Houndsditch

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Houndsditch is a street in the City of London that connects Bishopsgate in the north west to Aldgate in the south east. The modern street runs through a part of the Portsoken Ward and Bishopsgate Ward Without.

A ditch was first constructed outside the City Wall by the Romans, but became filled in and obliterated. The Danes under Cnut also constructed a town ditch in order to control access to the city^[1]. The ditch was redug in 1211 as a part of the defences, and was then about 75ft in width (25 metres). The City authorities found it a continual problem to scour and clean the ditch, as many of the adjacent houses found it convenient to dispose of filth and refuse in it. In 1595, levelling the ground was first considered^[2], although the street running alongside the ditch was first paved in 1503. The name 'Houndsditche' first appears in the 13th century, and appears to relate to the quantity of rubbish and dead dogs thrown in the ditch^[3]; previously it seems to have been referred to only by the appellation, 'The Ditch'.

Approaching Bishopsgate, the modern office blocks do not occupy the full building plots, leaving some small areas empty. These were the site of plague pits.

The street marks the route of the old ditch running outside a part of London Wall.

[edit] References

1. ^ "Anglo-Saxon Chronicles" Earle and Plummer
2. ^ 'Houndsditch', A Dictionary of London (1918) Date accessed: 31 October 2006.
3. ^ Stow (ibid)