East Smithfield is a small locality in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

, east

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 ...

, and also a short street, a part of the

A1203 road List of A roads in zone 1 in Great Britain beginning north of the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is ...

. Once broader in scope, the name came to apply to the part of the ancient parish of St Botolph without Aldgate that was outside of 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 old

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...

and the eastern part of St Katherine's Docks are located in the district.

The street

The street runs eastward from Tower Hill, with the name changing to

The Highway A highway is a long road giving a relatively fast connection between two places. Highway may also refer to: Roads in England * The Highway (London) (previously Ratcliff Highway), a road in the East End of London * The Highway, a road in Br ...

after quarter of a mile. The street is on the route of both the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

and the

London Triathlon The London Triathlon (currently known as the "AJ Bell London Triathlon", and previously the ''Virgin Active London Triathlon'', ''Mazda London Triathlon'' and the ''Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon'', for sponsorship reasons) is an annual triathlo ...

. At one time the street was known as ''Upper East Smithfield'' with the eastern part of St Katharine's Way (the part within East Smithfield) known as ''Lower East Smithfield''.

History of the district

Civil and ecclesiastical administration

Portsoken Ward

John Stow John Stow (''also'' Stowe; 1524/25 – 5 April 1605) was an English historian and antiquarian. He wrote a series of chronicles of English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe Chronicles'', ''The C ...

recounts the origin of the area from the ''Liber Trinitae'', where the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

King Edgar was petitioned by 13 knights to grant them the wasteland to the East of 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 ...

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

, desiring to form a guild. The request was said to be granted on condition that each knight should

"accomplish three combats, one above the ground, one below the ground, and the third in the water; after this, at a certain day in East Smithfield, they should run with spears against all comers; all of which was gloriously performed; and the same day the King named it ''
Knighten Guilde The ''Knighten Guilde'' or ''Cnichtengild'', which loosely translates into modern English as the Knight's Guild, was an obscure Medieval guild of the City of London, according to ''A Survey of London'' by John Stow (1603) in origin an order of chiv ...
'', and so bounded it from Ealdgate Aldgate).html"_;"title="Aldgate.html"_;"title="Aldgate">Aldgate)">Aldgate.html"_;"title="Aldgate">Aldgate)to_the_place_where_the_bars_now_are_toward_the_east,_&c._and_again_toward_the_south_unto_to_the_river_of_Thames,_and_so_into_the_water,_and_throw_his_speare;_so_that_all_East_Smithfield,_with_the_right_part_of_the_street_that_goeth_by_Dodding_Pond_into_the_Thames_and_also_the_hospital_of_St_Katherin's,_with_the_mills_that_were_founded_in_Stephen_of_England.html" ;"title="Aldgate">Aldgate).html" ;"title="Aldgate.html" ;"title="Aldgate">Aldgate)">Aldgate.html" ;"title="Aldgate">Aldgate)to the place where the bars now are toward the east, &c. and again toward the south unto to the river of Thames, and so into the water, and throw his speare; so that all East Smithfield, with the right part of the street that goeth by Dodding Pond into the Thames and also the hospital of St Katherin's, with the mills that were founded in Stephen of England">King Stephen's daies, and the outward stone wall, and the new ditch of the Tower, are of the saide fee and liberbertie."Allen, Thomas ''The History and Antiquities of London, Westminster, Southwark, and parts adjacent'' pp.709–712 (George Virtue, 1839)

The strip of land became known as the Portsoken, an extramural ward of the City of London which originally extended as far south of the Thames. The name East Smithfield - derived from ''smoothfield'' - was applied to an area corresponding, either exactly or approximately, to the Portsoken. Portsoken later lost its southern, riverside, section and the term East Smithfield was subsequently applied only to the part taken out of the Portsoken.

Land ownership and privileges

Later,

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...

confirmed the liberties upon the heirs, and these were again confirmed in the reign of

William Rufus William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third so ...

. By 1115, during the reign of

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

, the entire ''soke'', or

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

, was given to the church of Holy Trinity within Aldgate, which had been founded in 1107 by

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

, Henry's Queen. The prior of the Abbey was then to sit as an ''ex officio''

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of London. The gift was not without problems. The

Constable of the Tower The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the Middle Ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner—the king or a nobleman—was not in residence. The Constable of the Tower had a ...

, Geoffrey de Mandeville had cultivated a piece of ground in East Smithfield, adjacent to the Tower, as a vineyard. He refused to give it up and defended it with the garrison.''St. Katharine's and East Smithfield''
''The Copartnership Herald'', Vol. III, no. 35 (Christmas 1933-January 1934) (Tower Hamlets History Online) accessed 23 March 2008 The southern part of East Smithfield was given by

Holy Trinity Priory The Holy Trinity Priory, also known as Christchurch Aldgate, was a priory of Austin canons ( Black Canons) founded around 1108 by the English queen Matilda of Scotland near Aldgate in London.Hospital of St Katharine, founded by

(wife of

Stephen of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne '' jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 u ...

), in 1148. Further foundations were bestowed by

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

(widow of Henry III) and

Philippa Philippa is a feminine given name meaning "lover of horses" or "horses' friend". Common alternative spellings include ''Filippa'' and ''Phillipa''. Less common is ''Filipa'' and even ''Philippe'' (cf. the French spelling of ''Philippa of Guelders'' ...

(wife of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

). The importance of the hospital was such that the whole of East Smithfield came to be deemed within the Precinct of St Katharine. In 1442, the neighbourhood "was constituted a Precinct free from jurisdiction civil or ecclesiastical, except that of the Lord Chancellor". With the Dissolution of the Monasteries by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

in 1531, the land became the property of the Crown, and many of the religious houses were given to prominent nobles. The hospital of St Katharine was not seized, but re-established as a Protestant house — with houses and a brewery being built within the precincts. Royal Mint London from 1833 Schmollinger map

Royal Mint London from 1833 Schmollinger map

Over time, the area had become divided and further sub-divided. In 1294, the liberty of the

Minories Minories ( ) is the name of a small former administrative unit, and also of a street in central London. Both the street and the former administrative area take their name from the Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate. Both are ...

was formed around the Minoresses of St. Mary of the Order of St. Clare. Similarly, to the east, was the liberty of Well Close. By the 17th century, the rights, peculiarities and administration of these tiny areas was becoming increasing anachronistic, and in 1686, they were subsumed into the

Liberties of the Tower of London The Liberties of the Tower, or the Tower Liberty is a small neighbourhood in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, East London, which includes both Tower Hill and the Tower of London. The area was defined sometime after 1200 to provide an open are ...

. A further monastic house was the Abbey of St Mary Graces (or Eastminster), but this seems not to have had an administrative unit associated with it. From 1855, the whole area of the former East Smithfield was reunited under the administration of the Whitechapel District.

Plague

Between 1347–1351, the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

struck the City. Two cemeteries were opened in East Smithfield to take the dead from London. During the epidemic, 200 bodies a day were buried, in mass graves, stacked five deep. In 2007, a study led by the

University of Albany A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, NY exhumed and examined 490 skeletons – finding that the disease afflicted disproportionately the already weak and malnourished.

Migration

By 1236 Jews were settled here for protection by the Tower garrison — until their expulsion in 1290. Foreign ships were not permitted to use the wharfs within the City, and St Katharine's Quay came to be used extensively for unloading these, particularly Dutch ships. Many French settled here, after the loss of

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

. A large number were from the districts of Hammes and Guisnes, leading to a part of the Precinct becoming known as Hangman's Gains. With trade in the City regulated by the City, St Katharine became an area for foreign settlement. At the end of the 19th century, the quay was the terminus for passenger boats arriving from northern Europe, and became the arrival point for

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

fleeing persecution in eastern Europe. Many settled around

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

and

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

, only a half–mile to the north.''The Jews'', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1: Physique, Archaeology, Domesday, Ecclesiastical Organization, The Jews, Religious Houses, Education of Working Classes to 1870, Private Education from Sixteenth Century (1969), pp. 149–51
Date accessed: 24 March 2008

Poverty and philanthropy

In 1844, "An Association for promoting Cleanliness among the Poor" was established, and they built a

bath-house Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

and laundry in Glasshouse Yard. This cost a single

penny A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...

for bathing or washing, and by June 1847 was receiving 4,284 people a year. This led to an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

to encourage other municipalities to build their own, and the model spread quickly throughout the

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 ...

. Timbs noted that "... so strong was the love of cleanliness thus encouraged that women often toiled to wash their own and their children's clothing, who had been compelled to ''sell their hair'' to purchase food to satisfy the cravings of hunger".

Economic Activity

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

fair was granted in the district in 1229. The

moved from the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, to a site at the end of East Smithfield in 1809. Today, this building, by Robert Smirke and its gatehouse are all that remain; the rest being swept away by continual expansion, until in November 1975, the London Mint was closed and production transferred to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The site is intended to become the new Chinese Embassy.Architects Journal website https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/david-chipperfield-submits-reworking-of-royal-mint-for-chinese-embassy In 1828,

St Katharine Docks St Katharine Docks is a former dock and now a mixed-used district in Central London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and within the East End. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London an ...

were constructed on the site of the hospital, and some 11,000 persons were evicted from the slum to find their own replacement lodgings.

Transport

The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is

Tower Gateway Tower Gateway is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in the City of London and is located near the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. It adjoins the tracks to Fenchurch Street station and is located on the site of a former station called Mino ...

. The nearest London Underground station is

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 grou ...

on the

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

and Circle lines.

References

{{LB Tower Hamlets Streets in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets