Cloth Fair

Cloth Fair is a street in the City of London where, in medieval times, merchants gathered to buy and sell material during the Bartholomew Fair. Today, it is a short residential street to the east of Smithfield in the north-western part of the city and is located in the ward of Farringdon Within.

Cloth Fair
The oldest residential dwelling in London (numbers 41 and 42)
TypeResidential street
Length150 yards
Postal codeEC1
Nearest Tube stationLondon Underground Barbican
Coordinates51°31′7.92″N 0°05′58.77″W
Southwest endLittle Britain
Northeast endMiddle Street
Other
Known forMedieval cloth market

The street runs southwest to northeast from Little Britain, parallel to Long Lane to the north and bordered by the Anglican church[1] of St. Bartholomew-the-Great[2] to the south, until it merges with Middle Street some 150 yards later.[3]

Blue plaque marking the entrance to John Betjeman's home in Cloth Court off Cloth Fair

The street was originally within the precincts of the Priory of St. Bartholomew's, and until 1910 formed a separate liberty, with gates that were shut at night. Such a small area could not meet the demands of installing street lighting and sewers, and rejoined the city. The area has a long history,[4] a varied past[5] and strong literary tradition.[6]

It contains within its boundaries the oldest residential dwelling in London (numbers 41 and 42),[7] and a pair of properties administered by the Landmark Trust.[8][9] One of them (number 43) is the former home of English poet John Betjeman; its door is in Cloth Court off Cloth Fair.[10] A restaurant on the ground floor on Cloth Fair for a time took his name.[11]

The City Music Foundation is based in Church House in Cloth Fair.[12]

The nearest London Underground station is Barbican (Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines) and the closest mainline railway station is Farringdon.

See also

References
  1. Parish website
  2. "18 views of the Ancient Priory Church of St Bartholemew the Great" (15th Edition, rev) Webb, E.A. (Freeman Dovaston London, 1922)
  3. Based on measurement using Ordnance Survey (1:2500) 1940 L.C.C revision Sheet 62
  4. History of Smithfields Archived 21 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  5. 18th Century Crime Scene Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  6. It was immortalised in a story in The Gentleman's Magazine(Details of Publication) illustrated by Phiz
  7. "City of London: A History" Borer, M.A. (Constable & Co Ltd, London, 1977) ISBN 0-09-461880-1
  8. 43 Cloth Fair
  9. 45a Cloth Fair
  10. "John Betjeman" Hillier, B. (John Murray, London,2007) ISBN 978-0-7195-6444-4
  11. Betjeman’s Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  12. "About City Music Foundation". City Music Foundation. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
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