As part of my major project Boundaries within Boundaries. I have been looking at the boundary that was Norton Folgate. Here is some facts about the area along with a few pictures from my visit to the area I took recently. If you are interested in the history of London you may find it interesting .
It is (now) a short length of street in London, connecting Bishopsgate, with Shoreditch High Street, on the northern edge of its financial district in the City of London. It constitutes a very small section of the A10.
The Liberty of Norton Folgate existed until October 1900. However it continued to have a nominal existence as a civil parish until 1921. Norton Folgate seems to have been split into two areas – west and east. The area to the west of Bishopsgate was removed, to become part of the parish and borough of Shoreditch from 1965, in other words, the London Borough of Hackney. Later, there was a reform of boundaries, in 1990s, which meant that this area then formed part of the City of London. The other section, to the east of Bishopsgate became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney.
The area of Spitalfields stands just outside the wall of the old City of London and was originally a rubbish tip. It became a point of entry for immigrants fresh off the boats in Shadwell or Limehouse Basin. Eventually, it became an unofficial town, independent of the conventions/laws of the city, a place where anything and indeed everything was allowed and where the rich and famous could slip in quietly and get up to all sorts of tricks.
Even after the city wall came down and immigrants made lives for themselves elsewhere in London, a small area of Spitalfields remained free or enjoyed ‘a liberty’ which meant it lay outside the normal restrictions and laws of the rest of London.
In the 1700s Norton Folgate had its own school, Church, hospital (Mary Spital) and almshouses for the destitute silk weavers (depicted on the back wall of the old Jack the Ripper pub, now called The Ten Bells).
An Augustine Priory was founded there in 1197, by William Brune. The original area was seen to be 8.7 acres and included Folgate Street, Spital Square, Elder Street, Fleur de Lis Street and Blossom Street. However, over the years this area has been greatly reduced. In the 19th century, it formed a small plot between Primrose Street and Worship Street. The area to the west remained a civil parish until 1921.
Originally, it enjoyed an extra parochial liberty, meaning it was outside the influence of the Church. It was totally self-contained and well run by a group of some 20 Trustees. Who met in the Court House, located, more or less in the centre of Norton Folgate. It was later pulled down, in 1743 The Trustees went on to meet at No 1 Folgate Street (formerly White Lion Street). The last meeting of the Trustees was on 24th October 1900, the year London revised the boundaries in that area.
Location: Walk east along Bishopsgate, towards Shoreditch High Street, take a turn to the right, just before you reach Commercial Road, and you’ll still find Folgate Street, in all its Edwardian glory. The name, Norton, is recorded as early as 1110, as Nortune meaning north farmstead. Norton Folgate Street was originally White Lion Street. The name is also said to be taken from the Saxon Foldweg, meaning highway, alluding to the original Roman road, Ermine Street.
It is (now) a short length of street in London, connecting Bishopsgate, with Shoreditch High Street, on the northern edge of its financial district in the City of London. It constitutes a very small section of the A10.
The Liberty of Norton Folgate existed until October 1900. However it continued to have a nominal existence as a civil parish until 1921. Norton Folgate seems to have been split into two areas – west and east. The area to the west of Bishopsgate was removed, to become part of the parish and borough of Shoreditch from 1965, in other words, the London Borough of Hackney. Later, there was a reform of boundaries, in 1990s, which meant that this area then formed part of the City of London. The other section, to the east of Bishopsgate became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney.
The area of Spitalfields stands just outside the wall of the old City of London and was originally a rubbish tip. It became a point of entry for immigrants fresh off the boats in Shadwell or Limehouse Basin. Eventually, it became an unofficial town, independent of the conventions/laws of the city, a place where anything and indeed everything was allowed and where the rich and famous could slip in quietly and get up to all sorts of tricks.
Even after the city wall came down and immigrants made lives for themselves elsewhere in London, a small area of Spitalfields remained free or enjoyed ‘a liberty’ which meant it lay outside the normal restrictions and laws of the rest of London.
The area was built up as a collection of courtyards and alley ways in Bishopsgate, not far from Liverpool Street Station, as was known as the Liberty of Norton Folgate.
In the 1700s Norton Folgate had its own school, Church, hospital (Mary Spital) and almshouses for the destitute silk weavers (depicted on the back wall of the old Jack the Ripper pub, now called The Ten Bells).
An Augustine Priory was founded there in 1197, by William Brune. The original area was seen to be 8.7 acres and included Folgate Street, Spital Square, Elder Street, Fleur de Lis Street and Blossom Street. However, over the years this area has been greatly reduced. In the 19th century, it formed a small plot between Primrose Street and Worship Street. The area to the west remained a civil parish until 1921.
Originally, it enjoyed an extra parochial liberty, meaning it was outside the influence of the Church. It was totally self-contained and well run by a group of some 20 Trustees. Who met in the Court House, located, more or less in the centre of Norton Folgate. It was later pulled down, in 1743 The Trustees went on to meet at No 1 Folgate Street (formerly White Lion Street). The last meeting of the Trustees was on 24th October 1900, the year London revised the boundaries in that area.
No 1 Folgate Street was pulled down in 1963. In 1990 there was another reform of boundaries so that the area became part of the City of London etc.
The area was responsible for its own gas supply (light), sewage removal and it had its own daily rubbish collection.
It became a refuge for such people as actors, writers, thinkers, but also, on the other side of the scale louts, lowlifes and libertines – outsiders and troublemakers. Christopher Marlowe, famous for his plays (Faust) lived in Norton Folgate in 1589.
Being close to the docks, it had seen every race and creed come and go through it, at one time or another. Some of these immigrants settled in Spital Square and Brick Lane, such as the persecuted French Protestants – Huguenot – silk weavers. Also Jewish settlers and later the Bangladeshis. All were of the sewing/weaving trade.
The population declined during the course of the 19th century declined, as many of the premises were converted into warehouses and businesses. For example the population, in 1801 was 1,752, but by 2001 it had declined to 212.
When London’s administrative boundaries were redrawn in 1900, a small part of Norton Folgate was included in the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, but most of it went to Stepney. This area remained a civil parish until 1921. Also, in 1991, there was a reform of boundaries and the area became what is now part of the City of London. The majority of the area is now occupied by modern offices.
However Dennis Severs (a Canadian 1948-1999) refurbished one of the silk weaver’s houses (no 18. He recreated each of the ten rooms, to depict a different historic style (of 18th and 19th centuries). He took a fictitious French protestant family name Jervis (from Gervaise) and imagined their life in that house. He set up the rooms as if they were still in use – as if someone had just stepped out. He called it ‘Still Life Drama’. He created.... a collection of atmospheres; moods that harbour the light and spirit of various ages. It’s perfect.
www.dennissevershouse.co.uk
Jeanette Winterson (writer) says of the house “Fashions come and go, but there are permanencies, vulnerable, but not forgotten It is open to the public on specific days of the month.
City of London Theatre was built in Norton Folagte, in 1837. It specialised in domestic and temperance melodrama. It closed in 1868 and the site destroyed by fire in 1871. In 2008, plans were drawn up to demolish the trendy Light Bar (a power station built for the Great Eastern Railway). This caused a big stir. Without knowing about these plans, Suggs, of Madness fame, who was developing a concept album on the forgotten historical areas of London, primarily Norton Folgate, wrote a song entitled The Liberty of Norton Folgate. I grew up with Madness and I would say this is a excellent album their best to date. Check it out and give it a listen. Here are some of the words from the song The Liberty of Norton Folgate.
The media thought Suggs had composed this song in response to Norman Foster’s plan to build a huge skyscraper on the site, as a sort of protest song to rouse the rabble! He hadn’t been aware of a campaign to save Folgate Street, but it was inevitable that he would join it. Suggs admits that it wasn’t, necessarily, about being against the development as such, but more about protecting ‘one of the last best bits of familiar old London – a place far too precious to be buried under 50 storeys of concrete, regardless of whether or not it was to have a waterfall on the top!’
As it turned out, the campaign to save Folgate Street was successful, mainly because someone found some ancient documents, which suggested that Norton Folgate may still have rights to act as an independent state.
The media thought Suggs had composed this song in response to Norman Foster’s plan to build a huge skyscraper on the site, as a sort of protest song to rouse the rabble! He hadn’t been aware of a campaign to save Folgate Street, but it was inevitable that he would join it. Suggs admits that it wasn’t, necessarily, about being against the development as such, but more about protecting ‘one of the last best bits of familiar old London – a place far too precious to be buried under 50 storeys of concrete, regardless of whether or not it was to have a waterfall on the top!’
As it turned out, the campaign to save Folgate Street was successful, mainly because someone found some ancient documents, which suggested that Norton Folgate may still have rights to act as an independent state.
The area was responsible for its own gas supply (light), sewage removal and it had its own daily rubbish collection.
It became a refuge for such people as actors, writers, thinkers, but also, on the other side of the scale louts, lowlifes and libertines – outsiders and troublemakers. Christopher Marlowe, famous for his plays (Faust) lived in Norton Folgate in 1589.
Being close to the docks, it had seen every race and creed come and go through it, at one time or another. Some of these immigrants settled in Spital Square and Brick Lane, such as the persecuted French Protestants – Huguenot – silk weavers. Also Jewish settlers and later the Bangladeshis. All were of the sewing/weaving trade.
The population declined during the course of the 19th century declined, as many of the premises were converted into warehouses and businesses. For example the population, in 1801 was 1,752, but by 2001 it had declined to 212.
When London’s administrative boundaries were redrawn in 1900, a small part of Norton Folgate was included in the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, but most of it went to Stepney. This area remained a civil parish until 1921. Also, in 1991, there was a reform of boundaries and the area became what is now part of the City of London. The majority of the area is now occupied by modern offices.
www.dennissevershouse.co.uk
Jeanette Winterson (writer) says of the house “Fashions come and go, but there are permanencies, vulnerable, but not forgotten It is open to the public on specific days of the month.
City of London Theatre was built in Norton Folagte, in 1837. It specialised in domestic and temperance melodrama. It closed in 1868 and the site destroyed by fire in 1871. In 2008, plans were drawn up to demolish the trendy Light Bar (a power station built for the Great Eastern Railway). This caused a big stir. Without knowing about these plans, Suggs, of Madness fame, who was developing a concept album on the forgotten historical areas of London, primarily Norton Folgate, wrote a song entitled The Liberty of Norton Folgate. I grew up with Madness and I would say this is a excellent album their best to date. Check it out and give it a listen. Here are some of the words from the song The Liberty of Norton Folgate.
Whether one calls it Spitalfields, Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets or Banglatown,
We’re all dancing in the moonlight; we’re all on borrowed ground.
Oh, I’m just walking down to; I’m just floating down through,
Won’t you come with me to the Liberty of Norton Folgate?
‘Cause you’re a part of everything you see, yes you’re a part of everything you see.
The media thought Suggs had composed this song in response to Norman Foster’s plan to build a huge skyscraper on the site, as a sort of protest song to rouse the rabble! He hadn’t been aware of a campaign to save Folgate Street, but it was inevitable that he would join it. Suggs admits that it wasn’t, necessarily, about being against the development as such, but more about protecting ‘one of the last best bits of familiar old London – a place far too precious to be buried under 50 storeys of concrete, regardless of whether or not it was to have a waterfall on the top!’
As it turned out, the campaign to save Folgate Street was successful, mainly because someone found some ancient documents, which suggested that Norton Folgate may still have rights to act as an independent state.
The media thought Suggs had composed this song in response to Norman Foster’s plan to build a huge skyscraper on the site, as a sort of protest song to rouse the rabble! He hadn’t been aware of a campaign to save Folgate Street, but it was inevitable that he would join it. Suggs admits that it wasn’t, necessarily, about being against the development as such, but more about protecting ‘one of the last best bits of familiar old London – a place far too precious to be buried under 50 storeys of concrete, regardless of whether or not it was to have a waterfall on the top!’
As it turned out, the campaign to save Folgate Street was successful, mainly because someone found some ancient documents, which suggested that Norton Folgate may still have rights to act as an independent state.
The names are fascinating and evocative. The liberty of Norton Folgate sounds very poetic. Keep a note of all those strange names, you never know it might lead you to an interesting additional outcome. One might be able to apply LATCH to the project. The boundaries can be mapped but the names could also appear in an alphabetical index.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting post. Congratulations!
ReplyDelete