Cordwainer is a small, almost rectangular-shaped

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 priso ...

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 ...

. It is named after the

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 ...

s, the professional shoemakers who historically lived and worked in this particular area of London; there is a Livery Company for the trade — the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers. The ward is sometimes referred to as the "Cordwainers' ward". It is bounded to the north by

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, quail ...

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 ...

(the boundary with Cheap ward); to the west by the eponymous Bread Street and the ward of the same name; to the south by Cannon Street (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 i ...

and

Dowgate Dowgate, also referred to as ''Downgate'' and ''Downegate'', is a small ward in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. The ward is bounded to the east by Swan Lane and Laurence Poutney Lane, to the south by the River T ...

wards); and to the east by

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

ward and a street of the same name. Streets within Cordwainer's boundaries are, amongst others, Bow Lane, Pancras Lane and part of Watling Street. Queen Street runs north–south through the centre of the ward.

Former precincts

In mediaeval times and long before the most recent boundary changes in 2003, Cordwainer was divided into eight precincts: *St. Mary, Aldermary, upper and lower *Allhallows, Bread Street *St. Mary-le-Bow *St. Antholin, upper and lower *St. Pancras *St. Bennet, Sherehog and St. John *St. Thomas the Apostle *Trinity

21st century

The contemporary ward is home to many large businesses and new initiatives such as Bow Bells House, named after the bells of

St Mary-le-Bow The Church of St Mary-le-Bow is a Church of England parish church in the City of London. Located on Cheapside, one of the city's oldest and most important thoroughfares, the church was founded in 1080 by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury. Rebu ...

church—and not, as sometimes thought, after the area of Bow. Cordwainer contains one other church,

St Mary Aldermary The Guild Church of St Mary Aldermary a contraction of St Mary Aldermanbury (or St Mary Elder Mary) is an Anglican church located in Watling Street at the junction with Bow Lane, in the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt from 1 ...

, and the site of

St Antholin, Budge Row St Antholin, Budge Row, or St Antholin, Watling Street, was a church in the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren, following its destruction in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The 17th-century ...

, demolished in 1875. Vanished Churches of the City of London Huelin,G: Guildhall Library Publishing, London, 1996 Cordwainer ward is quite distinctive for its high number of licensed premises.

Ward of Cordwainer Club

The Ward of Cordwainer Club was founded in 1902 and has 260 members. The clubs role is * the encouragement of interest in the affairs of the

, * the generation a friendly spirit * the improvement the quality of life mainly within the Ward. It further aims to lend support to the municipal officials of the ward.

Politics

Cordwainer is one of 25 ancient

s of the

, each electing 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 them ...

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 Cou ...

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 ...

) elected 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. Elections An election is a formal group decision-making pro ...

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 are eligible to stand for election. The current Alderman is

Roger Gifford Sir Michael Roger Gifford KStJ KNO (3 August 1955 – 25 May 2021) was a British banker in London who served as the 685th Lord Mayor of London from 2012 to 2013. Gifford was the UK head of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) from 2000 and was ...

and the current Common Councilmen are: Mark Boleat, Michael Snyder and

Alex Barr Alex Barr is a Scottish financier and Alderman representing Cordwainer Ward in the City of London. Prior to this he served as a Common Councilman, also in Cordwainer Ward. Barr attended Queen Anne High School in Dunfermline, Fife and subsequen ...

References

External links

Cordwainer
The Official Ward Website {{City of London wards Wards of the City of London