England (Bebbington 78). The area around the street came into his possession when in 1227 Henry III gave him land for a palace in this lane: hence Bishop’s Court and Chichester Rents, small turnings out of Chancery Lane (Bebbington 78).

Charterhouse Lane was a narrow road that ran north-south between the London Charterhouse and St. John’s Street. The street earned its name due to its proximity to the London Charterhouse, which housed Carthusian monks. Following the dissolution of London monasteries between 1536 and 1541, Charterhouse Lane became a well known and documented site of poverty, crime, and drinking. After a series of demolitions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Charterhouse Lane was restructured as part of the modern-day Charterhouse Street.

Chick Lane ran north-south from Tower Hill into Tower Street. Stow confirms that it ran on the east of Barking church. It is likely that Chick Lane also featured the diuers houses lately builded, and other incrochmentes found directly above the lane on the west side of Tower Hill (Stow).

Church Lane was a semi-circular lane that wrapped around the south side of the parish church of St. Dunstan in the East, in Tower Street Ward. Both ends of Church Lane led south off Tower Street.

Cockpit Alley, later called Pitt Court, was one of a series of narrow alleys that ran southwest to northeast between Drury Lane in the west and Great Wild Street (now just Wild Street) in the east. It took its name from the Cockpit Theatre which was located in the alley or very nearby. It is not labelled in the Agas Map, but appears clearly on the Rocque map of 1746.

Cornhill was a significant thoroughfare and was part of the city’s main major east-west thoroughfare that divided the northern half of London from the southern half. The part of this thoroughfare named Cornhill extended from St. Andrew Undershaft to the three-way intersection of Threadneedle, Poultry, and Cornhill where the Royal Exchange was built. The name Cornhill preserves a memory both of the cornmarket that took place in this street, and of the topography of the site upon which the Roman city of Londinium was built.

Cow Lane, located in the Ward of Farringdon Without, began at Holborn Street, and then curved north and east to West Smithfield. Smithfield was a meat market, so the street likely got its name because cows were led through it to market (Bebbington 100). Just as Ironmonger Lane and Milk Street in Cheapside market were named for the goods located there, these streets leading into Smithfield meat market were named for the animals that could be bought there.

Crutched Friars was a street that ran east-west from Poor Jewry Lane to the east end of Hart Street above Seething Lane. When Stow wrote, most of Crutched Friars was known as Hart Street, so Stow only uses the name Crutched Friars to refer to Crutched Friars Priory (Harben). Since Stow does not name the street that ran from Aldgate to Woodroffe Lane, it could have been known as Hart Street, Crutched Friars, or something different.

Distaff Lane was in Bread Street Ward. There is some discrepancy between the Agas Map and the information in Stow. On the Agas Map, Distaff Lane (labelled Distaf la.) appears to run south off Maiden Lane, terminating before it reaches Knightrider Street. Stow tells us, in his delineation of the bounds of Bread Street Ward, that Distaff Lane runneth downe to Knightriders street, or olde Fishstreete.

Do Little Lane was a small lane that ran north-south between Carter Lane in the north and Knightrider Street in the south. It ran parallel between Sermon Lane in the west and Old Change Street in the east. It lay within Castle Baynard Ward. It is labelled as Do lytle la. on the Agas map.

Eastcheap Street ran east-west, from Tower Street to St. Martin’s Lane. West of New Fish Street/Gracechurch Street, Eastcheap was known as Great Eastcheap. The portion of the street to the east of New Fish Street/Gracechurch Street was known as Little Eastcheap. Eastcheap (Eschepe or Excheapp) was the site of a medieval food market.

Fenchurch Street (often called Fennieabout) ran east-west from the pump on Aldgate High Street to Gracechurch Street in Langbourne Ward, crossing Mark Lane, Mincing Lane, and Rodd Lane along the way. Fenchurch Street was home to several famous landmarks, including the King’s Head Tavern, where the then-Princess Elizabeth is said to have partaken in pork and peas after her sister, Mary I, released her from the Tower of London in May of 1554 (Weinreb, Hibbert, Keay, and Keay 288). Fenchurch Street was on the royal processional route through the city, toured by monarchs on the day before their coronations.

Fetter Lane ran north-south between Holborn Street and Fleet Street, in the ward of Farringdon Without, past the east side of the church of Saint Dunstan’s in the West. Stow consistently calls this street Fewtars Lane, Fewter Lane, or Fewters Lane (2:21, 2:22), and claimed that it was so called of Fewters (or idle people) lying there (2:39).

Finch Lane (labelled Finke la. on the Agas map) was a small north-south lane that ran between Threadneedle Street and Cornhill. The north half of the lane was in Broadstreet Ward and the latter half was in Cornhill Ward. It is likely that the lane is named after Robert Finke and his family (son Robert Finke and relatives James and Rosamund).

Finimore Lane ran east-west between Old Fish Street Hill and Bread Street Hill in Queenhithe Ward. The lane is not visible on the Agas Map, but we have marked it running just south of St. Nicholas Olave church based on evidence from Stow.

Fleet Street runs east-west from Temple Bar to Fleet Hill (Ludgate Hill), and is named for the Fleet River. The road has existed since at least the 12th century (Sugden 195) and known since the 14th century as Fleet Street (Beresford 26). It was the location of numerous taverns including the Mitre and the Star and the Ram.

Foster Lane ran north-south between Cheapside in the south and Oat Lane in the north. It crossed Lily Pot Lane, St. Anne’s Lane, Maiden Lane, and Carey Lane. It sat between St. Martin’s Lane to the west and Gutter Lane to the east. Foster Lane is drawn on the Agas Map in the correct position, labelled as Forster Lane.

Friday Street passed south through Bread Street Ward, beginning at the cross in Cheapside and ending at Old Fish Street. It was one of many streets that ran into Cheapside market whose name is believed to originate from the goods that were sold there.

Garlick Hill ran north from the Thames. Before it reached Cheapside, it became Bow Lane. The name Garlick Hill preserves a memory of the steep incline (now partially flattened) leading away from the river. Like Bread Street, Garlick Hill was built in the ninth century; it provided access from the haven of Queenhithe (just to the west of Garlick Hill) to the main market street of Cheapside.

Goldsmiths’ Row was a section on the south side of Cheapside, by Cheapside Cross. Goldsmiths’ Row and the shops and homes of other wealthy merchants made the street an elite and attractive one.

Gracechurch Street ran north-south from Cornhill Street near Leadenhall Market to the bridge. At the southern end, it was called New Fish Street. North of Cornhill, Gracechurch continued as Bishopsgate Street, leading through Bishop’s Gate out of the walled city into the suburb of Shoreditch.

Grub Street could be found outside the walled city of London. It ran north-south, between Everades Well Street in the north and Fore Lane in the south. Grub Street was partially in Cripplegate ward, and partially outside the limits of the city of London.

Gutter Lane ran north-south from Cheapside to Maiden Lane. It is to the west of Wood Street and to the east of Foster Lane, lying within the north-eastern most area of Farringdon Ward Within and serving as a boundary to Aldersgate ward. It is labelled as Goutter Lane on the Agas map.

Hart Street ran east-west from Crutched Fryers and the north end of Seething Lane to Mark Lane. In Stow’s time, the street began much further east, running from the north end of Woodroffe Lane to Mark Lane (Harben; Stow).

Hartshorn Alley ran north-south from Leadenhall Street to Fenchurch Street (Harben; BHO). Stow notes that Hartshorn Alley is mid way on that South side [of Leadenhall Street], betwixt Aldgate and Limestreet, and characterises it as a way that goeth through into Fenchurch streete ouer against [i.e., across from] Northumberland house (Stow; BHO).

Hog Lane ran east-west into the north-east corner of Little Tower Hill. It should not be confused with the Hog Lane north of Houndsditch. Hog Lane, also called Hog Street in Stow’s Survey of London, was renamed Rosemary Lane in the seventeenth century.

Holborn Bridge or Oldboorne bridge (Stow; BHO) spanned the Fleet Ditch at Holborn Street. Located in the ward of Farringdon Without, the bridge was part of a major westward thoroughfare.

Houndsditch was a street outside the city walls running slightly northwest from Aldgate Street (without Aldgate) to Bishopsgate Street. It was within the wards of Portsoken and Bishopsgate. The street was formed as people began to build houses on the bank of the city ditch. As the ditch became filled with rubbish and detritus, it was levelled off and turned into gardens (Stow) before finally being paved in 1503 (Harben). Stow mentions that the street’s name came from citizens throwing dead Dogges into the city ditch (Stow).

Huggin Lane, Wood Street ran east-west connecting Wood Street in the east to Gutter Lane in the west. It ran parallel between Cheapside in the south and Maiden Lane in the north. It was in Cripplegate Ward. It is labelled as Hoggyn la on the Agas map.

King’s Alley According to Stow, on the East side of Coleman Street, almost at the North end thereof, is the Armourers Hall, which companie of Armourers were made a fraternitie or Guild of Saint George, with a Chantrie in the Chapple of saint Thomas in Paules Church, in the first of Henrie the sixt. Also on the same side, is kings Alley, and Loue lane, both containing many tenements. Both of these streets appear on the Map of Tudor London. Ekwall (1965) notes that Kings Alley is Named from William Kyng, draper, who mentions John his father and William his grandfather.

Lambeth Hill ran north-south between Knightrider Street and Thames Street. Part of it lied in Queenhithe Ward, and part in Castle Baynard Ward. The Blacksmiths’ Hall was located on the west side of this street, but the precise location is unknown.

Leadenhall Street ran east-west from Cornhill Street to Aldgate Street. All three form part of the same road from Aldgate to Cheapside (Weinreb and Hibbert 462). The street acquired its name from Leadenhall, a onetime house and later a market. The building was reportedly famous for having a leaden roof (Bebbington 197).

Lime Street is a street that ran north-south from Leadenhall Street in the north to Fenchurch Street in the south. It was west of St. Andrew Undershaft and east of Leadenhall. It appears that the street was so named because people made or sold Lime there (Stow; BHO). This claim has some historical merit; in the 1150s one Ailnoth the limeburner lived in the area (Harben; BHO).

Lombard Street runs east to west from Gracechurch Street to Poultry. The Agas map labels it Lombard streat. Lombard Street limns the south end of Langbourn Ward, but borders three other wards: Walbrook Ward to the south east, Bridge Within Ward to the south west, and Candlewick Street Ward to the south.

London Wall was a long street running along the inside of the northern part of the City Wall. It ran east-west from the north end of Broad Street to Cripplegate (Prockter and Taylor 43). The modern London Wall street is a major traffic thoroughfare now. It follows roughly the route of the former wall, from Old Broad Street to the Museum of London (whose address is 150 London Wall).

Love Lane (Coleman Street)According to Stow, on the East side of Coleman Street, almost at the North end thereof, is the Armourers Hall, which companie of Armourers were made a fraternitie or Guild of Saint George, with a Chantrie in the Chapple of saint Thomas in Paules Church, in the first of Henrie the sixt. Also on the same side, is kings Alley, and Loue lane, both containing many tenements. Both of these streets appear on the Map of Tudor London.

Love Lane, Thames Street was situated within Billingsgate (or Belingsgate) ward (Hughson 91). Billingsgate ward is two wards to the west of the Tower of London. The Agas map shows that the lane goes from north to south—up to St. Andrew Hubbard and down to Thames Street. It runs parallel to the streets St. Mary-at-Hill and Botolph Lane.

Love Lane, Wood Street ran east-west, connecting Aldermanbury in the east and Wood Street in the west. It ran parallel to Addle Street in the north and Lad Lane in the south. It lay within Cripplegate Ward, and is labelled as Lone la. on the Agas map.

Maiden Lane was shared between Cripplegate Ward, Aldersgate Ward, and Farringdon Within. It ran west from Wood Street, and originated as a trackway across the Covent Garden (Bebbington 210) to St. Martin’s Lane.

Mark Lane ran north-south from Fenchurch Street to Tower Street. It was for the most parte of this Towerstreet warde (Stow). The north end of the street, from Fenchurch Street to Hart Street was divided between Aldgate Ward and Landbourn Ward. Stow says Mark Lane was so called of a Priuiledge sometime enjoyed to keepe a mart there, long since discontinued, and therefore forgotten, so as nothing remaineth for memorie (Stow). Modern scholars have suggested that it was instead named after the mart, where oxen were fattened for slaughter (Harben).

Milk Street, located in Cripplegate Ward, began on the north side of Cheapside, and ran north to a square formed at the intersection of Milk Street, Cat Street (Lothbury), Lad Lane, and Aldermanbury.

Mincing Lane ran north-south from Fenchurch Street to Tower Street. All of the street was part of Tower Street Ward except the corner house[s] towardes Fenchurch streete, which were in Langbourn Ward (Stow). Stow notes that the street was named after tenements there sometime pertayning to the Minchuns or Nunnes of Saint Helens in Bishopsgate streete (Stow). Stow also makes a definitive link between the lane and London’s commercial history.

New Alley was a north-south alley in Cornhill Ward and was one of three alleys that were destroyed in the construction of the Royal Exchange, alongside Swan Alley and St. Christopher’s Alley. While the Agas map does not label New Alley, evidence suggests that it did appear in the earlier variation of the map.

New Fish Street (also known in the seventeenth century as Bridge Street) ran north-south from London Bridge at the south to the intersection of Eastcheap, Gracechurch Street, and Little Eastcheap in the north (Harben; BHO). At the time, it was the main thoroughfare to London Bridge (Sugden 191). It ran on the boundary between Bridge Within Ward on the west and Billingsgate Ward on the east. It is labelled on the Agas map as New Fyshe streate. Variant spellings include Street of London Bridge, Brigestret, Brugestret, and Newfishstrete (Harben; BHO).

Nicholas Lane, or, as Stow called it, St. Nicholas Lane, ran north-south from Lombard Street to Candlewick Street. It was probably named for St. Nicholas Acon, which stood on the lane. Nicholas Lane still survives in modern London, although it is now interrupted by King William Street.

Noble Street ran north-south between Maiden Lane in the south and Silver Street in the north. It is all of Aldersgate street ward (Stow). On the Agas map, it is labelled as Noble Str. and is depicted as having a right-hand curve at its north end, perhaps due to an offshoot of the London Wall.

Oat Lane ran east-west, connecting Noble Street in the west to Staining Lane in the east. It is drawn on the Agas map in the correct position and is labelled as Ote la. It was in Aldersgate Ward.

Old Fish Street Hill ran north-south between Old Fish Street and Thames Street. Stow refers to this street both as old Fishstreete hill (2.4) and Saint Mary Mounthaunt Lane (2.5).

Paul’s Chain was a street that ran north-south between St Paul’s Churchyard and Paul’s Wharf, crossing over Carter Lane, Knightrider Street, and Thames Street. It was in Castle Baynard Ward. On the Agas map, it is labelled Paules chayne. The precinct wall around St Paul’s Church had six gates, one of which was on the south side by Paul’s Chain. It was here that a chain used to be drawn across the carriage-way entrance in order to preserve silence during church services.

Pentecost Lane ran north from Newgate Street past St. Nicholas Shambles, now Roman Bath Street. Pentcost Lane is not featured on the Agas map.

Pissing Alley or Pissing Lane ran east-west from the end of Basing Lane to Friday Street. On the Agas map, this location is named Pissing La. By the eighteenth century, this section of the street had been renamed Little Friday Lane. Modern Cannon Street replaced this street (Harben).

Pope’s Head Alley ran south from Cornhill to Lombard Street, and was named for the Pope’s Head Tavern that stood at its northern end. Although it does not appear on the Agas Map, its approximate location can be surmised since all three streets still exist. Although Stow himself does not discuss Pope’s Head Alley directly, his book was Imprinted by Iohn Wolfe, Printer to the honorable Citie of London: And are to be sold at his shop within the Popes head Alley in Lombard street. 1598 (Stow 1598). Booksellers proliferated Alley in the early years of the 17th century (Sugden 418).

Pudding Lane is most famously known as the starting point of the Great Fire of 1666. Pudding Lane ran south from Little Eastcheap down to Thames Street, with New Fish Street (Newfyshe Streat) framing it on the west and Botolph Lane on the east. The only intersecting street on Pudding Lane is St. George’s Lane, and the nearby parishes include St. Margaret’s, St. Magnus’s, St. Botolph’s, St. George’s, and St. Leonard, Eastcheap. On Ekwall’s map it is labeled as Rother (Pudding) Lane after Stow’s account of the lane’s former title. Pudding Lane is contained within Billingsgate Ward.

Ram Alley, now known as Hare Place, was a small alley that ran north-south off of Fleet Street, opposite Fetter Lane. Once a conventual sanctury, Ram Alley developed into a chartered abode of libertinism and roguery (Beresford 46).

Seething Lane ran north-south from the junction of Hart Street and Crutch Fryers through to Tower Street. The lane, in Tower Street Ward, was marked by a church at each end; on the northwest corner stood St. Olave, Hart Street and on the southeast corner was All Hallows Barking. Stow describes the lane as one with diuers fayre and large houses (Stow).

Shaft Alley was near the northwest corner of Leadenhall Street and St. Mary Axe Street in Lime Street Ward. During the eighteenth century, the alley was directly opposite East India House. Stow says that the name for the alley came from a maypole laid [on iron hooks] along ouer the doores, and vnder the Pentises of one rowe of houses, and Alley gate, called of the shaft (Stow). As an eyewitness, Stow recounts that the alley retained its name long after the maypole was sawn into pieces and burnt following a particularly powerful sermon given at St. Paul’s Cross by Stephen, curate of St. Katherine Cree.

Shoe Lane, or Shoe Alley as it was sometimes called in the sixteenth century (Ekwall 110), was outside the city wall, in the ward of Faringdon Without. It ran north-south, parallel to the course of the Fleet River. Until 1869, it was the main route between Holborn (Oldborne, in Stow’s spelling) and Fleet Street (Smith 190). At its north end, on the west side, was the church of St. Andrew Holborn.

Shoreditch Street, also called Sewersditch, was a continuation of Bishopsgate Street, passing northward from Norton Folgate to the small town of Shoreditch, a suburb of London in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, for which the road was likely named. Shoreditch first appears in manuscripts in 1148 as Scoreditch, meaning ditch of Sceorf [or Scorre] (Weinreb and Hibbert 807).

Silver Street was a small but historically significant street that ran east-west, emerging out of Noble Street in the west and merging into Addle Street in the east. Monkwell Street (labelled Muggle St. on the Agas map) lay to the north of Silver Street and seems to have marked its westernmost point, and Little Wood Street, also to the north, marked its easternmost point. Silver Street ran through Cripplegate Ward and Farringdon Ward Within. It is labelled as Syluer Str. on the Agas map and is drawn correctly. Perhaps the most noteworthy historical fact about Silver Street is that it was the location of one of the houses in which William Shakespeare dwelled during his time in London.

Soper Lane was located in the Cordwainers Street Ward just west of Walbrook and south of Cheapside. Soper Lane was home to many of the soap makers and shoemakers of the city (Stow 1:251). Soper Lane was on the processional route for the lord mayor’s shows.

There may have been two alleys known as St. Christopher’s Alley in early modern London. The alley with this name on the south side of Threadneedle Street was destroyed to make way for the Royal Exchange, which opened in 1571.

St. Mary Axe ran north-south from the church of St. Augustine Papey to Leadenhall Street. Stow remarks that the east side of the street belonged to Aldgate Ward, while the west side lay within the boundary of Lime Street Ward (Stow). It was named after the church of St. Mary Axe, located near the northwest corner of the street.

Staining Lane ran north-south, starting at Maiden Lane in the south and turning into Oat Lane in the north. It is drawn correctly on the Agas map and is labelled as Stayning la. It served as a boundary between Cripplegate and Aldersgate wards.

North out of Newgate, Stinking Lane runs parallel to both Pentecost Lane and Butchers’ Alley. Ekwall notes Stinking Lane as a euphemistic variant of Fowle Lane, while Stow notes Stinking Lane was also known as Chick Lane.

Strand Lane was a narrow and rather winding thoroughfare leading to the Embankment a few yards to the east of Somerset House (Thornbury 63-84).

Sugarloaf Alley ran north-south from Leadenhall Street to Fenchurch Street, on the west side of Bricklayers’ Hall. Stow indicates that it was called Sprinckle allie but had been renamed Sugarloaf Alley after a shop sign.

Swan Alley was a north-south alley that bordered Cornhill Ward’s north side and Broad Street Ward’s south end. It opened into Cornhill Ward and therefore was included within Cornhill Ward’s limits.

Thames Street was the longest street in early modern London, running east-west from the ditch around the Tower of London in the east to St. Andrew’s Hill and Puddle Wharf in the west, almost the complete span of the city within the walls.

Named for its location on the bank of the Thames, the Strand leads outside the City of London from Temple Bar through what was formerly the Duchy of Lancaster to Charing Cross in what was once the city of Westminster. There were three main phases in the evolution of the Strand in early modern times: occupation by the bishops, occupation by the nobility, and commercial development.

Threadneedle Street ran east-west from Bishopsgate Street to Cornhill and the Stocks Market. It passed the north end of the Royal Exchange and was entirely in Broad Street Ward. Threadneedle Street, also called Three Needle Street, is clearly visible on the Agas map. It was apparently very well known for its taverns.

Throgmorton Street was in Broad Street Ward and ran east-west from Broad Street to Lothbury and Bartholomew Lane. Throgmorton Street appears unlabelled on the Agas map running west from Broad Street, under the Drapers’ Hall. Stow’s description of Throgmorton Street is somewhat more detailed than that of other streets because he had a personal connection to it: his father owned land there.

Tower Street ran east-west from Tower Hill in the east to St. Andrew Hubbard church. It was the principal street of Tower Street Ward. That the ward is named after the street indicates the cultural significance of Tower Street, which was a key part of the processional route through London and home to many wealthy merchants who traded in the goods that were unloaded at the docks and quays immediately south of Tower Street (for example, Billingsgate, Wool Key, and Galley Key).

Trig Lane was the lane leading down from Thames Street (now called Upper Thames Street) to the river landing place called Trig Stairs on the north bank of the Thames. Trig Lane was in a fairly rowdy area full of water traffic, sailors, and porters.

Trinity Lane ran north-south between Old Fish Street (Knightrider Street) and Thames Street, between Garlick Hill and Huggin Lane, entirely in the ward of Queenhithe. On the Agas map, it is labelled Trinitie lane.

Whitechapel was a street running east-west to the Aldgate Bars from the east. Stow comments that the street, like Aldgate Street, was fully replenished with buildings outward, & also pestered with diuerse Allyes, on eyther side (Stow)

Wood Street ran north-south, connecting at its southernmost end with Cheapside and continuing northward to Little Wood Street, which led directly into Cripplegate. It crossed over Huggin Lane, Lad Lane, Maiden Lane, Love Lane, Addle Lane, and Silver Street, and ran parallel to Milk Street in the east and Gutter Lane in the west. Wood Street lay within Cripplegate Ward. It is labelled as Wood Streat on the Agas map and is drawn in the correct position.

Woodroffe Lane ran north-south from Crutched Friars south to Tower Hill. The lane was in Aldgate Ward and was named after the Woodruffe family (Harben). Stow writes that the lane was a place of great benevolence. There were fourteen proper almes houses built from brick and wood in Woodruffe Lane and the tenants haue their dewllinges rent free, and ii.s. iiii.d. the peece: the first day of euery moneth for euer (Stow).

Leave a Reply