Houndsditch is a street running through parts of the

Portsoken Portsoken, traditionally referred to with the definite article as the Portsoken, is one of the City of London's 25 ancient wards, which are still used for local elections. Historically an extra-mural Ward, lying east of Aldgate and the City wal ...

and Bishopsgate Without wards of the City of London; areas which are also a part of the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

. The road follows the line of the outside edge of the ditch which once ran outside the London Wall. The road took its name from the section of ditch between

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bishop ...

and Aldgate. The name may derive from the widespread dumping of rubbish in this stretch of ditch; relating to the dumping of dead dogs, or the scavenging of the waste by feral dogs.

History

A ditch was dug outside

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cross ...

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

by the Romans but was subsequently filled in and obliterated. The

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

under Cnut the Great constructed a town ditch to control access to the city. The ditch was reputedly known as a dumping ground for dead dogs, and a legend also recalls that Cnut had the body of infamous English traitor Eadric Streona dragged through the city by his heels, burnt with torches and then decapitated. His body was then ignominiously dumped over the wall, and into the ditch where hungry dogs were known to scavenge. It is also said that even the feral dogs refused to eat what was left of Edric. The ditch was redug in 1211 as a part of the defences, and was about in width. The city authorities found it a continual problem to scour and clean as many adjacent houses found it a convenient place to dispose of filth and refuse. In 1595, levelling was first considered, although the street running alongside the ditch had first been paved in 1503. The name ''Houndsditche'' appears in the 13th century, and seems to relate to the quantity of rubbish and dead dogs thrown into it; previously it seems to have been referred to only by the appellation "the Ditch". Several dogs' skeletons were unearthed at Houndsditch in 1989. By the turn of the 20th century, the street had become a thriving market in clothing and novelties, giving rise to one of London's leading department stores, the Houndsditch Warehouse, dubbed the " Selfridges of the Jewish Quarter". In December 1910, anarchists killed three police officers who had interrupted them during an attempted burglary at a jeweller's shop at No. 119, Houndsditch. In January 1911, two of the gang were cornered and killed in the

Siege of Sidney Street The siege of Sidney Street of January 1911, also known as the Battle of Stepney, was a Shootout, gunfight in the East End of London between a combined police and army force and two Latvians, Latvian revolutionaries. The siege was the culminati ...

Description

Approaching

, the modern office blocks do not occupy the full building plots, leaving some small areas empty. These were historically the sites of Plague pits. The road forms part of the A1211 route from

Barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe ...

to Whitechapel. Traffic flows

one-way One-way or one way may refer to: *One-way traffic, a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction *One-way travel, a trip that does not return to its origin Music *One Way (American ban ...

south-eastward from Outwich Street down the modern Houndsditch, which continues onto St. Botolph Street, connecting to either Aldgate High Street (west) or Whitechapel High Street (east). The street is the location of a number of restaurants, bars and offices, and a short pedestrianised section of it runs along the north side of the

Heron Tower Salesforce Tower, 110 Bishopsgate (formerly Heron Tower) is a commercial skyscraper in London. It stands tall including its mast making it the second tallest building in the City of London financial district and the fifth List of tallest buil ...

, the tallest building in the City of London.

Public transport

The nearest London Underground station is Aldgate and the closest mainline railway station is Liverpool Street. The street is served by

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...

routes 42, 78, 100, 135, and 205.

In popular culture

Houndsditch is the location of the 1945 film '' Kitty''. It is described as a slum, set in 1783.

References

{{coords, 51.5153, -0.0787, display=title Streets in the City of London