Bread Street is one of the 25 wards 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 f ...

the name deriving from its principal street, which was anciently the City's bread

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

; already named ''Bredstrate'' (to at least 1180) for by the records it appears as that in 1302, Edward I announced that "the bakers 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, c ...

and

Stratford-le-Bow Bow () is an area of East London within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is primarily a built-up and mostly residential area and is east of Charing Cross. It was in the Historic counties of England, traditional county of Middlesex but ...

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 by ...

, a modern development to the north of St Paul's Cathedral and home of the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...

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 colle ...

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 Queenhith ...

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, where ...

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 proces ...

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 denominatio ...

and New Change is within the ward.

Livery companies and parish churches

Five successive Livery Halls of the

Worshipful Company of Cordwainers The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Cordwainers were workers in fine leather; the Company gets its name from "cordwain" ( cordovan), the white leather produced from goatskin in Cordova, ...

(workers in fine leather) stood in the ward. They are commemorated by a blue plaque 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 The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. There were once two churches in the ward,

All Hallows Bread Street All Hallows Bread Street was a parish church in the Bread Street ward of the City of London, England. It stood on the east side of Bread Street, on the corner with Watling Street. First mentioned in the 13th century, the church was destroyed in ...

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. Today their former

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

es 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 The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

in April and May 1941.

Politics

Bread Street is one of 25 wards in the

, 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 t ...

and a number of Common Councilmen (equivalent to

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

) 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 The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

. 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 Giles Shilson and Common Councilman Oliver Lodge.City of London Corporation: Elections
John Milton plaque Bread Street London

Notable residents

Admiral Arthur Phillip, Commander of the First Fleet and first Governor of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, 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 ...

. A bust of Admiral Phillip can be seen in the church gardens on

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main ...

. Lord Mayor John Ansley was elected

for Bread Street in 1800. Bread Street is the birthplace of the

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

s 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