Wood Street is a street in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, 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, England, which forms part of the A40 road, A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St Martin's Le Grand with Poultry, London, Poultry. Near its eas ...

; 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, Old Jewry and Coleman Street at its eastern end, to St. Martin's Le Grand in the west. Gresham St ...

and

London Wall The London Wall is a defensive wall first built by the Ancient Rome, Romans around the strategically important port town of Londinium in AD 200, as well as the name of a #modern, modern street in the City of London, England. Roman London was ...

. 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, Apartment#Maisonette, maisonettes and houses in central London, England, within the City of London. It is in an area once devastated by World War II bombings an ...

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

Bassishaw Bassishaw is a Wards of the City of London, ward in the City of London. Small, it is bounded by wards: Coleman Street, east; Cheap (ward), Cheap, south; Cripplegate, north; Aldersgate, west. It first consisted of Basinghall Street with the cour ...

(north of Gresham Street) and Cheap (south of Gresham Street).

History

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

bombing. The north gate of the fort became

Cripplegate Cripplegate was a city gate, gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London, England. The Cripplegate gate lent its name to the Cripplegate Wards of the City of London, ward of the City, which encompasses the area where the gat ...

, 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 ...

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

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 Wr ...

was a church in the street, dedicated to

Saint Alban Saint Alban (; ) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded at an ea ...

. The church was of medieval origin, rebuilt in 1634 and then destroyed in the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

in 1666. It was then rebuilt in a Gothic design by Sir

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...

. However, it was severely damaged by bombing during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the ruins cleared, leaving only the tower still present.

St Michael Wood Street St Michael's Wood Street was a church and parish of medieval origin in Cripplegate Ward in the City of London, and is first mentioned in 1225 as ''St. Michael de Wudestrate''. It stood on the west side of Wood Street, initially with a frontage ...

was a church and parish of medieval origin that was first mentioned in 1225 as ''St. Michael de Wudestrate''. It stood on the west side of Wood Street, initially with a frontage on Huggin Lane but later on Wood Street itself. Wood Street was the address of the country's largest

telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...

: opened in 1929, it was bombed and rebuilt during the war, expanded in 1971 and then finally closed in 1990 (being demolished not long afterwards).

Notable Buildings and Offices

There is a tower on a traffic island in the middle of the street, which is all that remains of the church of

. 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#United Kingdom, territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, England, including the Middle Temple, Middle and Inner Temple, Inner Temples. The for ...

, at its corner with Love Lane, before leaving the site in 2020; the collection of buildings, dating from 1963-66, is

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

. Another notable building is

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 ...

, a commercial office completed in 1999 that was designed by Richard Rogers Partnership, now known as

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners RSHP is a British architectural firm, founded in 1977 and previously known as the Richard Rogers Partnership which became Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in 2007. The firm rebranded from Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners to simply RSHP on 30 Ju ...

. Other notable buildings include the hall of the

Worshipful Company of Pewterers The Worshipful Company of Pewterers is one of the 111 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. TradeWinds, the international shipping news service have an office on Wood Street.

References

External links

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

History

Notable Buildings and Offices

See also

References

External links