Wood Street, London
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Wood Street is a 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 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, 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 ...
;'Cripplegate, one of the 26 Wards of the City of London' Baddesley, J.J p78: London; Blades, East & Blades; 1921 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 and Moorgate at its eastern end, to St. Martin's Le Grand in the west. Gresham Street was created ...
and
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 ...
. 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, maisonettes, and houses in central London, England, within the City of London. It is in an area once devastated by World War II bombings and densely populated b ...
, stopping at Andrewes House. Today Wood Street lies within the wards of
Bassishaw Bassishaw is a ward in the City of London. Small, it is bounded by wards: Coleman Street, east; Cheap, south; Cripplegate, north; Aldersgate, west. It first consisted of Basinghall Street with the courts and short side streets off it,
(north of Gresham Street) and Cheap (south of Gresham Street). 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
bombing. The north gate of the fort became
Cripplegate Cripplegate was a gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London. The gate gave its name to the Cripplegate ward of the City which straddles the line of the former wall and gate, a line which continues to divide the ward into ...
, 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 now ...
(Bread Street) to the main market street at Cheapside and then on north to Cripplegate and out of London to the north. 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 responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, o ...
, at its corner with Love Lane, before leaving the site in 2020. There is a tower on a traffic island in the middle of the street, which is all that remains of the church of
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 ...
. Other notable buildings include 88 Wood Street, and the hall of the Worshipful Company of Pewterers on nearby Oat Lane.


See also

* Aldermanbury * Basinghall Street *
Wood Street Counter The Wood Street Compter (or Wood Street Counter) was a small prison within the City of London in England. It was primarily a debtors' prison, and also held people accused of such misdemeanours as public drunkenness, although some wealthier pri ...


References


External links

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