 Fleet Street in 2008 | |
  Location in Central London | |
| Part of | A4 |
|---|---|
| Namesake | River Fleet |
| Maintained by | Transport for London |
| Length | 0.3 mi (0.48 km)[1] |
| Postal code | EC4 |
| Nearest train station |   BlackfriarsCity Thameslink |
| Coordinates | 51°30′50″N0°06′38″W / 51.5138°N 0.1105°W /51.5138; -0.1105 |
Fleet Street is a street inLondon, England. It runs west to east fromTemple Bar at the boundary of theCities of London andWestminster toLudgate Circus at the site of theLondon Wall and theRiver Fleet from which the street was named.
The street has been an important through route sinceRoman times. During theMiddle Ages, businesses were established and senior clergy lived there; several churches remain from this time includingTemple Church andSt Bride's. The street became known for printing and publishing at the start of the 16th century and by the 20th century, mostBritish national newspapers operated here. Much of the industry moved out in the 1980s afterNews International set up cheaper manufacturing premises inWapping, but some former newspaper buildings arelisted and have been preserved. The termFleet Street remains ametonym for the British national press, and pubs on the street once frequented by journalists remain popular.
Fleet Street has a significant number of monuments and statues along its length, including the dragon at Temple Bar and memorials to a number of figures from the British press, such asSamuel Pepys andLord Northcliffe. The street is mentioned in several works byCharles Dickens and is the home of the fictional murdererSweeney Todd.
Fleet Street is named after theRiver Fleet, which runs fromHampstead to theRiver Thames at the western edge of theCity of London. It is one of the oldest roads outside the original city and was established by theMiddle Ages.[2][3] In the 13th century, it was known as Fleet Bridge Street, and in the early 14th century it became known as Fleet Street.[4]
The street runs east fromTemple Bar, the boundary between the Cities of London andWestminster, as a continuation ofthe Strand fromTrafalgar Square. It crossesChancery Lane andFetter Lane to reachLudgate Circus by theLondon Wall. The road ahead isLudgate Hill. The street numbering runs consecutively from west to east south-side and then east to west north-side.[1] It links the Roman and medieval boundaries of the City after the latter was extended. The section of Fleet Street between Temple Bar and Fetter Lane is part of theA4, a major road running west through London,[1] although it once ran along the entire street and eastwards pastSt Paul's Churchyard towardsCannon Street.[5]
The nearestLondon Underground stations areTemple,Chancery Lane, andBlackfriars tube/mainline station and theCity Thameslink railway station.[1] London Bus routes 4, 11, 15, 23, 26, 76 and 172 run along the full length of Fleet Street, while route 341 runs between Temple Bar and Fetter Lane.[6]
Fleet Street was established as a thoroughfare inRoman London and there is evidence that a route led west from Ludgate by 200 AD.[7] Local excavations revealed remains of a Roman amphitheatre near Ludgate on what wasFleet Prison, but other accounts suggest the area was too marshy for regular inhabitation by the Romans.[8] TheSaxons did not occupy the Roman city but establishedLundenwic further west around what is nowAldwych andthe Strand.[9]
Manyprelates lived around the street during the Middle Ages, including the Bishops of Salisbury and St Davids and the Abbots ofFaversham,Tewkesbury,Winchcombe andCirencester.[3]Tanning of animalhides became established on Fleet Street owing to the nearby river, though this increased pollution leading to a ban on dumping rubbish by the mid-14th century.[10] Many taverns andbrothels were established along Fleet Street and have been documented as early as the 14th century.[2][a] Records show thatGeoffrey Chaucer was fined twoshillings for attacking afriar in Fleet Street,[8] though modern historians believe this is apocryphal.[11]
An important landmark in Fleet Street during the late Middle Ages was aconduit that was the main water supply for the area. WhenAnne Boleyn was crowned queen following her marriage toHenry VIII in 1533, the conduit flowed wine instead of water.[12] By the 16th century, Fleet Street, along with much of the City, was chronically overcrowded, and a royal proclamation in 1580 banned any further building on the street. This had little effect, and construction continued, particularly timber.[13]Prince Henry's Room over theInner Temple gate dates from 1610 and is named afterHenry Frederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son ofJames I, who did not survive to succeed his father.[14][15]
The eastern part of the street was destroyed by theGreat Fire of London in 1666, despite attempts to use the River Fleet to preserve it.[16][17] Fire damage reached to aboutFetter Lane, and the special tribunal of the 'Fire Courts' was held atClifford's Inn, aninn of Chancery at the edge of the extent of the fire, to arbitrate on claimants' rights.[18] Properties were rebuilt in the same style as before the fire.[17]
During the early 18th century, a notorious upper-class gang known as theMohocks operated on the street causing regular violence and vandalism.[3][8]Mrs Salmon's Waxworks was established at Prince Henry's Room in 1711. It had a display of macabre andblack-humoured exhibits, including the execution ofCharles I; a Roman lady, Hermonie, whose father survived a sentence of starvation by sucking her breast; and a woman who gave birth to 365 children simultaneously. The waxworks were a favourite haunt ofWilliam Hogarth, and survived into the 19th century.[19] The Apollo Society, a music club, was established in 1733 at the Devil Tavern on Fleet Street by composerMaurice Greene.[20]
In 1763, supporters ofJohn Wilkes, who had been arrested for libel against theEarl of Bute, burned ajackboot in the centre of the street in protest against Bute.[3] It led to violent demonstrations and rioting in 1769 and 1794.[8]
Tanning and other industries declined sharply after the River Fleet was routed underground in 1766.[2] The street was widened during the late-19th century, when Temple Bar was demolished and Ludgate Circus was constructed.[21] The headquarters of theAnti-Corn Law League were based at No. 67 Fleet Street, and ablue plaque marks the location.[22]
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Publishing started in Fleet Street around 1500 whenWilliam Caxton's apprentice,Wynkyn de Worde, set up a printing shop nearShoe Lane, while at around the same timeRichard Pynson set up as publisher and printer next toSt Dunstan's Church. More printers and publishers followed, mainly supplying the legal trade in the four Inns of Court around the area,[23] but also publishing books and plays.[24]
In March 1702 the first issue of London's first daily newspaper, theDaily Courant, was published in Fleet Street. It was followed by theMorning Chronicle.[24] The publisherJohn Murray was founded at No. 32 Fleet Street in 1762 and remained there until 1812, when it moved to Albemarle Street.[24] The popularity of newspapers was restricted due to various taxes during the early 19th century, particularly paper duty.[25] Peele's Coffee-House at No. 177–178 Fleet Street became popular and was the main committee room for the Society for Repealing the Paper Duty, starting in 1858.[8] The society was successful and the duty was abolished in 1861. Along with the repeal of the newspaper tax in 1855, this led to a dramatic expansion of newspaper production in Fleet Street. The "penny press" (newspapers costing onepenny) became popular during the 1880s and the initial number of titles had consolidated into a few nationally important ones.[25]
By the 20th century, Fleet Street and the area surrounding it were dominated by the national press and related industries. TheDaily Express relocated to No. 121–8 Fleet Street in 1931, into a building designed by SirOwen Williams. It was the firstcurtain wall building in London. It has survived the departure of the newspaper in 1989 and was restored in 2001.The Daily Telegraph was based atNo. 135–142.[24] These premises are bothGrade II-listed.[26] In the 1930s, No. 67 housed 25 separate publications; by this time the majority of British households bought a daily paper produced from Fleet Street.[27]
In the late 20th century new technology in printing and publishing and changes inlabour practices led to the newpapers printing industry and journalists leaving Fleet Street. In 1986News International ownerRupert Murdoch caused controversy when he moved publication ofThe Times andThe Sun away from Fleet Street to new premises inWapping,East London. Murdoch believed it was impossible to produce a newspaper profitably on Fleet Street and the power of the print unions, theNational Graphical Association (NGA) and theSociety of Graphical and Allied Trades (SOGAT), was too strong (an opinion endorsed by thePrime Minister,Margaret Thatcher). All Fleet Street print staff were sacked and new staff from theElectrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union were brought in to operate the presses at Wapping using modern computer-operated technology, rendering the power of the old unions obsolete. The resultingWapping dispute featured violent protests at Fleet Street and Wapping that lasted over a year, but ultimately other publishers followed suit and moved out of Fleet Street towardsCanary Wharf orSouthwark.Reuters was the last major news outlet to leave Fleet Street, in 2005.[24] In the same year,The Daily Telegraph andSunday Telegraph announced they were returning to the centre of London from Canary Wharf to new premises inVictoria in 2006.[28]
Some publishers have remained on Fleet Street. The London office ofD.C. Thomson & Co., creator ofThe Beano, is at No. 185.[29] The Secretariat of theCommonwealth Broadcasting Association is at No. 17,[30] as isWentworth Publishing, an independent publisher of newsletters and courses.[31]The Associated Press has an office in Fleet Street[32] as didThe Jewish Chronicle until 2013 when it moved toGolders Green.[33] The British Association of Journalists is based at No. 89[34] whileMetro International are at No. 85.[35]
Though many prominent national newspapers have moved away from Fleet Street, the name is still synonymous with the printing and publishing industry.[24] In the adjacent St. Brides Lane is theSt Bride Library, holding a specialist collection relating to the type and print industry and providing courses in printing technology and methods.[36] On the wall of Magpie Alley, offBouverie Street, is a mural depicting the history of newspapers in the area.[37]
TheDaily Express was the last newspaper to be printed on Fleet Street on 17 November 1989, in their former premises at120 Fleet Street.[38] The last two journalists to work for the Dundee-basedSunday Post, left in 2016, as the paper closed its London offices.[39]
Despite the domination of the print industry, other businesses were also established on Fleet Street.The Automobile Association was established at No. 18 Fleet Street in 1905.[40] Since the post-Wapping migration, Fleet Street is now more associated with the investment banking, legal and accountancy professions. For example, The Inns of Court and barristers' chambers are down alleys and around courtyards off Fleet Street itself and many of the old newspaper offices have become the London headquarters for various companies.[24] One example isGoldman Sachs, whose offices are in the old Daily Telegraph and Liverpool Echo buildings of Peterborough Court and Mersey House.[41]
C. Hoare & Co, England's oldest privately owned bank, has been operating in Fleet Street since 1672.[42]Child & Co., now a wholly owned subsidiary ofRoyal Bank of Scotland, claims it is the oldest continuous banking establishment in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1580 and has been based at No.1 Fleet Street, adjacent to Temple Bar, since 1673.[43] The law firmFreshfields moved to No. 65 Fleet Street in 1990.[24]
In theHigh Middle Ages senior clergymen had their London palaces in the street. Place-names surviving with this connection are Peterborough Court and Salisbury Court after their respective Bishops' houses here; apart from the Knights Templars' establishment theWhitefriars monastery is recalled by Whitefriars Street[17] and the remains of itsundercroft have been preserved in a public display area. ACarmelite church was established on Fleet Street in 1253, but it was destroyed during theReformation in 1545.[44]
Today three churches serve the spiritual needs of the three 'communities' associated with the area of the street.Temple Church was built by the Knights Templar in 1162 and serves the legal profession.[45]St Bride's Church was established as early as the 6th century[3] and was later designed bySir Christopher Wren in a style that complementedSt Mary Le Bow further east in the City.[46] It remains the London church most associated with the print industry.St Dunstan-in-the-West also dates from the 12th century supplements these as the local parish (as opposed to guild church) and is the London home for theRomanian Orthodox church.[47]
To the south lies an area of legal buildings known asthe Temple, formerly the property of theKnights Templar, which at its core includes two of the fourInns of Court: theInner Temple and theMiddle Temple. There are many lawyers' offices (especiallybarristers' chambers) in the vicinity.[48] The gatehouse to Middle Temple Lane was built bySir Christopher Wren in 1684.[49] To the west, at the junction with Strand are theRoyal Courts of Justice[50] whilst at the eastern end of the street theOld Bailey is near Ludgate Circus.[51]
As a principal route leading to and from the City, Fleet Street was especially noted for its taverns and coffeehouses. Many notable persons of literary and political fame such asSamuel Johnson frequented these, and journalists would regularly meet in pubs to collect stories.[52] Some have survived to the 21st century and are grade II listed:Ye Olde Cock Tavern at No. 22,The Tipperary at No. 66, theOld Bell at No. 95,the Punch Tavern at No. 98 andYe Olde Cheshire Cheese at No. 145.[53] TheEl Vino wine bar moved to No. 47 in 1923, quickly becoming popular with lawyers and journalists. Women were not allowed in the bar until 1982, and then only because of a court order.[24]The Old Bank of England, which from 1888 to 1975 was a trading house for the country's central bank, is now a Grade II listed pub.[54]
Since 1971, the southern side of the street has been part of the Fleet Street Conservation Area, which ensures buildings are regularly maintained and the character of the street is preserved. The area expanded to the north side in 1981.[55]
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The area around Fleet Street contains numerous statues and memorials to prominent public figures. At the north-eastern corner is a bust ofEdgar Wallace,[56] and a full-length representation ofMary, Queen of Scots in a first-floor niche at No. 143–144 commissioned byJohn Tollemache Sinclair.[57] Above the entrance to the old school-house of St Dunstan's is a statue ofQueen Elizabeth I provided for the then new Ludgate in 1586 by William Kerwin; it was moved to here following the gate's demolition in 1776.[58] Adjacent to this is a bust ofLord Northcliffe, the newspaper proprietor, co-founder of theDaily Mail and theDaily Mirror.[59] At No. 72 is a bust of the Irish journalist and MPT. P. O'Connor, constructed in 1934 by F. W. Doyle-Jones.[59][60]
On the southern side of the street nearby memorials and monuments include theTemple Bar Memorial where theTemple Bar (a gateway) used to stand until it was removed in 1878. The marker was designed bySir Horace Jones in 1880.[46] It has a statue of adragon at the top (sometimes called "the Griffin"), and a statue ofQueen Victoria in a niche in the side.[61][62]
In theInner Temple Gardens is a memorial toCharles Lamb.[57] In Salisbury Square there is an obelisk commemoratingRobert Waithman, mayor of London between 1823 and 1833,[63] and ablue plaque commemorating the birthplace of diarist and naval secretarySamuel Pepys.[64]
Several writers and politicians are associated with Fleet Street, either as residents or regulars to the various taverns, includingBen Jonson,John Milton,Izaak Walton,John Dryden,Edmund Burke,Oliver Goldsmith andCharles Lamb.[4] The lexicographerSamuel Johnson lived at Gough Square off Fleet Street between 1748 and 1759; the building has survived into the 21st century.[46] The cartographerJohn Senex owned a map store, The Sign of the Globe, on Fleet Street between 1725 and his death in 1736.[65]Wynkyn de Worde was buried in St. Bride's Church in 1535, as was poetRichard Lovelace in 1657,[66] while Samuel Pepys was baptised there in 1633.[67]
TheRoyal Society was based in Crane Court from 1710 to 1782, when it moved toSomerset House on the Strand.[68]
The barberSweeney Todd is traditionally said to have lived and worked during the 18th century in Fleet Street, where he would murder customers and serve their remains as pie fillings.[69] Anurban myth example of aserial killer, the character appears in various English language works starting in the mid-19th century.[70] Adaptations of the story include the 1936George Kingfilm,[70] the 1979Stephen Sondheimmusical,[71] and the 2007Tim Burtonfilm based on the musical, all titledSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.[72]
Fleet Street is mentioned in several ofCharles Dickens's works. The eponymous club inThe Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, more commonly known asThe Pickwick Papers, is set in the street, as is Tellson's Bank inA Tale of Two Cities.[73] The poetJohn Davidson wrote two works in the late 19th century titled theFleet Street Eclogues.[74]Arthur Ransome has a chapter in hisBohemia in London (1907) about earlier inhabitants of the street: Ben Jonson, the lexicographer Doctor Samuel Johnson,Coleridge,Hazlitt and Lamb; and about Temple Bar and the Press Club.[75]
Fleet Street is a square on the BritishMonopoly board, in a group with the Strand and Trafalgar Square. One of theChance cards in the game, "You Have Won A Crossword Competition, collect £100" was inspired by rival competitions and promotions between Fleet Street-based newspapers in 1930s, particularly theDaily Mail andDaily Express.[b][76]
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