Cloth Fair
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cloth Fair was, as its name suggests, the site where medieval merchants gathered to buy and sell material. Situated in the EC1 postal district, it is a short residential street within the Smithfields district in the northern part of Farringdon Within, a ward of the City of London, a self governing enclave of the United Kingdom’s capital city . It runs south-west to north-east from Little Britain, the very start of the A1, the country’s longest named road, parallel to Long Lane to the north and St Bartholomew-the-Great [1] Anglican church [2] to the south, until it merges with Middle Street some 150 yards (137.14 metres) later[3]. An area with a rich history[4], a colourful past[5] and proud literary tradition[6] it contains within its short boundaries the oldest residential dwelling in London[7], a pair of properties administered by the Landmark Trust[8], a peaceful local[9] and the former home of John Betjeman[10], now a restaurant[11].
[edit] References
- ^ "18 views of the Ancient Priory Church of St Bartholemew the Great" (15th Edition,rev) Webb,E.A (Freeman Dovaston London, 1922)
- ^ Parish web site
- ^ Based on measurement using Ordnance Survey (1:2500) 1940 L.C.C revision Sheet 62
- ^ History of Smithfields
- ^ 18th Century Crime Scene
- ^ It was immortalised in a story in The Gentleman's Magazine(Details of Publication) illustrated by Phiz
- ^ "City of London:A History" Borer,M.A. (Constable & Co Ltd, London, 1977) ISBN 0094618801
- ^ Property details
- ^ Rising Sun Alley
- ^ "John Betjeman" Hillier,B. (John Murray,London,2007) ISBN 97807 19564444
- ^ Betjeman’s
