Fenchurch Street
Fenchurch Street is a street in the City of London linking Aldgate at its eastern end with Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street to the west. To the south of Fenchurch Street and towards its eastern end is Fenchurch Street railway station, a mainline railway terminus with services towards east London and Essex.
Etymology
There is some confusion over how Fenchurch Street derived its name. The simple explanation — a church on marshy 'fen' land — is quoted by some. However, it's more commonly believed that the fen derives from faenum, Latin for hay. A hay market is known to have operated on the site in earlier centuries. The 'church' part of the name probably relates to St Gabriel Fenchurch. This stood on the site where Plantation Place can be found today (there's a glazed blue plaque to mark this). The church however burnt down in the Great Fire.[1]
Streetscape
Fenchurch Street is home to a number of shops, pubs and offices, including Plantation Place and 20 Fenchurch Street, a 525 ft tall skyscraper completed in 2014.
Located at No. 71 is Lloyd's Register, where the annual journal Lloyd's Registry was previously published. The frontage on Fenchurch Street was built in 1901 by Thomas Edward Collcutt and is a Grade II* listed building.[2] The more modern building behind was designed by Richard Rogers and towers above it. This was completed in 1999 and was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling prize in 2002.
At the street's eastern end and junction with Aldgate is the Aldgate Pump, a historic water pump which has been designated a Grade II listed structure. Further west, Fenchurch Street's junction with Lime Street was formerly the location of a Christopher Wren church, St. Dionis Backchurch. First built in the 13th century dedicated to the patron saint of France, it was destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666, later rebuilt by Wren, and then demolished in 1878.[3]
Nearby, the church of St. Gabriel Fenchurch also stood on Fenchurch Street at its junction with Cullum Street. A blue plaque outside Plantation Place marks the site opposite where the church once stood before its destruction in the Great Fire.
The western portion of Fenchurch Street formed part of the marathon course of the 2012 Olympic Games. The women's Olympic marathon took place on 5 August and the men's on 12 August.[4][5]
The nearest London Underground stations are Aldgate (just beyond the eastern end of the street), Tower Hill (to the southeast) and Monument (to the west); Fenchurch Street railway station has no direct Underground connection. The entire length of the road is served by London Buses route 40. The postcode for the street is EC3M.
See also
Nearby streets:
References
- ^ "How London's Terminal Stations Got Their Names". Londonist. 15 September 2014.
- ^ Listing details, 71 Fenchurch Street, English Heritage accessed 21 Jun 2007
- ^ Smith, A. (1970). Dictionary of City of London Street Names. David & Charles. p. 68. ISBN 0-7153-4880-9.
- ^ http://www.london2012.com/athletics/event/men-marathon/coursemap/
- ^ http://www.london2012.com/athletics/event/women-marathon/coursemap/
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51°30′43″N 0°4′50.8″W / 51.51194°N 0.080778°W
