Cheap is a small

ward 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 ...

in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, England. It stretches west to east from King Edward Street, the border with Farringdon Within ward, to

Old Jewry Old Jewry is a one-way street in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It is located within Coleman Street ward and links Poultry to Gresham Street. The street now contains mainly offices for financial companies. ...

, which adjoins

Walbrook Walbrook is a Ward of the City of London and a minor street in its vicinity. The ward is named after a River Walbrook, river of the same name. The ward of Walbrook contains two of the City's most notable landmarks: the Bank of England and the ...

; and north to south from

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, Old Jewry and Coleman Street at its eastern end, to St. Martin's Le Grand in the west. Gresham St ...

, the border with

Aldersgate Aldersgate is a Wards of the City of London, Ward of the City of London, England, named after one of the northern City gate, gates in the London Wall which once enclosed the City. The Ward of Aldersgate is traditionally divided into Aldersga ...

and

Bassishaw Bassishaw is a Wards of the City of London, ward in the City of London. Small, it is bounded by wards: Coleman Street, east; Cheap (ward), Cheap, south; Cripplegate, north; Aldersgate, west. It first consisted of Basinghall Street with the cour ...

wards, to

Cheapside Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, England, which forms part of the A40 road, A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St Martin's Le Grand with Poultry, London, Poultry. Near its eas ...

, the boundary with

Cordwainer A cordwainer () is a shoemaker who makes new shoes from new leather. The cordwainer's trade can be contrasted with the cobbler's trade, according to a tradition in Britain that restricted cobblers to repairing shoes. This usage distinction is ...

and

Bread Street Bread Street is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London, wards of the City of London, the name deriving from its principal street, which was anciently the city's bread marketplace, market; already named ''Bredstrate'' (to at least 1180) for by ...

wards. The name Cheap derives from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

word "cheep, cheap" for "

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 *Marketing, the act of sat ...

". The following roads run north to south across the ward: St. Martin's Le Grand, Foster Lane, Gutter Lane, Wood Street, Milk Street, King Street, and Ironmonger Lane. Within its boundaries are two Anglican churches:

St Vedast Foster Lane Saint Vedast Foster Lane or Saint Vedast-alias-Foster, a church in Foster Lane, in the City of London, is dedicated to Vedast, St. Vedast (Foster is an Anglicisation of the name "Vaast", as the saint is known in continental Europe), a French sain ...

and

St Lawrence Jewry St Lawrence Jewry next Guildhall is a Church of England guild church in the City of London on Gresham Street, next to the Guildhall. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren. It is ...

; a third church, St Mildred, Poultry, was demolished in 1872. Several Livery Halls are located in Cheap, including those of the Mercers', Goldsmiths', Wax Chandlers' and Saddlers' Companies. St Lawrence Jewry

A small part of the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...

lies within the ward's boundaries: the main entrance and main hall itself; the remainder is in Bassishaw. Also within Cheap are the Lord Mayor's and City of London Court and the southern end of

Basinghall Street Basinghall Street (sometimes written as "Bassinghall") is a street in the City of London, England. It lies chiefly in the ward of Bassishaw (originally the street and the courts and passages leading off from it) with the southern end in Cheap ( ...

Politics

Cheap is one of 25

s in the City of London, each electing an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

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 or her year of office). ...

and

Commoner A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

s (the City equivalent of a

Councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

) to 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. City of London Corporation elections , Elections are held at least eve ...

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 local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...

. Only those who are Freemen of the City of London are eligible to stand for election. The ward is currently represented by

Robert Hughes-Penney as well as three Common Councilmen.www.cityoflondon.gov.uk

References

External links

- Historical Map and Encyclopedia of Shakespeare's London (Scholarly)
Corporation of London
Cheap ward boundaries
Ward Club
Wards of the City of London {{london-geo-stub