St John Street
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British History Online
An ancient route, St John Street was described in 1170 as the street 'which goeth from the bar of Smithfield towards Yseldon [Islington]'. This is the earliest known documentary reference to the street, which later became known simply as 'ClerkenwellStreete'. Its present name, taken from the adjacent priory of St John, established by the Knights Hospitallers in the twelfth century, has been in use certainly since the fifteenth century. Historically, however, it applied only to the lower half of the street, the upper half being known variously as the Chester road or Islington Road, and later as St John Street Road until 1905, when it was redesignated part of St John Street. Until 1866, lower St John Street was itself divided into two separately numbered parts: St John Street, Smithfield (in the parish of St Sepulchre Without), and St John Street, Clerkenwell.
Clerkenwell 101
17 London’s first major north-south route, St John Street was described in 1170 as the street “which goeth from the bar of Smithfield towards Yseldon (Islington)”. Islington was used as a resting and grazing point for cattle to be fattened up ready for sale at Smithfield market, following their long walk from as far away as Wales.
#History #C101