Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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Wikipedia
In London, the Moorfields were one of the last pieces of open land in the City of London, near the Moorgate. The fields were divided into three areas, the Moorfields proper, just north of Bethlem Hospital, and inside the City boundaries, and Middle and Upper Moorfields to the north.
After the Great Fire of London in 1666, refugees from the fire evacuated to Moorfields and set up temporary camps there. King Charles II of England encouraged the dispossessed to move on and leave London, but it is unknown how many newly impoverished and displaced persons instead settled in the Moorfields area. In the early 18th century, Moorfields was the site of sporadic open-air markets, shows, and vendors/auctions. Additionally, the homes near and within Moorfields were places of the poor, and the area had a reputation for harboring highwaymen, as well as brothels. James Dalton and Jack Sheppard both retreated to Moorfields when in hiding from the law. Much of Moorfields was developed in 1777, when Finsbury Square was developed; the remainder succumbed within the next few decades.
Moorfields was the site of the first hot air balloon flight in England (and the first outside France), when Italian Vincenzo Lunardi took off on 15 September 1784.
Today the name survives in the names of Moorfields Eye Hospital (since moved to another site); St Mary Moorfields; Moorfields the short street parallel with Moorgate (and containing some entrances to Moorgate station); and Moorfields Highwalk, one of the pedestrian "streets" at high level in the Barbican Estate.
Annotations
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The above link is the rough location, as the fields stretched a good deal north and south. The northern end, Upper Moor Fields, can be seen on this map: http://www.motco.com/map/81002/SeriesSearchPlatesFullb.asp?mode=query&artist=384&other=272&x=11&y=11
Click ‘South’ to see the rest! -
from L&M Companion
A large marshy area north of the city wall, built over in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and today covered by Finsbury Sq., Finsbury Circus and adjacent streets. Part of it was drained early in the 16th century, and by 1598 three windmills had been built. In 1605 the southern section was laid out by the city in pleasant walks, set with trees. It was much used for recreation. -
Moorfields
The location of the Artillery Grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company, and a few brothels.
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Moorfields and Finsbury
In Moorfields and about Finsbury, specimens of primitive skates have from time to time been exhumed, recalling the time when these were marshy fields, which in winter were resorted to by the youth of London for the amusements which Fitzstephen describes. A pair preserved in the British Museum.
(Book of Days)
MOORFIELDS AND FINSBURY History…