Cornhill (formerly also Cornhil) is a ward and street in 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 historic nucleus and financial centre of modern

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 ...

. The street runs between Bank Junction and

Leadenhall Street __NOTOC__ Leadenhall Street () is a street in the City of London. It is about and links Cornhill in the west to Aldgate in the east. It was formerly the start of the A11 road from London to Norwich, but that route now starts further east at ...

. The hill from which it takes its name is one of the three ancient hills of London; the others are

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

, site of the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

, and

Ludgate Hill Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760. The area include ...

, crowned by

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

. The highest point of Cornhill is at above sea level.

History

Cornhill is one of the traditional divisions of the City. The street contains two of the City churches designed by Sir

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 church ...

: St. Michael, Cornhill, and St Peter upon Cornhill, reputed to occupy the oldest

Christianised Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

site in London. Both are on the site of the

Roman 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 lett ...

forum of ''

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 cros ...

''. At its other end it meets Threadneedle Street,

Poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, qu ...

, Lombard Street and others at Bank junction. Sir Thomas Gresham's original Royal Exchange fronted onto Cornhill, but its successor on the site, designed by

William Tite Sir William Tite (7 February 179820 April 1873) was an English architect who twice served as President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was particularly associated with various London buildings, with railway stations and cemetery ...

, faces towards the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government o ...

across the junction with Threadneedle Street. The "Standard" near the junction of Cornhill and

was the first mechanically pumped public water supply in London, constructed in 1582 on the site of earlier hand-pumped wells and gravity-fed conduits. The mechanism, a

force pump A piston pump is a type of positive displacement pump where the high-pressure seal reciprocates with the piston. Piston pumps can be used to move liquids or compress gases. They can operate over a wide range of pressures. High pressure operation ...

driven by a water wheel under the northernmost arch of

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It re ...

, transferred water from the Thames through lead pipes to four outlets. The service was discontinued in 1603. This became the mark from which many distances to and from London were measured and the name still appears on older mileposts (but see also the nearby London Stone and St. Mary-le-Bow church). In 1652, Pasqua Rosée, possibly a native of

Ragusa, Italy Ragusa (; scn, Rausa ; la, Ragusia) is a city and '' comune'' in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Ragusa, on the island of Sicily, with 73,288 inhabitants in 2016. It is built on a wide limestone hill between two deep vall ...

, opened London's first

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

, in St. Michael's Alley off Cornhill. The publishers Smith, Elder and Co, based at No. 65, published the popular literary journal ''

Cornhill Magazine ''The Cornhill Magazine'' (1860–1975) was a monthly Victorian magazine and literary journal named after the street address of the founding publisher Smith, Elder & Co. at 65 Cornhill in London.Laurel Brake and Marysa Demoor, ''Dictiona ...

'' from 1860 to 1975, as well as the

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

. The magazine was first edited by

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...

. Cornhill Street is the address of the "Scrooge and Marley" counting house, as well as the employer of

Bob Cratchit Bob Cratchit is a fictional character in the Charles Dickens 1843 novel ''A Christmas Carol''. The abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge (and possibly Jacob Marley, when he was alive), Cratchit has come to symbolize the poor working condi ...

, in Charles Dicken's

1843 Events January–March * January ** Serial publication of Charles Dickens's novel ''Martin Chuzzlewit'' begins in London; in the July chapters, he lands his hero in the United States. ** Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart ...

novella, "

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas ...

Contemporary Cornhill

Today, the street is commonly associated with

optician An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...

s and makers of optical apparatus such as

microscopes A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisi ...

and

telescopes A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observ ...

. A statue of the engineer

James Henry Greathead James Henry Greathead (6 August 1844 – 21 October 1896) was a mechanical and civil engineer renowned for his work on the London Underground railways, Winchester Cathedral, and Liverpool overhead railway, as well as being one of the earliest p ...

was erected in 1994 in the road beside the Royal Exchange, which lies within the ward. Underneath the modern pavement is the world's first underground public toilet, which opened in 1855. Users were charged a standard fee of 1d, reputedly giving rise to the saying to "

spend a penny Consumption is the act of using resources to satisfy current needs and wants. It is seen in contrast to investing, which is spending for acquisition of ''future'' income. Consumption is a major concept in economics and is also studied in many ...

". Cornhill formed part of the marathon course of the 2012 Olympic and

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

Games. The women's Olympic marathon took place on 5 August and the men's Olympic marathon on 12 August. The four Paralympic marathons were held on 9 September. The postcode for the street is EC3V.

Role in City elections

Cornhill is one of 25 wards in the City of London, and each elects an

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 ...

to the

Court of Aldermen The Court of Aldermen forms part of the senior governance of the City of London Corporation. It comprises twenty-five aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor (becoming senior alderman during his year of office). The Co ...

, and Commoners (the City equivalent of a

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 ...

) to the Court of Common Council 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 electors who are

Freemen of the City of London The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

are eligible to stand. The current alderman is Robert Howard and the current members of Common Council are

Peter Dunphy Peter Gerard Dunphy (born June 1966) is a City of London Councillor for the ward of Cornhill, film producer and former staffing business CEO. Early life Peter Gerard Dunphy was born in 1966 in Consett, County Durham, England and educated at St ...

(Deputy), Reverend Stephen Haines and Ian Seaton. The most recent Common Council election results, from 23 March 2017, are below: Image:Royal Exchange and Cornhill.jpg, A drawing of Cornhill in the 1830s. The Royal Exchange is on the left. Image:Aerial view of the City of London.jpg, Cornhill from the air Image:St Michael's Alley, London EC3.jpg, Alley adjacent to St. Michael's Image:P1204StMCi.JPG, Interior of St. Michael's Image:Image taken from page 775 of 'Old and New London, etc' (11190307493).jpg, Cornhill in 1630, showing the ''Royal Exchange'' and the Water-Conduit, called ''the Tun'' Image:Image taken from page 786 of 'Old and New London, etc' (11189531495).jpg, Plan showing the extent of the Great Fire in Cornhill in 1748

References

External links

The Official Cornhill Ward Website

City of London Corporation Map of Cornhill Ward
(2011)

{{City of London wards Geography of the City of London Hills of London Streets in the City of London Wards of the City of London