Leman Street, once known as Lemon Street, is a street in
Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of ...
. It was built in the seventeenth century as part of the development of
Goodman's Fields
Two 18th century theatres bearing the name Goodman's Fields Theatre were located on Alie Street, Whitechapel, London. The first opened on 31 October 1727 in a small shop by Thomas Odell, deputy Licenser of Plays. The first play performed was G ...
. It is named after
John Leman
Sir John Leman (1544–1632) was a tradesman from Beccles, England who became Lord Mayor of London.
Career
Leman's business interests grew across the district of Waveney, which spans the Norfolk–Suffolk border. In the 1580s he moved to London ...
who was responsible for this development, which also included
Ayliff Street,
Mansell Street
Mansell Street is a street in Central London, which is part of the London Inner Ring Road. For most of its length from the north, this street marks the boundary between the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. However, the sout ...
, and
Prescot Street
Prescot Street is a street in Aldgate in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Central London. It runs between Goodman's Yard and Mansell Street in the west and Leman Street in the east. The area, including Ayliff Street, Leman Street and Mansel ...
.
Over the years the street has been the location of various notable buildings and organisations:
* The Garrick Theatre, opened 27 December 1830. It was destroyed by fire in November 1846, then rebuilt and opened again as The Albert and Garrick Amphitheatre in 1854. Renamed the Royal Albert Theatre in 1873. Demolished in the 1880s.
* The Leman Street Police Station, built on the site of the Royal Albert Theatre and opened in 1891. It was associated with the
Whitechapel murders
The Whitechapel murders were committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel District (Metropolis), Whitechapel district in the East End of London between 3 April 1888 and 13 February 1891. At various points some or all of these eleven unso ...
and the
Cable Street
Cable Street is a road in the East End of London, England, with several historic landmarks nearby. It was made famous by the Battle of Cable Street in 1936.
Location
Cable Street starts near the edge of London's financial district, the Cit ...
riots.
Music Hall and Theatre History
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* the Brown Bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...
, a public house, 139 Leman Street;
* East London Industrial School, 43 Leman Street, (renumbered 86 from 1881) from 1872 to 1884;
* Leman Street railway station in operation from 1877 to 1941
* Jews' Temporary Shelter from 1886
In 2002, Trees for Cities, the national urban tree charity, planted over a dozen silver birch, rowan and ornamental pear trees along Leman Street as part of the Whitechapel Street Tree project, which sought to increase tree canopy cover in this area of Tower Hamlets.
References
External links
Streets in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
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