Shoreditch High Street is the old main street of

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It is part of the A10 road and connects

Norton Folgate Norton Folgate is a short length of street in London, connecting Bishopsgate with Shoreditch High Street, on the northern edge of the City of London. It constitutes a short section of the A10 road (England), A10 road, the former Roman Empire, ...

to the south with

Kingsland Road Kingsland Road is the name given to an East London stretch of the A10 road within the London Borough of Hackney in England. The A10 was originally a Roman Road better known as Ermine Street or sometimes the Old North Road. The name ''Kingslan ...

to the north. It constitutes a segment of the Roman

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (''Londinium'') to Lincoln (''Lindum Colonia'') and York (''Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earningas'', ...

, which ran directly north from London to

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. The parish church of

St Leonard's, Shoreditch St Leonard's, Shoreditch, is the ancient parish church of Shoreditch, often known simply as Shoreditch Church. It is located at the intersection of Shoreditch High Street with Hackney Road, within the London Borough of Hackney in East London. The ...

is situated at the north-east end of the road, at the crossroads where it meets with

Hackney Road Hackney Road is a London arterial route running from Shoreditch Church in London Borough of Hackney to Cambridge Heath in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The route runs along the northern edge of Bethnal Green and southern edge of Hoxto ...

. In the past, Shoreditch High Street boasted both a prestigious theatre and a music hall, though these are now long gone; no trace survives. The National Standard Theatre at 2/3/4 Shoreditch High Street opened in 1837. By the late 19th century it was one of the largest theatres in London. In 1926, it was converted into a cinema called the New Olympia Picturedrome. The building was demolished in 1940.

Sims Reeves John Sims Reeves (21 October 1821 – 25 October 1900) was an English operatic, oratorio and ballad tenor vocalist during the mid-Victorian era. Reeves began his singing career in 1838 but continued his vocal studies until 1847. He soon establ ...

, Mrs Marriott and

James Robertson Anderson James Robertson Anderson (8 May 1811 – 3 March 1895) was a Scottish stage actor and dramatist. Life Anderson was born in Glasgow on 8 May 1811. His father was an actor and he went to school on Leith Walk in Edinburgh. He acted as a toddler in ...

all performed there; the theatre also hosted programmes of classical opera and even Shakespeare, sometimes featuring well-known actors including

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

. The Shoreditch Empire, also known as the London Music Hall, which opened in 1856, was situated at 95–99 Shoreditch High Street. It lasted longer than most

East End 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 ...

halls, but finally closed in 1934 and was demolished the following year. As it traverses modern-day

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

Shoreditch, the road is lined with (sometimes derelict) commercial premises. To the east is the

Boundary Estate The Boundary Estate is a housing development in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It is positioned just inside Bethnal Green's historic parish and borough boundary with Shoreditch, which ran along ''Boundary S ...

, formerly the infamous "Jago" of

Arthur Morrison Arthur George Morrison (1 November 1863 – 4 December 1945) was an English writer and journalist known for realistic novels, for stories about working-class life in the East End of London, and for detective stories featuring a specific detect ...

's 1896 novel ''

A Child of the Jago ''A Child of the Jago'' is an 1896 novel by Arthur Morrison. Background A bestseller in its time, it recounts the brief life of Dicky Perrott, a child growing up in the "Old Jago", a fictionalisation of the Old Nichol, a slum located between Shor ...

''. The concentration of

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "ex ...

pubs located along the road continues the local low-life tradition, though the recent opening of some trendy bars that cater to the affluent residents of nearby

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. I ...

indicates the arrival of

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

in the area. A large department drapery store called Jeremiah Rotherham & Co once existed in the High Street, taking up the frontage from 80 to 91. The store also purchased the adjacent Shoreditch Empire Theatre in 1934 and built a warehouse on the site. When the main store was destroyed by bombing during the Blitz the company transferred to the new warehouse and reopened. File:Main store.jpg, Jeremiah Rotherham & Co. Shoreditch High St

References

{{coord , 51, 31, 27, N, 0, 04, 39, W, display=title Streets in the London Borough of Hackney Streets in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...