Map

The overlays that highlight 17th century London features are approximate and derived from Wenceslaus Hollar’s maps:

Open location in Google Maps: 51.510187, -0.086068

4 Annotations

First Reading

Philip Somervail  •  Link

Formerly there were two Fish Streets in the City. These two streets are shown and described in a book of sixteenth century maps called ‘The A to Z of Elizabethan London’, compiled by Adrian Prockter and Robert Taylor (1979). Here are their explanations:

(1) “New Fish Street, also called ‘Bridge Street’, ‘Fish Street Hill; and ‘New Fish Street Hill’. The term ‘New’ was used to distinguish it from Old Fish Street in the western part of the City.” [The Monument was built here after the Great Fire, which started nearby.]

(2) “Old Fish Street. At the time of the map [in this book, 1560s] this name referred to the section of street from Old Change to Bow Lane. The eastern half, from Friday Street to Bow Lane, is now known as ‘Great Trinity Lane’ The western part of Old Fish Street became known as ‘Knightrider Street’ and is so called now.” [In other words, this street was south of St Paul’s, parallel with modern Upper Thames Street.]

(Old Fish Street appears in this map, too:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsw… )

Second Reading

Bill  •  Link

Fish Street Hill, sometimes called New Fish Street, runs from East Cheap to Lower Thames Street, and was the main thoroughfare to old London Bridge.

Cade. Up Fish Street ! down St. Magnus' corner! kill and knock down! throw them into Thames.—Shakespeare, second part of King Henry VI.

Above Crooked Lane end, upon Fish Street Hill, is one great house for the most part built of stone, which pertained some time to Edward the Black Prince, son of Edward III., who was in his lifetime lodged there. It is now altered to a common hostelry, having the Black Bell for a sign.—-Stow, p. 81.

Before it was destroyed in the Great Fire, Fish Street Hill was inconveniently and even dangerously steep, but the gradient was much improved when it was reconstructed.
---London, Past and Present. H.B. Wheatley, 1891.

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References

Chart showing the number of references in each month of the diary’s entries.

1660

1661

1662

1664

1666

1668