Shoreditch is an area in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England and is located in the

London Borough of Hackney The London Borough of Hackney ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in Inner London, England. The historical and administrative heart of Hackney is Mare Street, which lies north-east of Charing Cross. The borough is named after Hackney, Lond ...

alongside neighbouring parts of

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 ...

, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north-east of the border with 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 ...

and is considered to be a part of London's East End. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an important centre of the

Elizabethan theatre The English Renaissance theatre or Elizabethan theatre was the theatre of England from 1558 to 1642. Its most prominent playwrights were William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. Background The term ''English Renaissance theatr ...

, and it has been an important entertainment centre since that time. Today, it hosts many pubs, bars and nightclubs. The most commercial areas lie closest to the City of London and along the A10 Road, with the rest mostly residential.

Toponymy

Early spellings of the name include ''Soredich'' (), ''Soresdic'' (1183–4), ''Sordig'' (1204), ''Schoresdich'' (1220–21), and other variants.

Toponymist Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...

s are generally agreed that the name derives from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

"''scoradīc''", i.e. "shore-ditch", the shore being a riverbank or prominent slope; but there is disagreement as to the identity of the "shore" in question. A suggestion made by

Eilert Ekwall Bror Oscar Eilert Ekwall (8 January 1877 in Vallsjö – 23 November 1964 in Lund) was a Swedish academic, Professor of English at Sweden's Lund University from 1909 to 1942 and one of the outstanding scholars of the English language in the firs ...

in 1936 that the "ditch" might have been one leading to the "shore" of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

continues to enjoy widespread currency. Other scholars, however, have challenged this interpretation on the grounds that the City of London lies between Shoreditch and the Thames. A variant spelling used by

John Stow John Stow (''also'' Stowe; 1524/25 – 5 April 1605) was an English historian and antiquarian. He wrote a series of chronicles of History of England, English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe C ...

in 1598, ''Sewers Ditche'', raises the possibility that the name might originally have referred to a drain or watercourse. Certainly the area was once boggy, and the name might bear some relation to the main branch of the

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 ...

, which rose in Hoxton, ran along what is now Curtain Road, flowing past the former

Curtain Theatre The Curtain Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Hewett Street, Shoreditch (within the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. It opened in 1577, and continued staging plays until 1624. The Curtain was b ...

. The river was known in this area as the ''Deepditch'', ''Flood Ditch'' or just ''The Ditch''.

Folk etymology Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...

holds that the place was originally named "Shore's Ditch", after

Jane Shore Elizabeth "Jane" Shore (née Lambert; 1445 – c. 1527) was one of the many mistresses of King Edward IV of England. She became the best known in history by being later accused of conspiracy by the future King Richard III and compelled to do p ...

, the mistress of

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

, who is supposed to have died or been buried in a ditch in the area. This legend is commemorated today by a large painting, at

Haggerston Haggerston is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. There is an Haggerston (ward), electoral ward called Haggerston within the borough. H ...

Branch Library, of the body of Shore being retrieved from the ditch, and by a design on glazed tiles in a shop in Shoreditch High Street showing her meeting Edward IV.Clunn, H. P. (1970) ''The Face of London''. Spring Books: London. pp. 312, 493 However, the area was known as Shoreditch long before Jane Shore lived: the ''

Survey of London The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of central London and its suburbs, or the area formerly administered by the London County Council. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an A ...

'', for example, lists some 26 deeds dating from between and 1260 which use some version of the name. In another theory, also now discredited, antiquarian

John Weever John Weever (1576–1632) was an English antiquary and poet. He is best known for his ''Epigrammes in the Oldest Cut, and Newest Fashion'' (1599), containing epigrams on Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and other poets of his day, and for his ''Ancient ...

claimed that the name was derived from Sir John de Soerdich, who was

lord of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

during the reign of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

(132777).

History

Origins

Though now part of

Inner London Inner London is the group of London boroughs that form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. With its origins in the bills of mortality, it became fixed as an area for statistics in 1847 and was used as an area ...

, Shoreditch was previously an extramural suburb of the City of London, centred on

Shoreditch Church Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...

at the old crossroads where

Shoreditch High Street Shoreditch High Street is the old main street of Shoreditch, London. It is part of the A10 road and connects Norton Folgate to the south with Kingsland Road to the north. It constitutes a segment of the Roman Ermine Street, which ran direct ...

and

Kingsland Road Kingsland Road is the name given to an East London stretch of the A10 road within the London Borough of Hackney in England. The A10 was originally a Roman Road better known as Ermine Street or sometimes the Old North Road. The name ''Kingsla ...

are crossed by

Old Street Old Street is a street in inner north-east Central London, England that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, via St Luke's and Old Street Roundabout, to the crossroads where it meets Shor ...

and

Hackney Road Hackney Road is a London arterial route running from St Leonard's, Shoreditch, Shoreditch Church in London Borough of Hackney to Cambridge Heath in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The route runs along the northern edge of Bethnal Green an ...

. Shoreditch High Street and Kingsland Road are a small sector of the Roman

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (''Londinium'') to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') and York ('' Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earninga ...

and modern A10. Known also as the Old North Road, it was a major coaching route to the north, exiting the City at

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate's name is traditionally attributed to Earconwald, who was Bishop of London in the 7th century. It was first built in Roman times and marked the beginning o ...

. The east–west course of Old Street–Hackney Road was also probably originally a Roman Road, connecting

Silchester Silchester is a village and civil parish about north of Basingstoke in Hampshire. It is adjacent to the county boundary with Berkshire and about south-west of Reading. Silchester is most notable for the archaeological site and Roman town of ...

with

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

, bypassing the City of London to the south. Shoreditch Church (officially known as

St Leonard's, Shoreditch St Leonard's, Shoreditch, is the old parish church of Shoreditch, often known simply as Shoreditch Church. It is located at the intersection of Shoreditch High Street with Hackney Road, within the London Borough of Hackney in East London. The c ...

) is of ancient origin. It is featured in the famous line "when I grow rich say the bells of Shoreditch", from the English nursery rhyme "

Oranges and Lemons "Oranges and Lemons" is a traditional English nursery rhyme, folksong, and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as No 13190. The earliest ...

". Shoreditch was the site of a house of canonesses, the Augustinian

Holywell Priory Holywell Priory or Haliwell, Halliwell, or Halywell (various spellings), was a religious house in Shoreditch, formerly in the historical county of Middlesex and now in the London Borough of Hackney. Its formal name was the Priory of St John the B ...

(named after a Holy Well on the site), from the 12th century until its dissolution in 1539. This priory was located between Shoreditch High Street and Curtain Road to east and west, and Batemans Row and Holywell Lane to north and south. Nothing remains of it today.

Shakespeare and the Elizabethan theatre

In 1574, the City authorities banned the building of playhouses in the City of London area. Consequently, theatres were built in the suburbs, beyond its jurisdiction. The first of these came in 1576, when

James Burbage James Burbage ( 1531 – 2 February 1597) was an English actor, theatre impresario, joiner, and theatre builder in the English Renaissance theatre. He built The Theatre, the first permanent dedicated theatre built in England since Roman times. ...

built the first playhouse in England, known as "

The Theatre The Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse in Shoreditch (in Curtain Road, part of the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. Built in 1576, after the Red Lion, it was the first permanent theatre built exclusiv ...

", on the site of the Priory (commemorated today by a plaque on Curtain Road, and excavated in 2008, by

MoLAS MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) is an archaeology and built heritage practice and independent charitable company registered with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA). It provides a wide range of professional archaeological serv ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

lived nearby in a property overlooking St Helen's churchyard in the Bishopsgate Within area of the City. His early plays were first performed in Shoreditch, at The Theatre and at the nearby

, built the following year and to the south (marked by a commemorative plaque in Hewett Street off Curtain Road). ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' was first performed here, gaining "Curtain plaudits", ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

'' was performed within "this wooden O" and an early version of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' was also first staged in Shoreditch. Shakespeare's Company moved the timbers of "The Theatre" to

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

at the expiration of the lease in 1599, in order to construct the

Globe A globe is a spherical Earth, spherical Model#Physical model, model of Earth, of some other astronomical object, celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but, unlike maps, they do not distort the surface ...

. The Curtain continued performing plays in Shoreditch until at least 1627. The suburb of Shoreditch was attractive as a location for these early theatres because, like

, it was outside the jurisdiction of the somewhat puritanical City fathers. Even so, they drew the wrath of contemporary moralists, as did the local "base tenements and houses of unlawful and disorderly resort" and the "great number of dissolute, loose, and insolent people harboured in such and the like noisome and disorderly houses, as namely poor cottages, and habitations of beggars and people without trade, stables, inns, alehouses, taverns, garden-houses converted to dwellings, ordinaries, dicing houses, bowling alleys, and brothel houses".

17th and 18th centuries

During the 17th century, wealthy traders and French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

silkweavers moved to the area, establishing a textile industry centred to the south around Spitalfields. By the 19th century, Shoreditch was also the locus of the furniture industry, now commemorated in the Museum of the Home on Kingsland Road. These industries declined in the late 19th century.

19th century

In 1886, the parish of Holy Trinity, Shoreditch, was created to meet the needs of a growing population; the first vicar was the

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

priest, Arthur Osborne Montgomery Jay, son of William James Jay, chaplain to

Duleep Singh Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh (6 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), also spelled Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire", was the last ''Maharaja'' of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son ...

. By 1889, Holy Trinity church, with a church hall and school, had opened on Old Nichol Street. Controversially, the church hosted a boxing club and gymnasium, which Father Jay saw as vital to reclaiming local men from street brawls. In 1894, the church opened a lodging house, Trinity Chambers. In 1893, work began on building the

Boundary Estate The Boundary Estate is a housing development in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The estate, constructed from 1890, was one of the earliest social housing schemes built by a local government authority. It was b ...

, as a

slum clearance Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low-income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...

project.

Victorian entertainments

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Shoreditch was a centre of entertainment to rival the West End and had many theatres and

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

s: * The National Standard Theatre, 2/3/4 Shoreditch High Street (1837–1940). In the late 19th century this was one of the largest theatres in London. In 1926, it was converted into a cinema called The New Olympia Picturedrome. The building was demolished in 1940.

Sims Reeves John Sims Reeves (21 October 1821 – 25 October 1900) was an English operatic, oratorio and ballad tenor vocalist during the mid-Victorian era. Reeves began his singing career in 1838 but continued his vocal studies until 1847. He soon establ ...

, Mrs Marriott and James Anderson all appeared here; also performed were programmes of classical opera and even Shakespeare, with actors including

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

. There was considerable rivalry with the West End theatres. John Douglass (the owner, from 1845) wrote a letter to ''The Era'' following a

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

first night, in which he commented that "seeing that a hansom cab is used in the new drama at Drury Lane, I beg to state that a hansom cab, drawn by a live horse was used in my drama ... produced at the Standard Theatre ... with real rain, a real flood, and a real balloon." * The Shoreditch Empire, also known as The London Music Hall, 95–99 Shoreditch High Street (1856–1935). The theatre was rebuilt in 1894 by

Frank Matcham Francis Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920)Mackintosh, Iain"Matcham, Frank" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 7 July 2019 was an English architect who specialised in the design of theatres and ...

, the architect of the

Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "the most beautiful theat ...

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

is recorded as performing here, in his early days, before he achieved fame in America. Purchased in 1934 by adjacent drapery business Jeremiah Rotherham & Co and rebuilt as a warehouse. * The Royal Cambridge Music Hall, 136 Commercial Street (1864–1936), was destroyed by fire in 1896, then rebuilt in 1897 by Finch Hill, architect of the

Britannia Theatre The Britannia Theatre (1841–1900) was located at 115/117 High Street, Hoxton, London.''Britanni ...

, in nearby

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. It was Historic counties of England, historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. Hoxton lies north-east of the City of London, is considered to be a part of London's East End ...

. '' The Builder'' of 4 December 1897 said "The New Cambridge Music Hall in Commercial Street, Bishopsgate, is now nearing completion. The stage will be wide by deep. The premises will be heated throughout by hot water coils, and provision has been made for lighting the house by electric light." None of these places of entertainment survives today. Music hall was revived for a brief time in Curtain Road by the temporary home of the

Brick Lane Music Hall A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

. This too has now moved on. A number of playbills and posters from these music halls survive in the collections of both the

Bishopsgate Institute Bishopsgate Institute is a cultural institute in the Bishopsgate area east of the City of London. The institute was established in 1895. It offers a cultural events programme, courses for adults, historic library and archive collections, and a ...

and the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

First World War

In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Mayor, Henry Busby Bird, and Borough of Shoreditch raised a

pals battalion The pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours an ...

of volunteers from around the borough who would serve together as the

20th (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (Shoreditch) The 20th (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (Shoreditch) (20th Middlesex) was an infantry unit recruited as part of 'Kitchener's Army' in World War I. It was raised in the spring of 1915 by the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, Mayor and ...

. The battalion was also known as the 'Boxers' Battalion' (the parent Middlesex Regiment was nicknamed the 'Die-hards'). The volunteers were enlisted at Shoreditch Town Hall and trained at Victoria Park and Columbia Market. The unit served on the Western Front from 1916 to 1918 as part of 121st Brigade of 40th Division, seeing action against the

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (, Siegfried Position) was a German Defense line, defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to ...

and at

Bourlon Wood The Bourlon Wood Memorial, near Bourlon, France, is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps during the final months of the First World War; a period also known as Canada's Hundred Days, part of the Hundred Day ...

. After the huge casualties it suffered during the

German spring offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

of March–April 1918, the battalion returned to England to be reconstituted from men of lower medical category. It then went back to Flanders as part of

14th (Light) Division The 14th (Light) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener during the First World War. All of its infantry regiments were originally of the fast march ...

, and served during the final victorious advance. The battalion's memorial is in St Leonard's Church in Shoreditch High Street.

Inter-war years

Syd's coffee stall was established in Calvert Avenue in 1919 and operated continuously until 2019. In the 1930s, Shoreditch, Holy Trinity parish united with that of St Leonard.

Second World War

Shoreditch was heavily bombed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, with around 495 of its civilian residents killed. The area was hit by at least 279 high explosive bombs, 6

parachute mine A parachute mine is a naval mine dropped from an aircraft by parachute. They were mostly used in the Second World War by the Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. ...

s 7 V-1 'doodlebugs', 2

V-2 rocket The V2 (), with the technical name ''Aggregat (rocket family), Aggregat-4'' (A4), was the world's first long-range missile guidance, guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the S ...

s and many thousands of 1 kg incendiary devices. The destruction of housing and industry caused by the two V-2s contributed to the opportunity to create

Shoreditch Park Shoreditch Park is an open space in Hoxton area of Shoreditch in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bounded by Poole Street (to the north), Rushton and Mintern Streets (to the south) and New North Road (west) and Pitfield Street (east). The par ...

and Haggerston Park.

Decline

Post-war, Shoreditch declined in conditions, as did both textile and furniture industries with competition elsewhere. This situation was exacerbated by the extensive devastation of the housing stock in the

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, several ships of the Prussian, Imperia ...

during the

, and by insensitive redevelopment in the post-war period. A south-west to north-east tube line called the

Chelsea-Hackney line Crossrail 2 is a suspended proposal for a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit route in South East England, running from nine stations in Surrey to three in Hertfordshire, providing a new North–South rail link across Greater London. It wou ...

was proposed in 1970 by the then

London Transport Board The London Transport Board was the organisation responsible for public transport (except main-line trains) in London, England, and its environs from 1963 to 1969. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public na ...

's London Rail Study as the next project after the completion of the

Victoria line The Victoria line is a London Underground line that runs between in South London, and in the east, via the West End of London, West End. It is printed in light blue on the Tube map and is one of the only two lines on the network to run comp ...

and the

Fleet line The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and in east London, via the West End, South Bank and Docklands. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the Underground network, although some s ...

(now the

Jubilee line The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and in east London, via the West End of London, West End, South Bank and London Docklands, Docklands. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the ...

) but was not carried forward, it would have had a new tube station near Shoreditch Church if it was built.

Contemporary

Formerly a predominantly working-class area, since the 1990s Shoreditch has become a popular and fashionable part of London, particularly associated with the creative industries. Often conflated with its neighbouring sub-district of Hoxton, the area has been subject to considerable

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

, with accompanying rises in land and property prices. Former industrial buildings have been converted to offices and flats, while Curtain Road and Old Street are notable for their clubs and pubs which offer a variety of venues to rival those of the West End. Art galleries, bars, restaurants, media businesses and the building of the

Hackney Community College New City College (NCC) is a large college of further education with campuses in east London and Essex. The college was formed in 2016 with the amalgamation of separate colleges, beginning with the merger between Tower Hamlets College and Hackney ...

campus are features of this transformation. In the mid-1960s, the main streets of Shoreditch (Old Street, Shoreditch High Street and Curtain Road, Great Eastern Street) were formed into a one-way system, which became associated with traffic congestion, poor conditions for walking and cycling, high speeds, high collision rates, and delays for bus services. The gyratory system came to be seen as "the main factor holding back the cultural regeneration of South Shoreditch" and "a block to economic recovery". Following a lengthy campaign, the then newly formed

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

agreed to revert most of the streets to two-way working, a project which was completed in late 2002. Shoreditch High Street stn entrance2 April2010

Shoreditch High Street stn entrance2 April2010

In 2005, funding was announced for the

East London Line Extension The East London line extension (ELLX) project was a British railway engineering project in London, managed by Transport for London. The project involved extending the East London Line (formerly part of the London Underground network) and makin ...

, to extend the existing tube line from

Whitechapel tube station Whitechapel is an interchange station in Whitechapel, East London for London Underground, London Overground and Elizabeth line services. The station is located behind a street market of the same name and opposite Tower Hamlets Town Hall. The sta ...

bypassing

Shoreditch tube station Shoreditch was a London Underground station located in Shoreditch in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. Originally opened by the East London Railway in 1876, the station was permanently closed in 2006 being replaced directly t ...

, and to create a new station named

closer to central Shoreditch. This is now served by

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greate ...

services on part of the site of the old Bishopsgate Goods Yard, which was demolished in 2004. The station was built on a viaduct and is fully enclosed in a concrete box structure. This is so future building works on the remainder of the Bishopsgate site can be undertaken keeping the station operational. Tower Hamlets Council made proposals to transfer the Boundary Estate to a

housing association In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budget surpl ...

and upgrade the accommodation in 2006. A full refurbishment of one of the blocks, Iffley House was carried out by Sprunt Architects to demonstrate how this might be achieved but the proposal was rejected by a ballot of tenants in November of that year. More recently, during the second "dot-com" boom, both the area and Old Street have become popular with London-based web technology companies who base their head offices around the

East London Tech City East London Tech City (also known as Tech City and Silicon Roundabout) is a technology cluster of high-tech companies located in East London, United Kingdom. Its main area lies broadly between St Luke's and Hackney Road, with an accelerator sp ...

district. These include

Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Utilizing a music recommender system known as "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm creates a detailed profile of each user's musical preferences by recording the details of the tracks they ...

Dopplr Dopplr was a free social networking service, launched in 2007, that allowed users to create itineraries of their travel plans and spot correlations with their contacts' travel plans in order to arrange meetings at any point on their journey. Addi ...

Songkick Songkick is a concert discovery service owned by Warner Music Group. The service allows users to search for upcoming concert events in their area, and also track individual artists to receive notifications of upcoming shows in their area. It also ...

, SocialGO and

7digital 7digital Group PLC is a British company that offers access to music, tracking and reporting for clients. London-based, 7digital provides end-to-end music services for the fitness, social media, DSPs, and gaming industries with brands such as B ...

. These companies have tended to gravitate towards

Old Street Roundabout Old Street Roundabout is a road junction in Central London, England. Historically a square roundabout, it is now a three-way junction. It is among access points of the Inner Ring Road for the adjoining St Luke's south part of Islington and th ...

, giving rise to the term "Silicon Roundabout" to describe the area, as used by Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

in a speech in November 2010. As a result, the name of Shoreditch has become synonymous with the concept of contemporary " hipsterfication" of regenerated urban areas. As a pioneer among similar transformations across the UK, various phrases have been coined, from "Shoreditchification" to "Very Shoreditch". In 2014, the

and the nearby area came under the East Shoreditch Neighbourhood Forum. Forum status ceased to have effect on 5 February 2019 but the Neighbourhood Area designation is unaffected by the expiry. The Stag's Head public house was

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 2015 by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

South Shoreditch has undergone an enormous transformation. Several five- or six-storey buildings have been knocked down in the area of Shoreditch that borders the City of London. In their place will be erected a variety of very tall buildings, mirroring the architectural styles in the City. The developments will result in more residential units being available for sale in Shoreditch than were produced by the Olympics athletes' village. One landmark development is the Principal Tower in Worship Street, designed by the architects

Foster and Partners Foster and Partners (also Foster + Partners) is a British international architecture firm with its headquarters in London, England. It was founded in 1967 by British architect and designer Norman Foster. The firm has been involved in the desig ...

,Principal Tower, Worship Street, London EC2A 2BA
New Developments - Principal Tower, Worship Street, London EC2A 2BA
accessdate: 29/08/2014 and next to it is Principal Place, also designed by Foster and Partners. In July 2014, it was reported that the internet retailer

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

was close to signing a lease to move its UK headquarters there. The project had been on hold since January 2012, when the anchor tenant, the law firm

CMS Cameron McKenna CMS is an international law firm that offers legal and tax advisory services. It provides companies and organisations with advice on a full range of legal issues. CMS consists of 18 independent law firms, with about 80 offices worldwide, and i ...

pulled out. Soon after, the developer

Hammerson Hammerson PLC is a major British property development and investment company. The firm switched to real estate investment trust (REIT) status when they were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007. It is listed on the London Stock Excha ...

sold its interest in the scheme to Brookfield.Building
Amazon interest could revive Principal Place tower , Online News , Building
accessdate: 29/08/2014 There has been some consideration of creating an interchange with the Central line between Liverpool Street and

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

at Shoreditch High Street, where the line runs almost underneath the station. However, this could not be seriously contemplated before the completion of the

Crossrail Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, akin to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries, kn ...

project, owing to extreme crowding on the Central line during peak hours. London Overground began running 24-hour trains on Friday and Saturday nights between

Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...

Junction and

New Cross New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the London_postal_district#List_of_London_postal_districts, SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, London, St Jo ...

Gate which called at Shoreditch High Street from 15 December 2017. but bypasses

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

and continues on to

Shadwell Shadwell is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, England. It also forms part of the city's East End of London, East End. Shadwell is on the north bank of the River Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff and ...

due to ongoing Crossrail construction work for (

Elizabeth line The Elizabeth line is a railway line that runs across Greater London and nearby towns, operating similarly to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries. It runs services on dedicated infras ...

) until 2019. Two

workers' houses on Club Row on the corner of Redchurch Street, which developers had wished to knock down, were saved from demolition. They were deemed of special historic interest, giving the houses protection from destruction from 2019.

Geography

Shoreditch covers a wide area, but its historic heart lies south of Old Street, around

and

. The districts of

and

have been historically part of Shoreditch since the medieval period and occupy the north-west and north-east of Shoreditch respectively; however, their extent has never been formally defined. Although Shoreditch has been consistently defined, perceptions have blurred in recent years; something that became possible after the

Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch The Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch was a metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1899 and 1965, when it was merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington and the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney to form the London Borou ...

amalgamated with some of its neighbours to become the southern part of the

in 1965. The location of the former

(closed 2006), 400 metres outside Shoreditch proper, in nearby

, influenced this shift. Its replacement, Shoreditch High Street station, straddles the borough boundary. More significant has been the gentrification of the Shoreditch area since the millennium, leading to a marked increase in the area's prestige, which has led businesses in the

and

Spitalfields Spitalfields () is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and situated in the East End of London, East End. Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street, London, Commercial Stre ...

areas of

to include the name Shoreditch in their company's name and marketing material. This is also seen to a lesser extent in the St Luke's area of the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough, borough in North London, England. Forming part of Inner London, Islington has an estimated population of 215,667. It was formed in 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, by the amalg ...

Administration

Shoreditch was an administrative unit with consistent boundaries from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

until its merger into the

in 1965. Shoreditch was based for many centuries on the

Ancient Parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Shoreditch (St Leonard's), part of the county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. Parishes in Middlesex were grouped into Hundreds, with Shoreditch part of

Ossulstone Ossulstone is an obsolete subdivision (hundred) covering 26.4% of – and the most metropolitan part – of the historic county of Middlesex, England.British History Online �Hundreds of Middlesex/ref> It surrounded but did not includ ...

Hundred. Rapid Population growth around London saw the Hundred split into several 'Divisions' during the 1600s, with Shoreditch part of the Tower Division (aka Tower Hamlets). The Tower Division was noteworthy in that the men of the area owed military service to the

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

– and had done even before the creation of the Division – an arrangement which continued until 1899. The

Ancient Parishes Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient hi ...

provided a framework for both civil (administrative) and ecclesiastical (church) functions, but during the nineteenth century there was a divergence into distinct civil and ecclesiastical parish systems. In London the Ecclesiastical Parishes sub-divided to better serve the needs of a growing population, while the Civil Parishes continued to be based on the same Ancient Parish areas. For civil purposes, the

Metropolis Management Act 1855 The Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c. 120), also known as the Metropolis (Management) Act 1855 or the Metropolis Local Management Act 1855, is an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom tha ...

turned the parish area into a new ''Shoreditch District of the Metropolis'', with the same boundaries as the parish. The

London Government Act 1899 The London Government Act 1899 ( 62 & 63 Vict. c. 14) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the administration of the capital. The act divided the County of London into 28 metropolitan boroughs, replacing the 42 loc ...

converted these areas into

Metropolitan Borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...

s, again based on the same boundaries, sometimes with minor rationalisations. The Borough's areas of modern Shoreditch,

and

were administered from

Shoreditch Town Hall Shoreditch Town Hall is an independent cultural, live events and community space in Shoreditch, London. The building, which previously served as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, is a Grade II listed building. History ...

, which can still be seen on Old Street. It has been restored and is now run by the Shoreditch Town Hall Trust. Holy Trinity, Shoreditch in the Old Nichol was for ecclesiastical purposes in Shoreditch from 1866 but was administratively part of

. In 1965, Shoreditch was merged with Hackney and

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area in the northwest part of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The area is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington, the ancient parish. S ...

to form the new

Governance

Shoreditch is home to the Baron Wei of Shoreditch, who lives in the area and sits as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

and

Lords Temporal The Lords Temporal are secular members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament. These can be either life peers or hereditary peers, although the hereditary right to sit in the House of Lords was abolished for all but n ...

part Part, parts or PART may refer to: People *Part (surname) *Parts (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media *Part (music), a single strand or melody or harmony of music within a larger ensemble or a polyphonic musical composition *Part (bibliograph ...

of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. He was introduced on 3 June 2010. Official portrait of Meg Hillier crop 2

The Hackney borough part of Shoreditch is part of the

Hackney South and Shoreditch Hackney South and Shoreditch is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Meg Hillier of Labour Co-op. History ...

constituency, represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

since 2005 by

Meg Hillier Dame Margaret Olivia Hillier (born 14 February 1969), known as Meg Hillier, is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney South and Shoreditch since 2005. Hillier was a junior governm ...

of the Labour Party and of the

Co-operative Party The Co-operative Party () is a centre-left List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. The party currently has an electoral pact with the Labour Party. E ...

The eastern part of Shoreditch, in Tower Hamlets, lies within the constituency of

Bethnal Green and Bow Bethnal Green and Bow was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency in Greater London, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2010 until its abolition for the 2024 United Kingdom ...

, represented since 2010 by

Rushanara Ali Rushanara Ali (; born 14 March 1975) is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2010 and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping since July 2024. A member of the Labour Par ...

of the Labour Party.

Notable local residents

* George Adams (born 1947 in Shoreditch), former professional footballer *

John Appold John George Appold, FRS (14 April 1800, in Shoreditch, London – 31 August 1865, in Gloucestershire) was a British fur dyer and engineer. Biography Appold was the son of a fur-skin dyer, established in Finsbury. Succeeding to his father's busin ...

, FRS (1800–1865), a pioneer of the

centrifugal pump Centrifugal pumps are used to transport fluids by the Energy transformation, conversion of rotational kinetic energy to the hydrodynamic energy of the fluid flow. The rotational energy typically comes from an engine or electric motor. They are ...

Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and media personality. He established himself as a stand-up comedian and radio host before becoming a film actor. After beginning his career as a comedian and la ...

, actor and comedian *

, Tudor actor and impresario: built

; buried in

Shoreditch church Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...

Richard Burbage Richard Burbage (6 January 1567 – 13 March 1619) was an English stage actor, widely considered to have been one of the most famous actors of the Globe Theatre and of his time. In addition to being a stage actor, he was also a theatre owne ...

, actor in the

Lord Chamberlain's Men The Lord Chamberlain's Men was an English company of actors, or a "playing company" (as it then would likely have been described), for which William Shakespeare wrote during most of his career. Richard Burbage played most of the lead roles, includ ...

, Shakespeare's own Company. Renowned for his performance of Shakespeare's greatest roles: Hamlet, Richard III, etc. Buried in the church. *

William James Blacklock William James Blacklock (3 March 1816 – 12 March 1858) was an English landscape painter, painting scenery in Cumbria, the Lake District and the Scottish Borders. Biography Blacklock was born in Shoreditch, London, the second of five children. ...

, British landscape artist, was born in Shoreditch in 1816 *

Joshua Compston Joshua Richard Compston (1 June 1970 – 5 March 1996) was a London curator whose company Factual Nonsense was closely associated with the emergence of the Young British Artists (YBAs). Early life and career beginnings Compston was born in Put ...

, curator & founder of ''Factual Nonsense''; instrumental in the development of the area's art scene in the early 1990s; lived & died in Charlotte Road. *

Luke Evans Luke George Evans (born 15 April 1979) is a Welsh actor and singer. He began his career on the stage, and performed in London's West End productions of '' Rent'', ''Miss Saigon'', and '' Piaf'' before making his film breakthrough in the 2010 ...

, Welsh singer, musical performer and film actor lives here * Thomas Fairchild, gardener, the first person to scientifically produce an artificial hybrid *

Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; born 21 May 1973) is an English comedian, artist, and actor. He was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and has been a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' since 2017. He is kn ...

, comedian, film and television actor * Paul Galvin, Irish fashion designer and former Gaelic footballer * Henry Hate, celebrity tattoo artist; clients include

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen (brand), Alexander McQueen label in 1992 and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His ac ...

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

and

Pete Doherty Peter Doherty (born 12 March 1979) is an English musician. He is best known for being co-frontman of the Libertines, which he formed with Carl Barât in 1997. His other musical projects are indie rock, indie bands Babyshambles and Peter Dohert ...

Anissa Helou Anissa Helou (born 1 February 1952) is a London-based chef, teacher, and author. She specializes in cooking and writing recipes for Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African cuisines. Her cookbooks have won numerous awards. She currently l ...

, cookbook author, teacher and chef specialising in the cuisines of the Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa *

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...

, artist; instrumental in the development of the area's art scene in the early 1990s *

Dave Kaye Ivor Moreton and Dave Kaye were an English musical variety double act who were known for performing syncopated piano duets together from the 1930s to the 1950s. The duo consisted of pianists Ivor Arthur Moreton (born Arthur Lethbridge; 18 March ...

, pianist, born in Shoreditch *

Hetty King Winifred Emms (4 April 1883 – 28 September 1972), best known by her stage name Hetty King, was an English entertainer who performed in the music halls as a male impersonator over some 70 years. Early life She was born in New Brighton, Ches ...

, a famous male impersonator of the

, was born here. Her father, William Emms, was a local comedian known as William King. *

Jon Kortajarena Jon Kortajarena Redruello (born 19 May 1985) is a Spanish model and actor. He has done advertising campaigns for Just Cavalli, Versace, Giorgio Armani, Guerlain, Bally, Etro, Trussardi, Diesel, Mangano, Lagerfeld, Pepe Jeans but notabl ...

, Spanish model and actor *

Marie Lloyd Jr. Marie Lloyd Jr. (born Marie Matilda Victoria Courtenay; 19 May 1888 – 27 December 1967) was a British entertainer, composer and actress notable for her performances impersonating her mother, the music hall performer Marie Lloyd. Early l ...

, actress and composer notable for her impersonations of her mother,

Marie Lloyd Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as "The Boy ...

. *

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

lived in

Norton Folgate Norton Folgate is a short length of street in London, connecting Bishopsgate with Shoreditch High Street, on the northern edge of the City of London. It constitutes a short section of the A10 road, the former Roman Ermine Street. Its name i ...

, the southern continuation of Shoreditch High Street, and wrote plays for the Shoreditch theatres. *

Hoxton Tom McCourt 'Hoxton' Tom McCourt (born 1961) is the former bassist and bandleader of punk rock/Oi! band, The 4-Skins. He was one of the most influential members of the skinhead revival of 1977 to 1978, the mod revival of 1978 to 1979 and the Oi! movement f ...

, influential in the late 1970s and early 1980s mod and oi/punk scenes and founder of the band, the

4-Skins The 4-Skins are a punk rock band from the East End of London, England. Originally composed of Gary Hodges (vocals), 'Hoxton' Tom McCourt (guitar), Steve 'H' Harmer (bass) and John Jacobs (drums), the group was formed in 1979 and disbanded in ...

, was born in Shoreditch in 1961. * Bill Meyer, printmaker and artist *

Matt Monro Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons; 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career and sold a reported 23 million records. AllMus ...

, singer dubbed "the British Sinatra", famous for singing ''

On Days Like These "On Days Like These" is a pop ballad by English singer Matt Monro. It was composed by Quincy Jones, written by Don Black, and produced by George Martin. It was first released on Quincy Jones' soundtrack album ''The Italian Job'' by Paramount Recor ...

'' from the film ''

The Italian Job ''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy Caper story, caper film written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson (film director), Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres ...

'' and the title songs of the films ''

Born Free ''Born Free'' is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, another real-life couple, who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood and released h ...

'' and '' From Russia with Love'' *

Miquita Oliver Miquita Billie Alexandra Oliver (born 25 April 1984) is a British television presenter and radio personality. With Simon Amstell, she co-hosted Channel 4's '' Popworld'' from 2001 to 2006. She went on to present on '' T4'' from 2006 to 2010, a ...

, T4 presenter *

James Parkinson James Parkinson (11 April 1755 – 21 December 1824) was an English surgeon, apothecary, geologist, palaeontologist and political activist. He is best known for his 1817 work ''An Essay on the Shaking Palsy'', in which he was the first to desc ...

, surgeon, apothecary, geologist, paleontologist and political activist who worked on what would later be named

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

Jem Smith Jem Smith (21 January 1863 – 10 September 1931) was a bare-knuckle prize fighter and heavyweight champion of England in the late 19th century and into the early 20th century. In 2010 he was inducted into the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame ...

, bare knuckle

prize fighter Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

* William Sommers,

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

's jester; buried in Shoreditch church. * Szabotage, graffiti artist and designer *

Richard Tarleton Richard Tarlton (died 5 September 1588) was an English actor of the Elizabethan era. He was the most famous clown of his era, known for his extempore comic doggerel verse, which came to be known as "Tarltons". He helped to turn Elizabethan theat ...

comedian. Shakespeare's

Yorick Yorick is an unseen character in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet''. He is the dead court jester whose Human skull, skull is exhumed by the The Gravediggers, First Gravedigger in Act 5, Scene 1, of the play. The sight of Yorick's skull evokes ...

is believed to be a homage to his memory. Buried in Shoreditch church. *

Russell Tovey Russell George Tovey (born 14 November 1981) is a British actor. He is best known for playing the role of werewolf George Sands in the BBC's supernatural comedy-drama '' Being Human'', Rudge in both the stage and film versions of '' The History ...

, English actor *

Andrew Weatherall Andrew James Weatherall (6 April 1963 – 17 February 2020) was an English musician, DJ, songwriter, producer and remixer. His career took him from being a DJ in the acid house movement of the late 1980s to being a remixer of tracks by Happy M ...

, DJ, producer, and remixer *

Nat Wei, Baron Wei Nathanael Ming-Yan Wei, Baron Wei (; born 19 January 1977), also known as Nat Wei, is an English social entrepreneur and advisor on technology, with an interest in social reform. He is the first British-born person of Hong Kong origin to have ...

, youngest non-hereditary peer ever upon entry to the House of Lords and government advisor on Big Society *

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''.

, comedian, film and television actress was born there.

Education

Transport

Rail

Shoreditch High Street station is near

Boxpark Boxpark is a food and retail park made out of refitted shipping containers in Britain. It was founded by Roger Wade, who described it as the "world's first pop-up mall". The first Boxpark was launched in Shoreditch in 2011, another was built ...

, on Bethnal Green Road. The station is served by

() trains on the

East London line The East London line is a railway line running north to south through the East, Docklands and South areas of London. It is used by London Overground services. It was previously a line of the London Underground. Built in 1869 by the East Lond ...

, and is in London fare zone 1. Trains link the area directly to

and Highbury & Islington to the northwest, whilst to the south, trains travel directly to major destinations like

Canada Water Canada Water is an area of Rotherhithe in the London Docklands, Docklands of south-east London. It is named after a freshwater lake and wildlife refuge. Canada Water tube station, Canada Water tube, Overground and bus station is immediately n ...

, Clapham Junction, West Croydon,

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...

and

. Hoxton station is to the north of Shoreditch, on the same line. There is a nearby Overground () station at

, with services towards

Hackney Downs Hackney Downs is a park and an area of historically common land in the Lower Clapton area of the London Borough of Hackney. The name is sometimes also used to apply to the neighbourhood around the park. Hackney Downs Park The Downs open space ...

, Seven Sisters,

Chingford Chingford is a suburban town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The centre of Chingford is north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walt ...

, Enfield, and . Liverpool Street ( ) and

() tube stations are also nearby. Both stations are also on the

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, a group representing passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by ...

network. Until 2006,

was served by

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

trains. The line and station closed to make way for the London Overground.

Buses

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

provides all local bus services across the district: routes 8,

135 135 may refer to: *135 (number) *AD 135 *135 BC *135 film, better known as 35 mm film, is a format of photographic film used for still photography *135 (New Jersey bus), a New Jersey Transit bus route *135 Hertha 135 Hertha is an asteroid from ...

205 Year 205 ( CCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Geta (or, less frequently, year 958 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 205 for this year h ...

388 Year 388 ( CCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1141 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 3 ...

, N8 and N205 on Great Eastern Street and Bishopsgate; routes 26, 35, 47, 48, 67, 78 and

N26 N26 Bank SE, doing business as N26, and formerly named Papayer GmbH, and Number26 GmbH'','' is a multinational German fintech and neobank company based in Berlin that offers a variety of financial services to individuals and businesses. N26 was ...

on Shoreditch High Street; and routes 55,

149 149 may refer to: *149 (number), a natural number *AD 149, a year in the 2nd century AD *149 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *British Airways Flight 149, a flight from LHR to Kuwait City International Airport; the aircraft flying this flight was d ...

242 Year 242 (Roman numerals, CCXLII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gratus and Lepidus (or, less frequently, year 995 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominatio ...

243 __NOTOC__ Year 243 ( CCXLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Arrianus and Papus (or, less frequently, year 996 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominat ...

and N55 on Old Street.

Cycling

Two

(TfL) Cycleways pass through Shoreditch. Cycle Superhighway 1 runs north-south along the western perimeter of the area, through the Old Street junction. The route is signposted, and links the area to

Moorgate Moorgate was one of the City of London's northern gates in its defensive wall, the last to be built. The gate took its name from the Moorfields, an area of marshy land that lay immediately north of the wall. The gate was demolished in 1762, but ...

and

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the southeastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manorialism, Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man c ...

southbound, and to

, and Seven Sisters to the north. Quietway 13 runs east-west through Shoreditch, primarily on quiet streets. The route is signposted, and runs from Finsbury in the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

to the

Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in ea ...

near Cambridge Heath. The Regent's Canal

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, Working animal, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mod ...

runs along the northernmost edge of the district, close to

. The towpath is a

shared-use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is "designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists". Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, Bridle path, bridleways and ra ...

for pedestrians and cyclists and runs unbroken from

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throu ...

near

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...

. Eastbound, the path links the area to Victoria Park and

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

. The

London Cycle Hire Scheme Santander Cycles (formerly Barclays Cycle Hire) is a public Bicycle sharing system, bicycle hire scheme in London in the United Kingdom. The scheme's bicycles have been popularly known as Boris Bikes, after Boris Johnson who was Mayor of London ...

operates in Shoreditch.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

A Tudor History of Shoreditch
(from ''The National Archives'')
Shoreditch Town Hall

The Shoreditch Map
{{Authority control Districts of the London Borough of Hackney Districts of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Districts of the London Borough of Islington Areas of London Entertainment districts in the United Kingdom