The Old Artillery Ground is an area of land in

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 ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

formerly designated one of 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 ar ...

and Crown Land. Originally the outer precinct of the Priory and Hospital of St Mary Spital, it was converted to an Artillery Ground in 1538, under

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 disagr ...

, for the use of 'The Fraternity or Guild of Artillery of Longbows, Crossbows and Handguns', also known as 'The Fraternity of St George'. This group were later known as the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

and used the ground in conjunction with the Gunners of the

Tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifi ...

. In 1658 the Honourable Artillery Company moved to a new

Artillery Ground The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is an open space originally set aside for archery and later known also as a cricket venue. Today it is used for military exercises, cricket, rugby and football matches. It belongs to the Honourable Artillery Co ...

Bunhill Fields Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in central London, in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London. What remains is about in extent and the bulk of the site is a public garden maintained by the City of London Cor ...

, leaving the Gunners of the Tower in possession of the area until 1682, when it was sold off to speculative builders. These latter developed the area for housing, designating the streets with their present names of Fort Street, Gun Street, Artillery Passage and Artillery Lane which recall its former use. In 1900 it and the neighbouring Liberty of Norton Folgate were merged into the new

Metropolitan Borough of Stepney The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965 it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formation and boundaries The borough was formed from thirteen civil parishes ...

. Since 1965 the area has been administered by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

References

*Thomas, C. (2004) ''Life and Death in London's East End: 2000 Years at Spitalfields''. Museum of London. {{coord , 51, 31, 7, N, 0, 4, 38, W, type:adm3rd_region:GB-TWH, display=title History of the British Army Honourable Artillery Company Military history of London Former civil parishes in London Spitalfields

See also

References