Wood Street is a street in 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 fr ...

, the historic centre and primary financial district of London. It originates in the south at a junction with

Cheapside Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, where ...

;'Cripplegate, one of the 26 Wards of the City of London' Baddesley, J.J p78: London; Blades, East & Blades; 1921 heading north it crosses

Gresham Street Gresham Street in the City of London is named after the English merchant and financier Thomas Gresham. It runs from the junction of Lothbury and Moorgate at its eastern end, to St. Martin's Le Grand in the west. Gresham Street was created in ...

and

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 di ...

. The northernmost end runs alongside The Postern, part of the

Barbican estate The Barbican Estate, or Barbican, is a residential complex of around 2,000 flats, maisonettes, and houses in central London, England, within the City of London. It is in an area once devastated by World War II bombings and densely populated b ...

, stopping at Andrewes House. Today Wood Street lies within the wards of

Bassishaw Bassishaw is a ward in the City of London. Small, it is bounded by wards: Coleman Street, east; Cheap, south; Cripplegate, north; Aldersgate, west. It first consisted of Basinghall Street with the courts and short side streets off it,

(north of Gresham Street) and

Cheap Cheap may refer to: *Cheapness * ''Cheap'' (album), debut album from Seasick Steve *Cheap (ward), London, UK *Flatwoods, Kentucky, previously known as Cheap See also *Cheapskate A miser is a person who is reluctant to spend, sometimes to th ...

(south of Gresham Street). The street was originally the main north–south route through the Roman Fort, which was discovered after

World War II 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 opposin ...

bombing. The north gate of the fort became

Cripplegate Cripplegate was a gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London. The gate gave its name to the Cripplegate ward of the City which straddles the line of the former wall and gate, a line which continues to divide the ward into tw ...

, the south gate of the fort was just south of the junction with Love Lane, and the road diverts slightly to the east suggesting that the gate was blocked up or in use, and they had to knock through the Roman fort wall to allow Wood Street to continue. It has been suggested that this was an early road after the so-called Alfredian restoration of the City in around 886 AD. The road led from the main port at

Queenhithe Queenhithe is a small and ancient ward of the City of London, situated by the River Thames and to the south of St. Paul's Cathedral. The Millennium Bridge crosses into the City at Queenhithe. Queenhithe is also the name of the ancient, but now ...

(Bread Street) to the main market street at Cheapside and then on north to Cripplegate and out of London to the north. Wood Street was formerly the location of the headquarters of the

City of London Police The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, ou ...

, at its corner with Love Lane, before leaving the site in 2020. There is a tower on a traffic island in the middle of the street, which is all that remains of the church of

St Alban, Wood Street St Alban's was a church in Wood Street, City of London. It was dedicated to Saint Alban. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt in 1634, destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and rebuilt, this time to a Gothic design by Sir Christopher Wre ...

. Other notable buildings include

88 Wood Street 88 Wood Street is a commercial skyscraper in London, located on Wood Street in the City of London. The architect was the Richard Rogers Partnership, now known as Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, and the director in charge was Graham Stirk. The ...

, and the hall of the

Worshipful Company of Pewterers The Worshipful Company of Pewterers is one of the 110 Livery Companies of the City of London. It ranks 16th in the order of precedence of City Livery Companies and has existed since at least 1348. Like all the other City Livery Companies, the ...

on nearby Oat Lane.

References

External links

{{coord, 51.51616, N, 0.09428, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title, format=dms Streets in the City of London