Bread Street is one of the 25
wards
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
of the
City of London the name deriving from its principal street, which was anciently the City's
bread
Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made food ...
market; already named ''Bredstrate'' (to at least 1180)
for by the records it appears as that in 1302,
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal ...
announced that "the
baker
A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery.
History
Ancient history
Since grains ha ...
s of
Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, cha ...
and
Stratford-le-Bow ondon and ones already living on the street, were forbidden from selling bread from their own homes or bakeries, and could only do so from Bread Street."
[ ''Book 2, Ch. 9: Bread Street Ward'', A New History of London: ''including Westminster and Southwark'' (1773), pp. 558-60]
/ref> The street itself is just under 500 ft (153 m) in length and now forms the eastern boundary of the ward after the 2003 boundary changes.
The modern ward extends much further west from Bread Street itself and includes Paternoster Square
Paternoster Square is an urban development, owned by the Mitsubishi Estate, next to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. The area, which takes its name from Paternoster Row, once centre of the London publishing trade, was devastated b ...
, a modern development to the north of St Paul's Cathedral and home of the London Stock Exchange since 2004. The City's major shopping centre
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known collec ...
which opened in 2010 is at One New Change
One New Change is a major office and retail development in the City of London. It comprises of floor space, including of retail space and of office space and is the only large shopping centre in the City of London, the historic nucleus and mo ...
within Bread Street Ward.
Boundaries
As with most of the City's 25 wards, the boundaries of Bread Street were altered quite considerably in 2003, having remained almost unchanged for centuries. The ward is now bounded on its north by Cheap Ward; to the east by Cordwainer Ward
Cordwainer is a small, almost rectangular-shaped ward in the City of London. It is named after the cordwainers, the professional shoemakers who historically lived and worked in this particular area of London; there is a Livery Company for the ...
; to the south by 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 ...
and Vintry
Vintry is one of the 25 wards of the City of London. Located within it is the City end of Southwark Bridge and, adjacent to that, the hall of the Worshipful Company of Vintners, the City livery company for the wine trade.
The ward's boundary is ...
Wards; and to the west by Castle Baynard
Castle Baynard is one of the 25 wards of the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London.
Features
The ward covers an irregularly shaped area, sometimes likened to a tuning fork, bounded on the east by the wards of Queenhi ...
and Farringdon Within
Farringdon Within is one of the 25 wards of the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It was formed in the 14th century from the sub-division of the pre-existing Farringdon Ward into ''Farringdon Within'' (inside the line ...
Wards.[ Its geographical boundaries are Bread Street in the east; Newgate Street and ]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, whe ...
in the north; Warwick Lane and Ave Maria Lane
Ave Maria Lane is a street in the City of London, to the west of St. Paul's Cathedral. It is the southern extension of Warwick Lane, between Amen Corner and Ludgate Hill.
On the feastday of Corpus Christi, monks would say prayers in a proc ...
in the west; and Queen Victoria Street to the south.
St Paul's Cathedral is outside the ward boundaries, being in Castle Baynard Ward, but St Paul's Cathedral School
(''By Faith and By Learning'')
, established =
, closed =
, type = Independent preparatory schoolChoral foundation school
, religious_affiliation = Church of England
, president =
, head_label = Headmaster
, hea ...
, situated between the cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominat ...
and New Change is within the ward.
Livery companies and parish churches
Five successive Livery Halls of the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers (workers in fine leather) stood in the ward. They are commemorated by a blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
in the gardens of St Paul's facing Cannon Street
Cannon Street is a road in the City of London, the historic nucleus of London and its modern financial centre. It runs roughly parallel with the River Thames, about north of it, in the south of the City.
It is the site of the ancient London ...
. The fifth and last hall was built between 1909–10, but on the night of 10 May 1941 was gutted during the Blitz.
There were once two churches in the ward, All Hallows Bread Street and St Mildred, Bread Street
The church of St Mildred, Bread Street, stood on the east side of Bread Street in the Bread Street Ward of the City of London. It was dedicated to the 7th century Saint Mildred the Virgin, daughter of Merewald, sub-king of the West Mercians. ...
, both to the design of Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churche ...
. Today their former parishes comprise part of St Mary-le-Bow on Cheapside. All Hallows was demolished in 1876 to make way for warehouses, and St Mildred was destroyed during The Blitz in April and May 1941.
Politics
Bread Street is one of 25 wards in the City of London, each electing one Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...
and a number of Common Councilmen (equivalent to Councillor) on the Court of Common Council
The Court of Common Council is the primary decision-making body of the City of London Corporation. It meets nine times per year. Most of its work is carried out by committees. Elections are held at least every four years. It is largely composed o ...
of the City of London Corporation. Only Freemen of the City are eligible to stand for election to the Court of Aldermen and for the Common Council, a candidate must be a Freeman
Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to:
* a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm
* Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies
* Free ...
and also an elector, a resident, or an owner of freehold or leasehold land within the City of London.
, the elected members for Bread Street include Alderman William Russell, Deputy
Deputy or depute may refer to:
* Steward (office)
* Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy"
* Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including:
** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...
Giles Shilson and Common Councilman Oliver Lodge.City of London Corporation: Elections
Notable residents
Admiral Arthur Phillip, Commander of the First Fleet and first Governor of New South Wales, was baptised at All Hallows' Bread Street in 1738; he joined the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
in 1755 and died on 31 August 1814 and is remembered on Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Jac ...
. A bust of Admiral Phillip can be seen in the church gardens on Watling Street.
Lord Mayor John Ansley was elected Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...
for Bread Street in 1800.
Bread Street is the birthplace of the poets John Donne and John Milton, both of whom are commemorated within Bread Street Ward.
References
External links
Map of Early Modern London: Bread Street Ward
- Historical Map and Encyclopedia of Shakespeare's London (Scholarly)
Map of Early Modern London
- Historical Map and Encyclopedia of Shakespeare's London, showing ward boundaries and reproducing John Stow's description of the wards (Scholarly)
www.onenewchange.com
* Ward Clu
{{City of London wards
Streets in the City of London
Wards of the City of London