A view of Cheapside published in 1837. The church is St Mary-le-Bow. St Mary-le-Bow is an historic church in the City of London, off Cheapside.

Cheapside is a street in the City of London, which links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street, Cornhill, Threadneedle Street, Princes Street, Lombard Street and King William Street (via a small section called 'Poultry'). For London as a whole see the main article London. The City of London is a geographically Newgate was a Gate in the west of London Wall round the City of London. Cornhill is a ward, and one of the principal streets of the City of London, the historic nucleus of modern London. Threadneedle Street is a road in the City of London, leading from an intersection with Poultry Cornhill, King William Street and Lombard Street Lombard Street is a street in the City of London. It runs north-west from the corner of the Bank of England, where it meets a major intersection including King William Street is the name of a street in the City of London, England. In mediæval times it was known as 'Westcheap', as the opposite to Eastcheap. Eastcheap is a road in the City of London. Its name derives from cheap, market with the prefix "East" distinguishing it from the other former City of London

History

Cheapside in 1823, looking west towards St. Paul's.

Cheapside is the former site of one of the principal produce markets in London, cheap broadly meaning "market" in mediæval English (see below Etymology and usage). Produce is a generalized term for a group of Farm -produced goods generally limited to Fruits and Vegetables More specifically the term "produce" Cheapside is a street in Cheap ward of the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street Cornhill Many of the streets feeding into the main thoroughfare are named after the produce that was originally sold in those areas of the market, for example, Honey Lane, Milk Street, Bread Street and Poultry.

During the reign of King Edward III (in the 1300s) tournaments were held in adjacent fields. Edward III (13 November 1312 &ndash 21 June 1377 was one of the most successful English monarchs of the Middle Ages. The dangers were however not limited to the participants since a wooden stand, built to accommodate Queen Philippa and her companions, collapsed during a tournament to celebrate the birth of the Black Prince in 1330. Philippa of Hainault ( June 24 1311 &ndash August 15 1369) was the Queen consort of Edward III of England. Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, KG (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376 popularly known as The Black Prince, was the eldest son of King Edward No-one died but the King was greatly displeased and were it not for the Queen's intercession, the stand's builders would have been put to death.

On the day preceding her coronation during January 1559, Queen Elizabeth I passed through a number of London streets in a pre-coronation procession and was entertained by a number of pageants, including one in Cheapside.

Meat was brought in to Cheapside from Smithfield, just outside Newgate. Smithfield (also known as West Smithfield) is an area in the north-west part of the City of London, mostly known for its centuries-old meat market and its bloody history Newgate was a Gate in the west of London Wall round the City of London. After the great Church of St Michael le Querne, the top end of the street broadened into a dual carriageway known as the Shambles (referring to an open-air slaughterhouse and meat market), with butchers shops on both sides and a dividing central area also composed of butchers shops. A dual carriageway or divided highway is a road or Highway in which the two directions of traffic are separated by a central barrier or strip of land known as a The Shambles (official name Shambles) is an old street in York, England, with overhanging timber-framed buildings some dating back as far as A slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (from the French verb abattre, "to strike down" or freezing works ( New Zealand A butcher is someone who prepares various Meats and other related goods for sale Further down, on the right, was Goldsmiths Row, an area of commodity dealers. A goldsmith is a Metalworker who specializes in working with Gold and other Precious metals usually in modern times to make Jewelry. A commodity is anything for which there is demand but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market From the 14th Century until the Great Fire, the eastern end of Cheapside was the location of the Great Conduit. The Great Conduit was a man-made underground channel in London, England, which brought drinking water from the Tyburn to Cheapside in the

Literary connections

It was the birthplace of John Milton and Robert Herrick. John Milton ( 9 December, 1608 – 8 November, 1674) was an English Poet, Prose Polemicist and Robert Herrick (baptized August 24 1591 &ndashburied 15 October 1674) was a 17th century English Poet. It was for a long time one of the most important streets in London. It is also the site of the 'Bow Bells', the church of St Mary-le-Bow, which has played a part in London's Cockney heritage and the tale of Dick Whittington. St Mary-le-Bow is an historic church in the City of London, off Cheapside. The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations Richard Whittington (c 1354&ndash1423 was a Medieval Merchant and Politician, and the real-life inspiration for the Pantomime character Dick Thomas Middleton's play A Chaste Maid in Cheapside (1613) both satirizes and celebrates the citizens of the neighbourhood during the Renaissance, when the street hosted the city's goldsmiths. Thomas Middleton (1580 &ndash 1627 was an English Jacobean playwright and Poet. A Chaste Maid in Cheapside is a City comedy written c 1613 by English Renaissance Playwright Thomas Middleton. A goldsmith is a Metalworker who specializes in working with Gold and other Precious metals usually in modern times to make Jewelry.

Geoffrey Chaucer grew up around Cheapside and there are a scattering of references to the thoroughfare and its environs throughout his work. Geoffrey Chaucer (c 1343 – 25 October 1400? was an English author poet Philosopher, bureaucrat, courtier and Diplomat. The first chapter of Peter Ackroyd's Brief Lives series on Chaucer also colourfully describes the street at that time. Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949, East Acton, London) is an English Author. ^[1]

Jane Austen, in her 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, characterizes Cheapside as a London neighbourhood frowned upon by the landed elite:^[2]

"I think I have heard you say that their uncle is an attorney in Meryton"

"Yes; and they have another, who lives somewhere near Cheapside. Jane Austen (16 Pride and Prejudice, first published on 28 January 1813, is the most famous of Jane Austen 's novels and one of the first " romantic "

"That is capital," added her sister, and they both laughed heartily.

"If they had uncles enough to fill all Cheapside," cried Bingley, "it would not make them one jot less agreeable. "

"But it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world," replied Darcy. "

Charles Dickens, Jr wrote in his 1879 book Dickens's Dictionary of London:

" Cheapside remains now what it was five centuries ago, the greatest thoroughfare in the City of London. Charles Dickens Jr, born Charles Culliford Boz Dickens ( 6 January 1837 – 1896 was the first child of the Novelist Charles Dickens Jr, born Charles Culliford Boz Dickens ( 6 January 1837 – 1896 was the first child of the Novelist Other localities have had their day, have risen, become fashionable, and have sunk into obscurity and neglect, but Cheapside has maintained its place, and may boast of being the busiest thoroughfare in the world, with the sole exception perhaps of London-bridge. London Bridge is a Bridge between the City of London and Southwark in London, England, over the River Thames. "^[3]

Hugh Lofting's book Doctor Dolittle, published in 1951, names a quarrelsome London sparrow with a Cockney accent Cheapside. Hugh John Lofting ( January 14, 1886 &ndash September 26, 1947) was a British author trained as a civil engineer who created the character Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting. The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations He lives most of the year in St. Edmund's left ear in St. Paul's Cathedral and is invited to the African country of Fantippo to deliver mail to cities because the other birds are not able to navigate city streets.

In a more contemporary treatment, the Cheapside of the Middle Ages was referenced in a derogatory sense in the 2001 movie A Knight's Tale—as being the poor, unhealthy and low-class birthplace and home of the unlikely hero. A Knight's Tale is a 2001 action / adventure / romantic comedy directed produced and written by Brian Helgeland.

Also, Mary "Jacky" Faber lived there in Bloody Jack by L. A. Meyer

Contemporary Cheapside

Looking east down Cheapside towards London's financial district and historic centre.

Cheapside today is a street of offices and occasional small retail outlets in the City of London, the centre of the financial services industry. It is no longer a primary traffic route.

Cheapside was extensively damaged during Luftwaffe Blitz raids in late 1940 and particularly during the The Second Great Fire of London. ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. The Blitz was the sustained bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941 in World War II. The night of 29 December / 30 December 1940 was one of the most destructive air raids of the London Blitz, destroying many Livery Much of the rebuilding following these raids occurred during the 1950s and 1960s and included a number of unsympathetic contemporary attempts at recreating the centuries-old architecture that had been destroyed. In recent years many of these buildings have themselves been demolished as a programme of regeneration takes place along Cheapside from Paternoster Square to Poultry. Paternoster Square is an urban development owned by the Mitsubishi Estate Co

Etymology and usage

Cheapside is also a common English street name, meaning "market-place", the word cheap referring to the Old English ceapan meaning "to buy" or "market" as opposed to the modern meaning "low price" which is a shortening of "Good ceap", i. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland e. a 'good buy'.

Other cities and towns in England that have a Cheapside street include Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Derby, Halifax, Lancaster, Leicester, Luton, Manchester, Nottingham, Reading, and Ascot. Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um Bradford ( lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a Metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London Derby (pronounced "dar-bee" /dˈɑːbɪ/ is a city in the East Midlands of England. Halifax is a large Market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England, with a population of 82056 in the Lancaster (pronounced ˈlæŋˌkæstə or ˈlænˌkæstə is a City in Lancashire, England. Leicester (ˈlɛstə is the largest city and Unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional Luton ( is a large town in the east of England, 32 miles (51 kilometres north of London. Nottingham ( is a city in the Ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. Reading (ˈrɛdɪŋ as Redding) is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between Ascot is a small town within the Civil parish of Sunninghill and Ascot, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Berkshire,

References

Sources consulted

Endnotes

External links

• View, looking eastwards, of Cheapside in early Stuart times, showing the Cheapside Cross and the Standard