Houndsditch is a street running through parts of the

Portsoken Portsoken, traditionally referred to with the definite article as the Portsoken, is one of the City of London's 25 ancient wards, which are still used for local elections. Historically an extra-mural Ward, lying east of Aldgate and the City wall ...

and Bishopsgate Without wards of the City of London; areas which are also a part of the

East End of London 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 univ ...

. The road follows the line of the outside edge of the ditch which once ran outside the

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 d ...

. The road took its name from the section of ditch between

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bisho ...

and

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...

. The name may derive from the widespread dumping of rubbish in this stretch of ditch; relating to the dumping of dead dogs, or the scavenging of the waste by feral dogs.

History

A ditch was dug outside

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cross ...

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

but was subsequently filled in and obliterated. The

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard ...

under Cnut the Great constructed a town ditch to control access to the city. The ditch was reputedly known as a dumping ground for dead dogs, and a legend also recalls that Cnut had the body of infamous English traitor

Eadric Streona Eadric Streona (died 1017) was Ealdorman of Mercia from 1007 until he was killed by King Cnut. Eadric was given the epithet "Streona" (translated as "The Acquisitive”) in Hemming's Cartulary because he appropriated church land and funds for ...

dragged through the city by his heels, burnt with torches and then decapitated. His body was then ignominiously dumped over the wall, and into the ditch where hungry dogs were known to scavenge. It is also said that even the feral dogs refused to eat what was left of Edric. The ditch was redug in 1211 as a part of the defences, and was about in width. The city authorities found it a continual problem to scour and clean as many adjacent houses found it a convenient place to dispose of filth and refuse. In 1595, levelling was first considered, although the street running alongside the ditch had first been paved in 1503. The name ''Houndsditche'' appears in the 13th century, and seems to relate to the quantity of rubbish and dead dogs thrown into it; previously it seems to have been referred to only by the appellation "the Ditch". Several dogs' skeletons were unearthed at Houndsditch in 1989. By the turn of the 20th century, the street had become a thriving market in clothing and novelties, giving rise to one of London's leading department stores, the Houndsditch Warehouse, dubbed the "

Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge ...

of the Jewish Quarter". In December 1910, anarchists killed three police officers who had interrupted them during an attempted burglary at a jeweller's shop at No. 119, Houndsditch. In January 1911, two of the gang were cornered and killed in the

Siege of Sidney Street The siege of Sidney Street of January 1911, also known as the Battle of Stepney, was a Shootout, gunfight in the East End of London between a combined police and army force and two Latvians, Latvian revolutionaries. The siege was the culminati ...

Description

Approaching

, the modern office blocks do not occupy the full building plots, leaving some small areas empty. These were historically the sites of

Plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

pits. The road forms part of the A1211 route from Barbican to

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 a c ...

. Traffic flows one-way south-eastward from Outwich Street down the modern Houndsditch, which continues onto St. Botolph Street, connecting to either Aldgate High Street (west) or

Whitechapel High Street Whitechapel High Street is a street in the Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. It is about 0.2 miles (350 m) long, making it “one of the shortest high streets in London”. It links Aldgate High Street to the south-west with ...

(east). The street is the location of a number of restaurants, bars and offices, and a short pedestrianised section of it runs along the north side of the

Heron Tower Salesforce Tower, 110 Bishopsgate (formerly Heron Tower) is a commercial skyscraper in London. It stands tall including its mast making it the second tallest building in the City of London financial district and the fifth tallest in Greater ...

, the tallest building in the City of London.

Public transport

The nearest

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Un ...

station is

and the closest mainline railway station is Liverpool Street. The street is served by

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

routes 42, 78, 100, 135, and 205.

In popular culture

Houndsditch is the location of the 1945 film '' Kitty''. It is described as a slum, set in 1783.

References

{{coords, 51.5153, -0.0787, display=title Streets in the City of London