Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough in Inner London. Whilst the majority of the district is located in north London, the borough also includes a significant area to the south which forms part of central London. Islington has ...

. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance.

Geography

Goswell Street formed the eastern boundary of the Clerkenwell parishes, with the

River Fleet The River Fleet is the largest of London's subterranean rivers, all of which today contain foul water for treatment. Its headwaters are two streams on Hampstead Heath, each of which was dammed into a series of ponds—the Hampstead Ponds a ...

, now buried beneath

Farringdon Road Farringdon Road is a road in Clerkenwell, London. Route Farringdon Road is part of the A201 route connecting King's Cross to Elephant and Castle. It goes southeast from King's Cross, crossing Rosebery Avenue, then turns south, crossing C ...

and other streets, forming the western boundary with

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its root ...

and, in part, St Pancras. This western boundary with both neighbouring areas is now used as part of the

’s western boundary with the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and ...

. Pentonville is a part of northern Clerkenwell, while the southern part is sometimes referred to as Farringdon, after the railway station of that name – which was named after

(an extension of Farringdon Street) and originally named Farringdon Street Station. Finsbury Town Hall and the

Finsbury Estate Finsbury Estate is a large-scale housing estate in the Finsbury area of London, England, comprising four purpose-built blocks of flats located on a level site, providing 451 residences. Patrick Coman House and Michael Cliffe House are high-rise ...

lie in Clerkenwell, rather than Finsbury. They are named after the former

Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury was a Metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Islington to form the London Borough of Islington. Formation and boundaries ...

which included Clerkenwell, Finsbury and other areas.

History

''For a list of street name etymologies in the Clerkenwell area see

Street names of Clerkenwell and Finsbury This is a list of the etymology of street names and principal buildings in the London districts of Clerkenwell and Finsbury, in the London Borough of Islington. The Clerkenwell/Finsbury area has no formally defined boundaries - those used here are: ...

.''

Clerks' Well

Clerkenwell took its name from the Clerks' Well in Farringdon Lane (''clerken'' was the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

genitive plural of ''clerk'', a variant of ''

clerc Clerc is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Albert Clerc, French chess player * Aurélien Clerc, Swiss cyclist * François Clerc, French footballer * José Luis Clerc, Argentine tennis player * Julien Clerc, French singe ...

'', meaning literate person or clergyman). The first surviving reference to the name is from 1100. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the London Parish clerks performed annual

mystery play Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represe ...

s there, based on biblical themes. Part of the well remains visible, incorporated into a 1980s building called Well Court. It is visible through a window of that building on Farringdon Lane. Access to the well is managed by Islington Local History Centre and visits can be arranged by appointment.

Monastic traditions

The Monastic Order of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

s of St John of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

had its English headquarters at the

Priory of Clerkenwell Clerkenwell Priory was a priory of the Monastic Order of the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem, in Clerkenwell, London. Run according to the Augustinian rule, it was the residence of the Hospitallers' Grand Prior in England, and was ...

. (

The Blessed Gerard Blessed Gerard (c. 1040 – 3 September 1120), first known as Gérard de Martigues, was a lay brother in the Benedictine Order who was appointed as rector of the hospice in Jerusalem at Muristan in 1080. In the wake of the success of the Firs ...

founded the Order to provide medical assistance during

the crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

St John's Gate St John's Gate, in Clerkenwell, Middlesex, now within central London, is one of the few tangible remains from Clerkenwell's monastic past. It was built in 1504 by Prior Thomas Docwra as the south entrance to the inner precinct of Clerkenwell Prio ...

(built by Sir

Thomas Docwra Sir Thomas Docwra (1458? – 1527) was Grand Prior of the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in England, and thus ranked as Premier Lay Baron of England. Origins He was a member of the Docwra family of Hertfordshire, a ...

in 1504) survives in the rebuilt form of the Priory Gate. Its gateway, erected in 1504 in St John's Square, served various purposes after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. For example, it was the birthplace of the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine' ...

'' in 1731, and the scene of

Dr Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford D ...

's work in connection with that journal. In modern times the gatehouse again became associated with the order and was in the early 20th century the headquarters of the

St John Ambulance St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...

Association. An Early English crypt remains beneath the chapel of the order, which was otherwise mostly rebuilt in the 1950s after wartime bombing. The notorious deception of the "

Cock Lane Ghost The Cock Lane ghost was a purported haunting that attracted mass public attention in 1762. The location was a lodging in Cock Lane, a short road adjacent to London's Smithfield market and a few minutes' walk from St Paul's Cathedral. The event ...

", in which Johnson took great interest, was perpetrated nearby. Adjoining the priory was St Mary's nunnery of the Benedictine order, now entirely disappeared, and St James's Church, rebuilt in 1792 on the site of the original church which was partly of

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

provenance. The

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey Londo ...

, near the boundary with the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, was originally a

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries the Charterhouse became a private mansion and one owner, Thomas Sutton, subsequently left it with an endowment as a school and almshouse. The almshouse remains but the school relocated to Surrey and its part of the site is now a campus of

Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry , mottoeng = Temper the bitter things in life with a smile , parent = Queen Mary University of London , president = Lord Mayor of London , head_label = Warden , head = Mark Caulfield , students = 3,410 , undergrad = 2,23 ...

Black Mary's Hole

Black Mary’s Hole was a locality and small rural settlement in a low-lying area on the eastern, Clerkenwell side of the valley of the

. The area included fields called ''Black Mary’s Hole'', and ''Robin Hood’s Field'', which together with the name of the former local pub, ''The Fox at Bay'', seem to reflect the lawlessness of the area. The locality was also known as a meeting place for gay men. Roque 1746 London c1

Clerkenwell 1805 Cartographer; Tyrer, James

New River Head

The construction of the New River between 1604 and 1613 resulted in the creation of the

New River Head New River Head is a historic site located adjacent to Sadler's Wells Theatre on Rosebery Avenue and Amwell Street in the Clerkenwell area of London, England. Originally it was the London terminus of the New River, an artificial watercourse ope ...

in Clerkenwell, on what is now

Rosebery Avenue Rosebery Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the boroughs of Camden and Islington, Central London. It starts southwest from the intersection with Theobald's Road, Holborn, and ends northeast at St John Street, Clerkenwell. Finsbury Town Hall ...

. The New River was constructed to supply London with fresh drinking water from Hertfordshire, and the New River Head originally consisted of a circular reservoir, the ''Round Pond'' and an associated building, the ''Water House''. From here water was fed into a network of wooden mains which conveyed water to the cisterns of London. Over the years the New River Head complex expanded with the addition of further reservoirs and pumping stations, driven by

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...

horse gin A horse mill is a mill, sometimes used in conjunction with a watermill or windmill, that uses a horse engine as the power source. Any milling process can be powered in this way, but the most frequent use of animal power in horse mills was for grin ...

and, eventually, steam engine. In 1820, the

New River Company The New River Company, formally The Governor and Company of the New River brought from Chadwell and Amwell to London, was a privately-owned water supply company in London, England, originally formed around 1609 and incorporated in 1619 by roy ...

, owners of the river, moved its offices into an enlarged Water House, beginning an association of the site with the administration of London's water supply that was to last some 170 years. In 1920, the

Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functi ...

opened a new office building at New River Head, and this remained the headquarters for London's water supply up to the privatisation of the

Thames Water Authority The Thames Water Authority was one of ten regional water authorities created in the UK on 1 April 1974 under the provisions of the Water Act 1973 to bring together all the water management functions of the region in one public body. Predece ...

in 1989. The site is now largely in residential use, including both converted buildings and newly built apartment blocks.

New River Estate

From 1810 to 1850, the New River Company developed housing on the land surrounding New River Head. At the centre is Myddelton Square, named after Sir Hugh Myddelton, developer of the New River, with the Grade II listed St Mark's Church in the centre. The church was built in 1827 in Victorian Gothic style by

William Chadwell Mylne William Chadwell Mylne, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (6 April 1781 – 25 December 1863) was an English people, English civil engineer and architect. He was descended from a Scottish family of masons and architects, and was the second ...

, after whom the nearby Mylne Street and Chadwell Street are named. The estate is a series of streets and terraces in neo-Classical, Greek revival style. The place names reference the New River company, including Amwell Street (after the New River's source in Hertfordshire) and River Street.

Lloyd Baker Estate

The Lloyd Baker estate was laid out immediately to the west of the New River estate from 1820 to 1840. It takes its name from the family of Bishop William Lloyd who inherited the land from his godmother

Flower Backhouse, Countess of Clarendon Flower Backhouse (died 17 July 1700) was an English court official, notable as First Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Anne. She was Countess of Clarendon from 1670 until her death. Life She was the daughter of the philosopher William Backhous ...

, a shareholder in the New River company. The estate is characterised by neo-classical pedimented villas and garden squares.

Notoriety

As it was a suburb beyond the confines of the

London Wall The London Wall was a defensive wall first built by the Romans around the strategically important port town of Londinium in AD 200, and is now the name of a modern street in the City of London. It has origins as an initial mound wall and ...

, Clerkenwell was outside the jurisdiction of the somewhat puritanical City fathers. Consequently, "base tenements and houses of unlawful and disorderly resort" sprang up, with a "great number of dissolute, loose, and insolent people harboured in such and the like noisome and disorderly houses, as namely poor cottages, and habitations of beggars and people without trade, stables, inns, alehouses, taverns, garden-houses converted to dwellings, ordinaries, dicing houses, bowling alleys, and brothel houses". During the Elizabethan era Clerkenwell contained a notorious brothel quarter. In Shakespeare's '' Henry IV, Part 2'', Falstaff complains about Justice Shallow boasting of "the wildness of his youth, and the feats he has done about Turnbull Street". Known now as Turnmill Street and adjoining

Farringdon station Farringdon is a London Underground and connected main line National Rail station in Clerkenwell, central London. The station is in the London Borough of Islington, just outside the boundary of the City of London. Opened in 1863 as the terminu ...

, it had an infamous reputation for brothel-keeping and was described in Sugden's ''Topographical Dictionary'' as "the most disreputable street in London, a haunt of thieves and loose women". The

Clerkenwell Bridewell Clerkenwell Bridewell (also known as 'Clerkenwell House of Correction') was a prison and correctional institute for prostitutes and vagrants located in the Clerkenwell area, immediately north of the City of London (in the modern London Borough o ...

, a prison and correctional institute for prostitutes and vagrants, was known for savage punishment and endemic sexual corruption.

Prisons

Clerkenwell was also the location of three prisons: the

Coldbath Fields Prison Coldbath Fields Prison, also formerly known as the Middlesex House of Correction and Clerkenwell Gaol and informally known as the Steel, was a prison in the Mount Pleasant area of Clerkenwell, London. Founded in the reign of James I (1603–1625 ...

(later Clerkenwell Gaol) and the

New Prison The New Prison was a prison located in the Clerkenwell area of central London between c.1617 and 1877. The New Prison was used to house prisoners committed for examination before the police magistrates, for trial at the sessions, for want of bai ...

, later the Clerkenwell House of Detention, notorious as the scene of the Clerkenwell Outrage in 1867, an attempted prison break by

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood, secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicated ...

s who killed many in the tenement houses on Corporation Row in trying to blow a hole in the prison wall. The House of Detention was demolished in 1890 but the extensive vaults and cells beneath, now known as the Clerkenwell Catacombs, remained. They were reopened as air raid shelters during the Blitz, and for a few years were open as a minor tourist attraction. Various film scenes have been shot in the catacombs.

Industrial Revolution

The

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

changed the area greatly. It became a centre for breweries,

distilleries Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heat ...

and the printing industry. It gained an especial reputation for the making of clocks,

marine chronometer A marine chronometer is a precision timepiece that is carried on a ship and employed in the determination of the ship's position by celestial navigation. It is used to determine longitude by comparing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), or in the modern ...

s and

watches A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached b ...

, which activity once employed many people from around the area. Flourishing craft workshops still carry on some of the traditional trades, such as jewellery-making. Clerkenwell was home to Witherbys, a printing company who have now split ownership, with the printers having relocated to North London and the publishers to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

(see also the

Witherby Publishing Group Witherby Publishing Group, formerly known as Witherby Seamanship, is a technical publisher of maritime, nautical and navigation training, reference and regulatory materials. The company is the resulting merger of Witherby Books and Seamansh ...

). It was during the Industrial Revolution that Clerkenwell became known as London's Italian district, although the total number of Italian residents probably numbered no more than 2,000 at any one time. Article-1204508-05F33865000005DC-837 964x691

Article-1204508-05F33865000005DC-837 964x691

The Kodak United Company opened a factory and storefront at 41–43 Clerkenwell and took advantage of the surplus of unemployed Jewelers and Watch makers to build their Stereoscopic and Folding Pocket Cameras that they produced and repaired. The location also allowed them easy access to the chemicals required for their Bromide based papers and negatives. During World War II, they were relocated for security reasons because of the fear that Axis bombs would destroy the photographic equipment used for the war effort.

Clerkenwell Green

Clerkenwell Green lies at the centre of the old village, by the church, and has a mixture of housing, offices and pubs, dominated by the imposing former

Middlesex Sessions House The former Middlesex Sessions House or the Old Sessions House is a large building on Clerkenwell Green in the London Borough of Islington in London, England, built in 1780 as the courthouse for the Middlesex Quarter Sessions. It is a Grade II* ...

. It was built in 1782, extended during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

, and by the early 21st century used as a

Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

hall. The name is something of a historical relic – Clerkenwell Green has had no grass for over 300 years. However, in conveying some impression of its history, it gives the appearance of one of the better-preserved village centres in what is now central London. In

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

's '' Oliver Twist'', Clerkenwell Green is where

Fagin Fagin is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. In the preface to the novel, he is described as a "receiver of stolen goods". He is the leader of a group of children (the Artful Dod ...

and the

Artful Dodger Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, is a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist''. The Dodger is a pickpocket, so called for his skill and cunning in that occupation. He is the leader of the gang of child criminal ...

induct Oliver into

pickpocket Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A th ...

ing amongst shoppers in the busy market once held there. In his words it is "an open square in Clerkenwell, which is yet called, by some perversion of terms the Green", despite lacking any "greenery". Indeed, Dickens knew the area well and was a customer of the Finsbury Savings Bank on Sekforde Street, which links Clerkenwell Green to St John Street.

Hockley-in-the-Hole Hockley-in-the-Hole was an area of Clerkenwell Green in central London where bull-baiting, bear-baiting and similar activities occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries.Boulton, W. 1901. The Amusements of Old London: CHAPTER I - THE DIVERSIONS OF ...

was an area of Clerkenwell Green where

bull-baiting Bull-baiting is a blood sport involving pitting a bull against dogs. History England Crowds in London during the Royal Entry of James VI and I in March 1604 were entertained by bull-baiting. During the time of Queen Anne, bull-baiting was p ...

bear-baiting Bear-baiting is a blood sport in which a chained bear and one or more dogs are forced to fight one another. It may also involve pitting a bear against another animal. History Europe Great Britain Bear-baiting was very popular from the 12th ...

and similar activities occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Radicalism

Clerkenwell Green has historically been associated with radicalism, from the

Lollards Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a proto-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholic ...

in the 16th century, the

Chartists Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, ...

in the 19th century and

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

in the early 20th century. In 1902,

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

moved the publication of the ''

Iskra ''Iskra'' ( rus, Искра, , ''the Spark'') was a political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP). History Due to political repression under Tsar Nicho ...

'' (Spark) to the British Social Democratic Federation at 37a Clerkenwell Green, and issues 22 to 38 were indeed edited there. At that time

resided on Percy Circus, less than half a mile north of Clerkenwell Green. In 1903, the newspaper was moved to

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

. It is said that Lenin and a young

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

met in the Crown and Anchor pub (now The Crown Tavern) Has address 43 and 44, Clerkenwell Green when the latter was visiting London in 1903. In the 1920s and 1930s, 37a Clerkenwell Green was a venue for Communist Party meetings, and the

Marx Memorial Library The Marx Memorial Library in London, United Kingdom is a library, archive, educational, and community outreach charity focused on Marxist and wider socialist bodies of work. England and Wales charity number: 270309. Its collection comprises over ...

was founded on the same site in 1933. In 1942 the local borough council erected a controversial bust of

at the site of a new block of flats in Holford Square (the bust was removed in the 1950s). Clerkenwell's tradition of left-leaning publication continued until late 2008 with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' having their headquarters on Farringdon Road, a short walk from the Green. Their new offices are a short distance away in King's Cross. In 2011, an anti-cuts protest march departed from Clerkenwell and ended with a rally at

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

demanding trade union rights, human rights and international solidarity.

Local government

Clerkenwell St James was an ancient parish in the

Finsbury division The Finsbury Division was one of four divisions of the Hundred of Ossulstone, in the historic county of Middlesex, England. The area of the Finsbury Division is now the core of modern north London. The other divisions were named Holborn, Kensingto ...

of the

Ossulstone Ossulstone is an obsolete subdivision (hundred) covering 26.4% of – and the most metropolitan part – of the historic county of Middlesex, England.British History Online Hundreds of Middlesex/ref> It surrounded but did not include the ...

hundred of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. Part of the parish of St James was split off as the parish of St John in 1723. However, for civil matters they remained a single parish. The parish vestry became a nominating authority to the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London Cou ...

in 1855. Under the

Metropolis Management Act 1855 The Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c.120) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Metropolitan Board of Works, a London-wide body to co-ordinate the construction of the city's infrastructure. The Act al ...

any parish that exceeded 2,000

ratepayers Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government. Some other countries have taxes with a more or less comparable role ...

was to be divided into wards; as such the incorporated vestry of St James & St John Clerkenwell was divided into five wards (electing

vestrymen A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

): No. 1 (12), No. 2 (15), No. 3 (12), No. 4 (18) and No. 5 (15). The area of the metropolitan board became the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

in 1889. A reform of local government in 1900 abolished the Clerkenwell vestry and the parish became part of the

. Alexandra Park, an exclave of the parish, was transferred to

Hornsey Hornsey is a district of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood and Alexandra Park to the ...

, Middlesex at the same time. Clerkenwell Town Hall, which had been built on

in 1895, became Finsbury Town Hall. Finsbury became part of the

in 1965 and the old town hall lay empty and deteriorating for many years. It has since been sold to the Urdang Dance Academy.

Post-war de-industrialisation and revival

After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Clerkenwell suffered from

industrial decline Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpre ...

and many of the premises occupied by the engineering, printing publishing and meat and food trades (the last mostly around Smithfield) fell empty. Several acclaimed council housing estates were commissioned by Finsbury Borough Council. Modernist architect and Russian émigré

Berthold Lubetkin Berthold Romanovich Lubetkin (14 December 1901 – 23 October 1990) was a Georgian-British architect who pioneered modernist design in Britain in the 1930s. His work includes the Highpoint housing complex, the Penguin Pool at London Zoo, Fins ...

's listed Spa Green Estate, constructed 1943–1950, has recently been restored. The

, constructed in 1968 to the designs of Joseph Emberton includes flats, since altered and re-clad. A general revival and gentrification process began in the 1980s, and the area is now known for loft-living in some of the former industrial buildings. It also has

young professionals The term ''young professional'' generally refers to young people between 20 and 40 who are employed in a profession or white-collar occupation. The meaning may be ambiguous"I am not sure what "young professionals" means...''After the storm: Amer ...

, nightclubs and restaurants and is home to many professional offices as an overspill for the nearby

and West End. Amongst other sectors, there is a notable concentration of design professions around Clerkenwell, and supporting industries such as high-end designer furniture showrooms. It is claimed that the area has the highest concentration of architects and building professionals in the world. Many of London's leading architectural practices have offices in the area.

Entertainment

Public houses

Pubs that serve the Smithfield Market meat workers are allowed to open at 5.30 am. These are Nicholson's Brewery's former Art Nouveau

gin palace A gin palace (also gin house and gin shop) is an English name originally for a lavish bar selling gin, later transferred by association to late Victorian pubs designed in a similar style. Architecture In the 18th century, gin shops or 'dram ...

the Fox & Anchor, The Hope, and the Cock Tavern (which is situated under the market itself). London's first

gastropub A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves gourmet comfort food. The term was coined in the 1990s, though similar brewpubs existed during the 1980s. Etymology The term ''gastropub'' (derived from gastronomy) was coined in 1991, when David ...

, The Eagle, opened in Clerkenwell in 1991. The Eagle has been joined by, among others, the Peasant, the Coach and Horses and the Gunmakers and the Green, which as part of a nationwide evolution of the traditional public house have since converted to gastropubs. It is said that

and a young

first met in the Crown and Anchor pub (now known as the Crown Tavern) on Clerkenwell Green, when the latter was visiting London in 1903. ''The Betsey Trotwood'' (named after

Betsey Trotwood Betsey Trotwood is a fictional character from Charles Dickens' 1850 novel ''David Copperfield''. Role in novel Betsey Trotwood is David Copperfield's great-aunt on his father's side, and has an unfavourable view of men and boys, having been ill-us ...

in ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

'' by Charles Dickens) adopted the name in 1983, having previously been the ''Butcher's Arms''.

Restaurants

Clerkenwell is home to some of the best restaurants in London, including St John and the Michelin-starred Club Gascon.

Bars

Clerkenwell is the home of several bars including Smith's of Smithfield and The Slaughtered Lamb. The evening economy is centred on the north side of Smithfield Market (the trading hours are from 4:00 am to 12:00 noon every weekday), with bar customers gathering amidst trucks of carcasses at the all-night meat market, except on Saturdays and Sundays when it is closed.

London's Little Italy

In the 1850s the south-western part of Clerkenwell and

Saffron Hill Saffron Hill is a street and ward in the south eastern corner of the London Borough of Camden, between Farringdon Road and Hatton Garden. The name of the street derives from the fact that it was at one time part of an estate on which saffron g ...

in nearby borough of Holborn was known as London's "

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are ...

" because around 2,000 Italians had settled in the area. The community had mostly dispersed by the 1960s, but the area remains the 'spiritual home' of London's Italians, and is a focal point for more recent Italian immigrants, largely because of St Peter's Italian Church in nearby

. There are officially over 200,000 Italians in London, and possibly many more. The Italian Procession of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Sagra takes place each July in the streets surrounding the church. A small number of Italian businesses remain from the nineteenth century including organ builders Chiappa Ltd, and food outlets such as the

deli Deli may refer to: * Delicatessen, a shop selling specially prepared food, or food prepared by such a shop * Sultanate of Deli, a former sultanate in North Sumatra, Indonesia Places * Deli, Boyer-Ahmad, a village in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Pro ...

Terroni of Clerkenwell and Gazzano's. Many other Italian firms survive from the period but have relocated elsewhere.

Nearby areas

* St Pancras to the west * Bloomsbury to the west *

Hatton Garden Hatton Garden is a street and commercial zone in the Holborn district of the London Borough of Camden, abutting the narrow precinct of Saffron Hill which then abuts the City of London. It takes its name from Sir Christopher Hatton, a favouri ...

to the west *

to the southwest * Smithfield to the south * Barbican Estate and

Barbican Arts Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhib ...

to the southeast *

Golden Lane Estate The Golden Lane Estate is a 1950s council housing complex in the City of London. It was built on the northern edge of the City, on a site devastated by bombing during the Second World War. Since 1997, the estate has been protected as a group of ...

to the east * St Luke's to the east *

to the north * Islington to the north * King's Cross to the northwest

Transport

Rail

is the only station in Clerkenwell itself. 12.618 million journeys began or ended at Farringdon in 2017–18. The station first opened in 1863 as ''Farringdon Street''.

London Underground

Farringdon is served by the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is con ...

, Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan lines. The next station west of Farringdon is King's Cross St Pancras, and all westbound trains call at

Baker Street tube station Baker Street is a London Underground station at the junction of Baker Street and the Marylebone Road in the City of Westminster. It is one of the original stations of the Metropolitan Railway (MR), the world's first underground railway, opened ...

. To the east, the next stations are Barbican,

Moorgate Moorgate was one of the City of London's northern gates in its defensive wall, the last to be built. The gate took its name from the Moorfields, an area of marshy land that lay immediately north of the wall. The gate was demolished in 1762, bu ...

and Liverpool Street in the

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

. The Hammersmith and City and Circle lines both terminate in West London at Hammersmith (via

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

). Eastbound, the Hammersmith and City line continues towards

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

in East London, whilst the Circle line loops around the City of London with trains heading westwards towards

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

Embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The Metropolitan line terminates at

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...

to the east, and to the west, trains carry passengers to

Wembley Park Wembley Park is a district of the London Borough of Brent, England. It is roughly centred on Bridge Road, a mile northeast of Wembley town centre and northwest from Charing Cross. The name Wembley Park refers to the area that, at its broade ...

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...

, and stations in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. There are several tube stations near the fringes of Clerkenwell: *

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

(''

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, tw ...

'') * Barbican (''Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines'') *

Chancery Lane Chancery Lane is a one-way street situated in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. It has formed the western boundary of the City since 1994, having previously been divided between the City of Westminster and the London Boro ...

('' Central line'') *

(''Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan and Northern lines'')

National Rail

Farringdon is a

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...

station served on the

Thameslink Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying ...

route, served by

trains run by

Govia Thameslink Railway Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is a train operating company that operates the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) rail franchise in England. Within the franchise, GTR runs the Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Expr ...

(GTR). This links Clerkenwell directly to

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

and

Gatwick Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

airports, and destinations including

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, Brighton,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, and destinations in South London and

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. Moorgate is also nearby, with

Great Northern Great Northern may refer to: Transport * One of a number of railways; see Great Northern Railway (disambiguation). * Great Northern Railway (U.S.), a defunct American transcontinental railroad and major predecessor of the BNSF Railway. * Great ...

services linking the area directly to North London and Hertfordshire destinations.

Road

Clerkenwell is in the London Congestion Charge Zone, as well as the London Low Emission and Ultra Low Emission Zones. Most roads in Clerkenwell are residential, but several key routes cross Clerkenwell.

Goswell Road Goswell Road, in Central London, is an end part of the A1. The southern part ends with one block, on the east side, in City of London; the rest is in the London Borough of Islington, the north end being Angel. It crosses Old Street/Clerkenwell ...

carries the A1 between the City of London ( Barbican) and

, with the road continuing northbound towards

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...

, Archway and the M1. Beyond London, the A1 passes through the

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

of England before terminating in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, Scotland.

Farringdon Street Farringdon Road is a road in Clerkenwell, London. Route Farringdon Road is part of the A201 route connecting King's Cross to Elephant and Castle. It goes southeast from King's Cross, crossing Rosebery Avenue, then turns south, crossing C ...

is numbered the A201, which links Clerkenwell to King's Cross,

Blackfriars Blackfriars, derived from Black Friars, a common name for the Dominican Order of friars, may refer to: England * Blackfriars, Bristol, a former priory in Bristol * Blackfriars, Canterbury, a former monastery in Kent * Blackfriars, Gloucester, a f ...

, and

Elephant & Castle The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground stati ...

. The A5201 (

Clerkenwell Road Clerkenwell Road is a street in London. It runs west–east from Gray's Inn Road in the west, to Goswell Road in the east. Its continuation at either end is Theobald's Road and Old Street respectively. Clerkenwell Road and Theobalds Road we ...

Old Street Old Street is a street in inner north-east Central London that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, via St Luke's and Old Street Roundabout, to the crossroads where it meets Shoreditch High ...

) also runs through Clerkenwell, linking

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

and

in Central London with Shoreditch and the A10 to Clerkenwell's east.

Cycling

Transport for London (TfL) and the

both provide cycling infrastructure in Clerkenwell, and the area is well connected to London's cycle network. Cycle Superhighway 6 (CS6) runs north–south through Clerkenwell, which provides the area with direct links to King's Cross, Bloomsbury,

and

Elephant and Castle The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground stati ...

on a signed cycle route. To the south of Farringdon station, CS6 uses a segregated

cycle track A cycle track, separated bike lane or protected bike lane (sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath) is an exclusive bikeway that has elements of a separated path and on-road bike lane. A cycle track is located within or next to the r ...

which runs parallel to

. South of Exmouth Market, signal-controlled junctions on Farringdon Road often give priority to cyclists, particularly where there is a

cycle lane Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in so ...

or track to separate cycles from other road traffic. In the north of Clerkenwell, CS6 runs on quieter "side-streets" towards Bloomsbury and King's Cross. Quietways 2 and 10 are also nearby, both passing through Finsbury. Quietway 2 links

Russell Square Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Museum. Almost exactly square, to the ...

Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas includ ...

and Walthamstow via Finsbury, whilst Quietway 10 runs from Finsbury to

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...

. Quietways use cycle paths and "side-streets" allowing cyclists to avoid busy roads. Quietways 2 and 10 are signed cycle routes. Bus and cycle lanes are also provided on

and Percival Street.

Santander Cycles Santander Cycles (formerly Barclays Cycle Hire) is a public bicycle hire scheme in London in the United Kingdom. The scheme's bicycles are popularly known as Boris Bikes, after Boris Johnson who was Mayor of London when the scheme began operati ...

, a cycle hire scheme across Central London, has docking stations with bicycles for hire across Clerkenwell.

Notable people

Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film '' The House of Mirt ...

(b. 1968), American actress * John Bell (d. 1556),

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

bishop *

Thomas Birch Thomas Birch (23 November 17059 January 1766) was an English historian. Life He was the son of Joseph Birch, a coffee-mill maker, and was born at Clerkenwell. He preferred study to business but, as his parents were Quakers, he did not go to t ...

(1705–1766), English historian *

Thomas Britton Thomas Britton (14 January 1644 – 27 September 1714) was an English charcoal merchant best known as a concert promoter. Biography Born in Rushden, Northamptonshire, Britton moved to London at a young age and apprenticed himself to a small co ...

(1644–1714), English charcoal merchant best known as a concert promoter *

James Duff Brown James Duff Brown (1862–1914) was a British librarian, information theorist, music biographer and educationalist. Most of his life was spent in London. Biography He was born in Edinburgh, but after beginning his library career in Glasgow, he ...

(1862–1914), English librarian, information theorist, music biographer and educationalist * Rev.

Moses Browne Moses Browne (1703 – 13 September 1787), poet and cleric, suffers from uncertainty about the details of his birth. Some records suggest Severn Stoke in Worcestershire, but a London birth is more likely, as he became a pen-cutter in Clerkenwel ...

(1704–1787),

priest and poet * Robert Burnside (1759–1826), English Baptist minister *

Phil Cameron Phil Cameron (born 14 November 1972) is a British entrepreneur, the founder of No.1 Traveller, and a former Tony and Olivier Award-winning theatre producer. Personal life Cameron was born on 14 November 1972 in London. He read English and Dr ...

(b. 1972), English entrepreneur, the founder of No.1 Traveller, and a former Tony and Olivier Award-winning theatre producer *

Edward Cave Edward Cave (27 February 1691 – 10 January 1754) was an English printer, editor and publisher. He coined the term "magazine" for a periodical, founding ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' in 1731, and was the first publisher to successfully fashio ...

(1691–1754), English printer and journalist *

William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, KG, KB, PC (25 December 1676) was an English courtier and supporter of the arts. He was a renowned horse breeder, as well as being patron of the playwright Ben Jonson, and the intellectual gr ...

(1592–1676), English polymath and aristocrat, having been a poet, equestrian, playwright, swordsman, politician, architect, diplomat and soldier *

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

(1599–1658), English

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

leader and later Lord Protector of the

Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

Helkiah Crooke Helkiah Crooke (1576 – 1648) was Court physician to King James I of England. He is best remembered for his textbook on anatomy, ''Mikrokosmographia, a Description of the Body of Man''. He was the first qualified doctor to be appointed Keeper ...

(1576–1648), Court physician to King

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

, best remembered for his textbook on

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

, ''Mikrokosmographia, a Description of the Body of Man'' *

Earl of Clanricarde Earl of Clanricarde (; ) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, first in 1543 and again in 1800. The former creation became extinct in 1916 while the 1800 creation is extant and held by the Marquess of Sligo since 191 ...

(1832–1916), Anglo-Irish ascendancy nobleman and politician * Daniel Defoe (c. 1660–1731), English trader, writer, journalist,

pamphleteer Pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets, unbound (and therefore inexpensive) booklets intended for wide circulation. Context Pamphlets were used to broadcast the writer's opinions: to articulate a poli ...

and spy, now most famous for his novel ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

'' *

(1812–1870), English writer and social critic * Michael Fagan (b. 1948), Buckingham Palace intruder * Chad Gould (2016–2017), footballer *

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...

(b. 1950–2016), Iraqi-British architect * John Holwell (1649–1686?), English astrologer and mathematician *

Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz, (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include ''The Diamond Brothers'' series, the '' Alex Rider'' series, and '' ...

(b. 1955), English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense * Bedford Alfred George Jezzard (1927–2005), English footballer and manager *

(1870–1924), Russian communist revolutionary, politician and political theorist * Susanna Moodie, née Strickland, Canadian writer, abolitionist, early feminist, lived in Middleton Square, for 3 months in 1832. *Hannah Rosetta Dinah Parks (1860–1931), stage name Cora Cardigan, a virtuoso flautist known as the 'Queen of Flute Players'. *Umberto Bert Rossi, criminal *

Charles Sabini Charles "Darby" Sabini (born Ottavio Handley; 11 July 1888 – 4 October 1950) was a British-Italian mob boss and considered protector of Little Italy during the interwar years. Early life Sabini was known by many names and his actual name i ...

(1889–1950), English criminal, leader of the ''Sabini gang'' * Tom Smith (1823–1869), confectioner and creator of the Christmas cracker *

David Thewlis David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis (), is a British actor, author, director and screenwriter. Thewlis rose to prominence when he starred in the film ''Naked'' (1993), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Awa ...

(b. 1963), English actor *

Jessie Vokes Jessie Vokes (14 June 1848 – 7 August 1884) was a British music hall, pantomime and burlesque actress and dancer of the 19th-century and a member of the Vokes Family of entertainers. For more than ten years they were the central attraction at t ...

(1848–1884), actress and dancer *

Louis Wain Louis William Wain (5 August 1860 – 4 July 1939) was an English artist best known for his drawings, which consistently featured anthropomorphized large-eyed cats and kittens. Later in life, he was confined to mental institutions and struggl ...

(1860–1939), English artist *

John Weever John Weever (1576–1632) was an English antiquary and poet. He is best known for his ''Epigrammes in the Oldest Cut, and Newest Fashion'' (1599), containing epigrams on Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and other poets of his day, and for his ''Ancient ...

(1576–1632), English antiquary and poet *

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he f ...

(1725–1797), English radical, journalist and politician *

Elizabeth Wilkinson Elizabeth Wilkinson (alternatively referred to as Elizabeth Stokes) was an English bare-knuckle boxer and practitioner of historical European weapon arts active in the 1720s and early 1730s. She was one of the earliest known female boxers. Du ...

(1700s), English

bare-knuckle boxing Bare-knuckle boxing (or simply bare-knuckle) is a combat sport which involves two individuals throwing punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time without any boxing gloves or other form of padding on their hands. It is a regulated ...

champion, known to be the first female boxer

References

External links

* *
Map of Clerkenwell, showing location of the Clerks' Well
from an 1868 Gazetteer
Islington Museum and Local History Centre

Craft CentralSt James Church Clerkenwellstmarks-clerkenwell.co.ukGraceLife London at Woodbridge Chapel
for many years known as Clerkenwell Medical Mission {{Authority control Parishes governed by vestries (Metropolis) Districts of the London Borough of Islington Districts of the London Borough of Camden Areas of London Places formerly in Middlesex