Greeks in Great Britain
Encyclopedia
Greeks in the United Kingdom also referred to as Greek Britons include Britsh citizens
who were either Greek
-born or Greek Cypriot-born migrants to the United Kingdom
and their British-born descendants.
was an early Greek
civilization flourished during the period between 1600 BC, when Helladic culture in mainland Greece
was transformed under influences from Minoan Crete
, and 1100 BC, when it perished with the collapse of Bronze-Age civilization
in the eastern Mediterranean. Through trading and conquest, Mycenaean civilization spread its influence from Mycenae
to many parts of the Mediterranean region and Europe
. Mycenaean bronze double axes and other objects (Rillaton Barrow
, Pelynt
Dagger) dating from 13th century BCE have been found in Ireland and in Wessex
and Cornwall
in England
, proving the earliest Greek contact with Ireland
and Great Britain
.
. He reported its name as Pretannia, which became Britannia, it is assumed that its Hellenised version was under Diodorus. It may have been used by some of the local peoples where Pytheas landed to themselves -Pretani. Many Greeks later arrived with the Roman legions as soldiers and traders, and their presence is attested by inscriptions on curse tablets, gravestones and dedicatory tablets in both Greek and Latin displayed in the Museum of London
and elsewhere, including:
A ALFID POMP OLVSSA EX TESTAMENTO HER POS ANNOR LXX NA ATHENVI H S EST
"Aulus Alfidius Pompolussa, as stated in his will, his heirs placed this. Seventy years old, a native of Athens, he lies here."
I O M TEMPLVM VETVSTATE CONLABSVM AQVILINVS AVG LIB ET MERCATOR ET AVDAX ET GRAEC RESTITVER
"For Jupiter Best and Greatest, this temple, collapsed through old age, was restored by Aquilinus, freedman of the emperor, a trader, a man of courage, a Greek."
and two dedicatory plaques found in York beneath what is now the railway station stating that:
ΩΚΕΑΝΟΙ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΘΥΙ ΔΕΜΗΤΡΙΟΣ
"To Oceanus and Tethys, Demetrius [dedicates this]."
and
THEOIS TOIS TOU HEGEMONIKOU PRAITORION SCRIBONIOS DEMETRIOS
"To the gods of the governor's headquarters, Scribonius Demetrius [dedicates this]."
As far north as Cumbria, we find the tomb of Hermes of Commagene:
"Let some traveller, on seeing Hermes of Commagene, aged 16 years, sheltered in the tomb by fate, call out: I give you my greetings, lad, though mortal the path of life you slowly tread, for swiftly have you winged your way to the land of the Cimmerian folk. Nor will your words be false, for the lad is good, and you will do him a good service."
Indeed, the Roman city of Carlisle, judging by surviving inscriptions, seems to have been home to a thriving Greek community. It is a matter of historical record then, that Greek was being spoken in England hundreds of years before the English language
or Anglo-Saxon
peoples ever reached its shores.
In the 7th Century AD, following the death of the previous holder of the post, the Greek Theodore of Tarsus
was appointed Head of the Anglican Church as Archbishop of Canterbury
(669 AD); he played an important part in the early history of England, building churches and monasteries and establishing theological studies. According to the Venerable Bede
, Theodore contributed to the bringing of a greater unity to English Christianity, and in 672 presided over the first council of the entire English Church, at Hertford
. The structure of dioceses and parishes he put in place is still substantially in place today.
ruler Manuel II
visited England in 1400, where he was received by Henry IV
at Eltham Palace
.
A Greek presence in London
was recorded with the two brothers, Andronikos and Alexios Effomatos - described in contemporary records as "Grekes" - who were known to have been resident in London in 1440. They were from Constantinople
, the capital of Byzantium.
In 1445, the king of England, Henry VI
(1421–1471), granted the brothers permission to remain in London and to practise their trade of gold wire drawing. They made a costly type of thread in which thin strands of gold were intertwined with silk, and which was then used in expensive luxury fabrics and in sacerdotal vestments, a craft for which Constantinople had been famous in its heyday. Thanks to this royal grant, the brothers remained in London for many years. They lived first in the area of Cripplegate
, much of which is now covered by the Barbican Centre
, and later they moved to Broad Street, in what was then the Italian quarter of London. Andronikos, the elder, died in about 1472, but Alexios was still there in 1484, over forty years after his first arrival.
That set the pattern for Greek settlement over the next two hundred years. Some Greco-Albanian immigrants came as soldiers during the reign of Henry VIII
, led by the officers Theodore Luchisi, Antonios Stesinos, and Colonel Thomas Buas, responsible for the garrisoning of the then-English possession of Calais
. Some came as visitors for a short period. In about 1545, Nikandros Noukios of Corfu
spent time in London and left an interesting account of his impressions. Indeed, he followed as a non-combatant an English invasion of Scotland
where the English forces included Greeks from Argos
under the leadership of Thomas of Argos whose 'Courage, and prudence, and experience of wars' was lauded by the Corfiot traveller.
and Landulph
parish church, Cornwall
. A number of Palaeologi fought against each other as high-ranking officers for both sides in the English Civil War
.
Early Modern Greco-Britons were not solely soldiers. A few individuals settled permanently, such as a native of Rhodes
called Konstantinos Benetos, who was recorded as living in Clerkenwell
between 1530 and 1578. These visitors, refugees and occasional long- term residents did not, as yet, constitute a community. They were too few, too obscure and too transitory, and above all they lacked the one thing that would have given them cohesion and a common identity: a church where they could practise their Orthodox faith.
Nikodemos Metaxas
, a printer by trade, worked in London for a time in the 1620s. Some came as refugees, seeking asylum or financial help as a result of misfortunes suffered under Ottoman
rule. One of them was Gregorios Argyropoulos, the owner of an estate near Thessaloniki
. When a Turkish
soldier was accidentally killed on Argyropoulos' land, the Ottoman authorities held him responsible and forced him to flee overseas and eventually to London in 1633. A charitable collection was made for him in London churches, and he was presented with £48 before he departed the following year.
By the late seventeenth century, matters had changed. A number of Greeks now occupied prominent positions in London life. Constantinos Rodocanachi of Chios
had become one of the physicians to King Charles II (163 I -I 685) (PI. 1). Georgios Constantinos of Skopelos
had established the Grecian coffeehouse in Devereux court, just off the Strand
, and he could count Sir Isaac Newton and other members of the Royal Society
among his clientele. Numbers had also increased. The expansion of Britain's overseas trade with the Levant
brought many more merchant ships to the port of London, some of them crewed by Greeks. The time was therefore ripe to press for the establishment of a Greek Church.
The first documented organised Greek Orthodox community was established in London in the 1670s, with the first Greek Orthodox Church in London being erected in 1677, in Soho
, on the corner of Charing Cross Road
and Greek Street
. The church was dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin and was consecrated by the Metropolitan of Samos, Joseph Georgerinis. Oxford
also became home to a Greek community centred on what is now Worcester College, which was known as 'Greek College' for much of the 17th century. The Greek College was founded by Lord Paget, then ambassador to Constantinople, though recruitment of Greek students was halted in 1705 because " 'the irregular life of some priests and laymen of the Greek Church living in London has greatly disturbed the Greek Orthodox Church. Therefore the Church has also prevented those who wish to go and study at Oxford.'"
saw a wave of emigres settle in Britain. Initially trading in shipping and commodities, most of these families were from Chios
and Constantinople, and settled around Finsbury Square
in London, close to the commercial heart of the shipping industry; the Baltic Exchange
and Lloyds of London. Others settled in the commercial cities of Liverpool
and Manchester
, and later Glasgow
and Cardiff
. They were joined by other Greeks from the Aegean, Ionan, Smyrna, Athens and beyond. As they prospered these Greek merchants began to settle in London's Bayswater
and established permanent institutions such as the Greek necropolis at Norwood
in 1842, a Greek school and the Greek Orthodox church, later Cathedral of Aghia Sophia
in 1877.
Britain gained control over Cyprus
on 4 June 1878 as a result of the Cyprus Convention
and formally annexed it in 1913. Greek Cypriots began to settle in London only from the 1930s. The earliest migrants came to the area around Soho, and many more arrived at the end of the Second World War. As rents in the West End increased, Camden and Fulham became popular areas for Greek-Cypriot migrants. Women initially worked from home in industries such as dressmaking. By the 1960s, a Greek language school and Greek Orthodox church, St Nicholas, had been established in Fulham
.
The 2001 UK Census recorded 35,169 British residents born in Greece and 77,673 born in Cyprus, although the latter includes Turkish
as well as Greek Cypriots. Recent estimates suggest that up to 400,000 ethnic Greeks may reside in the UK. The Office for National Statistics
estimates that, as of 2009, the Greek-born population of the UK was 29,000.
, Regent's Park
, Chelsea
and Kensington
Census tract
s. There are also large Greek communities in Sunderland, Moss Side
in Manchester
, Birmingham
and Colchester
. Generally, clusters of Cypriot-born people are found in the same locations as Turkish-born people, with 60 per cent living in areas of London with notable Turkish communities. The Census tracts with the highest number of Cypriot-born people in 2001 were Palmers Green
, Upper Edmonton
, Cockfosters
, Lower Edmonton, Tottenham
North and Tottenham South. Many Greek-Cypriots reside in Wood Green
, Green Lanes
and Palmers Green, the latter habouring the largest community of Greek-Cypriots outside Cyprus
, resulting in these areas bearing local nicknames whereby the Green is replaced by Greek – as in Greek Lanes and Palmers Greek.
According to a City of London Corporation sponsored report, there are between 28,600 and 31,000 Greek speakers in Greater London.
, India
and the Republic of Ireland
.
P.A. Bezodis, 'The Greek church (later St. Mary's Crown Street) and St. Martin's Almshouses', in Survey of London, 44 vols. (London, 1900–94), xxxiii. 278-84
Robert Browning, 'Some early Greek visitors to England', in Essays in Memory of Basil Laourdas (Thessaloniki, 1975), pp. 387–95
Timotheos Catsiyannis, The Greek Community of London (London, 1993)
Timotheos Catsiyannis, Pandias Stephen Rallis, 1793-1865 (London, 1986)
Maria Christina Chatziioannou, 'Greek merchants in Victorian England', in Greek Diaspora and Migration since 1700, ed. Dimitris Tziovas (Aldershot, 2009), pp. 45–60
Chatziioannou Maria Christina (2010) Mediterranean pahtways of Greek merchants to Victorian England, The Historical Review, Institute for Neohellenic Research, Vol. VII, pp. 213-237
Michael Constantinides, The Greek Orthodox Church in London (London, 1933)
P.M. Doll (ed.), Anglicanism and Orthodoxy 300 Years after the ‘Greek College’ in Oxford (Oxford and Bern, 2000)
T.E. Dowling and E.W. Fletcher, Hellenism in England (London, 1915)
Evangelia Georgitsoyanni, 'An unknown verse newspaper of the Greek diaspora', Analele Universitstii "Stefan Cel Mare" Suceava: Serie Filologie B. Literatura 11 (2005), 45-64
Jonathan Harris, 'The Grecian Coffee House and political debate in London, 1688-1714', The London Journal 25 (2000), 1-13
Jonathan Harris, Greek Emigres in the West, 1400-1520 (Camberley, 1995)
Jonathan Harris, 'Silent Minority: the Greek Community of Eighteenth-Century London', in Greek Diaspora and Migration since 1700, ed. Dimitris Tziovas (Aldershot, 2009), pp. 31–43
Jonathan Harris, 'Two Byzantine craftsmen in fifteenth century London', Journal of Medieval History 21 (1995), 387-403
Jonathan Harris and Heleni Porphyriou, ‘The Greek diaspora: Italian port cities and London, c.1400-1700’, in Cities and Cultural Transfer in Europe: 1400-1700, ed. Donatella Calabi and Stephen Turk Christensen (Cambridge, 2007), pp. 65–86
Alan Haynes, 'Greek nationals in England 1400-1705', History Today 29 (1979), 179-87
George Kakavas (ed.), Treasured Offerings. The Legacy of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sophia, London (Athens, 2002)
Demetrius Mangreotis, 'The demographic history of the Greek mercantile community in London, 1837-1881', Historica 6 (1986), 349-68 (in Greek)
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
who were either Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
-born or Greek Cypriot-born migrants to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and their British-born descendants.
Mycenaean Greeks in Great Britain
The Mycenaean civilizationMycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece was a cultural period of Bronze Age Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese of southern Greece. Athens, Pylos, Thebes, and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites...
was an early Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
civilization flourished during the period between 1600 BC, when Helladic culture in mainland Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
was transformed under influences from Minoan Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, and 1100 BC, when it perished with the collapse of Bronze-Age civilization
Bronze Age collapse
The Bronze Age collapse is a transition in southwestern Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age that some historians believe was violent, sudden and culturally disruptive...
in the eastern Mediterranean. Through trading and conquest, Mycenaean civilization spread its influence from Mycenae
Mycenae
Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 11 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north...
to many parts of the Mediterranean region and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Mycenaean bronze double axes and other objects (Rillaton Barrow
Rillaton barrow
Rillaton barrow is a Bronze Age round barrow in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The site is on the eastern flank of Bodmin Moor in the parish of Linkinhorne approximately four miles north of Liskeard....
, Pelynt
Pelynt
Pelynt is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated 20 miles west of Plymouth and four miles west-northwest of Looe. Pelynt has a population of around 1,124 ....
Dagger) dating from 13th century BCE have been found in Ireland and in Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
and Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, proving the earliest Greek contact with Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
Early Greek settlement
The first known Greek to come to Britain was PytheasPytheas
Pytheas of Massalia or Massilia , was a Greek geographer and explorer from the Greek colony, Massalia . He made a voyage of exploration to northwestern Europe at about 325 BC. He travelled around and visited a considerable part of Great Britain...
. He reported its name as Pretannia, which became Britannia, it is assumed that its Hellenised version was under Diodorus. It may have been used by some of the local peoples where Pytheas landed to themselves -Pretani. Many Greeks later arrived with the Roman legions as soldiers and traders, and their presence is attested by inscriptions on curse tablets, gravestones and dedicatory tablets in both Greek and Latin displayed in the Museum of London
Museum of London
The Museum of London documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day. The museum is located close to the Barbican Centre, as part of the striking Barbican complex of buildings created in the 1960s and 70s as an innovative approach to re-development within a bomb damaged...
and elsewhere, including:
A ALFID POMP OLVSSA EX TESTAMENTO HER POS ANNOR LXX NA ATHENVI H S EST
"Aulus Alfidius Pompolussa, as stated in his will, his heirs placed this. Seventy years old, a native of Athens, he lies here."
I O M TEMPLVM VETVSTATE CONLABSVM AQVILINVS AVG LIB ET MERCATOR ET AVDAX ET GRAEC RESTITVER
"For Jupiter Best and Greatest, this temple, collapsed through old age, was restored by Aquilinus, freedman of the emperor, a trader, a man of courage, a Greek."
and two dedicatory plaques found in York beneath what is now the railway station stating that:
ΩΚΕΑΝΟΙ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΘΥΙ ΔΕΜΗΤΡΙΟΣ
"To Oceanus and Tethys, Demetrius [dedicates this]."
and
THEOIS TOIS TOU HEGEMONIKOU PRAITORION SCRIBONIOS DEMETRIOS
"To the gods of the governor's headquarters, Scribonius Demetrius [dedicates this]."
As far north as Cumbria, we find the tomb of Hermes of Commagene:
"Let some traveller, on seeing Hermes of Commagene, aged 16 years, sheltered in the tomb by fate, call out: I give you my greetings, lad, though mortal the path of life you slowly tread, for swiftly have you winged your way to the land of the Cimmerian folk. Nor will your words be false, for the lad is good, and you will do him a good service."
Indeed, the Roman city of Carlisle, judging by surviving inscriptions, seems to have been home to a thriving Greek community. It is a matter of historical record then, that Greek was being spoken in England hundreds of years before the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
or Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
peoples ever reached its shores.
In the 7th Century AD, following the death of the previous holder of the post, the Greek Theodore of Tarsus
Theodore of Tarsus
Theodore was the eighth Archbishop of Canterbury, best known for his reform of the English Church and establishment of a school in Canterbury....
was appointed Head of the Anglican Church as Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
(669 AD); he played an important part in the early history of England, building churches and monasteries and establishing theological studies. According to the Venerable Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
, Theodore contributed to the bringing of a greater unity to English Christianity, and in 672 presided over the first council of the entire English Church, at Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
. The structure of dioceses and parishes he put in place is still substantially in place today.
Middle ages
The ByzantineByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
ruler Manuel II
Manuel II Palaiologos
Manuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus was Byzantine Emperor from 1391 to 1425.-Life:...
visited England in 1400, where he was received by Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
at Eltham Palace
Eltham Palace
Eltham Palace is a large house in Eltham, within the London Borough of Greenwich, South East London, England. It is an unoccupied royal residence and owned by the Crown Estate. In 1995 its management was handed over to English Heritage which restored the building in 1999 and opened it to the public...
.
A Greek presence in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
was recorded with the two brothers, Andronikos and Alexios Effomatos - described in contemporary records as "Grekes" - who were known to have been resident in London in 1440. They were from Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, the capital of Byzantium.
In 1445, the king of England, Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
(1421–1471), granted the brothers permission to remain in London and to practise their trade of gold wire drawing. They made a costly type of thread in which thin strands of gold were intertwined with silk, and which was then used in expensive luxury fabrics and in sacerdotal vestments, a craft for which Constantinople had been famous in its heyday. Thanks to this royal grant, the brothers remained in London for many years. They lived first in the area of Cripplegate
Cripplegate
Cripplegate was a city gate in the London Wall and a name for the region of the City of London outside the gate. The area was almost entirely destroyed by bombing in World War II and today is the site of the Barbican Estate and Barbican Centre...
, much of which is now covered by the Barbican Centre
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the City of London, England, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory...
, and later they moved to Broad Street, in what was then the Italian quarter of London. Andronikos, the elder, died in about 1472, but Alexios was still there in 1484, over forty years after his first arrival.
That set the pattern for Greek settlement over the next two hundred years. Some Greco-Albanian immigrants came as soldiers during the reign of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, led by the officers Theodore Luchisi, Antonios Stesinos, and Colonel Thomas Buas, responsible for the garrisoning of the then-English possession of Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
. Some came as visitors for a short period. In about 1545, Nikandros Noukios of Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
spent time in London and left an interesting account of his impressions. Indeed, he followed as a non-combatant an English invasion of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
where the English forces included Greeks from Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
under the leadership of Thomas of Argos whose 'Courage, and prudence, and experience of wars' was lauded by the Corfiot traveller.
17th century
The descendants of the imperial Palaeologus dynasty carved out a niche as mercenary officers in Britain, and their tombs are still visible in locations as far apart - both geographically and in terms of social standing - as Westminster AbbeyWestminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
and Landulph
Landulph
Landulph is a hamlet and a rural civil parish in south-east Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated about 3 miles north of Saltash in the St Germans Registration District....
parish church, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. A number of Palaeologi fought against each other as high-ranking officers for both sides in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
.
Early Modern Greco-Britons were not solely soldiers. A few individuals settled permanently, such as a native of Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
called Konstantinos Benetos, who was recorded as living in Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. From 1900 to 1965 it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance...
between 1530 and 1578. These visitors, refugees and occasional long- term residents did not, as yet, constitute a community. They were too few, too obscure and too transitory, and above all they lacked the one thing that would have given them cohesion and a common identity: a church where they could practise their Orthodox faith.
Nikodemos Metaxas
Metaxas
Metaxās is Greek for a silk grower or trader. It may refer to:* Metaxas Line, fortifications in northeastern Greece in 1935-1940* Metaxas, Greece, a village in the Greek region of Macedonia* Metaxa, a Greek brandy-based liqueur...
, a printer by trade, worked in London for a time in the 1620s. Some came as refugees, seeking asylum or financial help as a result of misfortunes suffered under Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
rule. One of them was Gregorios Argyropoulos, the owner of an estate near Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
. When a Turkish
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
soldier was accidentally killed on Argyropoulos' land, the Ottoman authorities held him responsible and forced him to flee overseas and eventually to London in 1633. A charitable collection was made for him in London churches, and he was presented with £48 before he departed the following year.
By the late seventeenth century, matters had changed. A number of Greeks now occupied prominent positions in London life. Constantinos Rodocanachi of Chios
Chios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
had become one of the physicians to King Charles II (163 I -I 685) (PI. 1). Georgios Constantinos of Skopelos
Skopelos
Skopelos , ancient Peparethos or Peparethus , is a Greek island in the western Aegean Sea. Skopelos is one of several islands which comprise the Northern Sporades island group. The island is located east of mainland Greece, northeast of the island of Euboea and is part of the Thessaly Periphery....
had established the Grecian coffeehouse in Devereux court, just off the Strand
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
, and he could count Sir Isaac Newton and other members of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
among his clientele. Numbers had also increased. The expansion of Britain's overseas trade with the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
brought many more merchant ships to the port of London, some of them crewed by Greeks. The time was therefore ripe to press for the establishment of a Greek Church.
The first documented organised Greek Orthodox community was established in London in the 1670s, with the first Greek Orthodox Church in London being erected in 1677, in Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
, on the corner of Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus and then becomes Tottenham Court Road...
and Greek Street
Greek Street
Greek Street is a street in Soho, London, leading south from Soho Square to Shaftesbury Avenue. The street is famous for its restaurants and cosmopolitan nature.-History:...
. The church was dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin and was consecrated by the Metropolitan of Samos, Joseph Georgerinis. Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
also became home to a Greek community centred on what is now Worcester College, which was known as 'Greek College' for much of the 17th century. The Greek College was founded by Lord Paget, then ambassador to Constantinople, though recruitment of Greek students was halted in 1705 because " 'the irregular life of some priests and laymen of the Greek Church living in London has greatly disturbed the Greek Orthodox Church. Therefore the Church has also prevented those who wish to go and study at Oxford.'"
19th century
In the 19th century, two events drew Greeks towards Britain; commercial potential after the defeat of Napoleon, and the Diaspora, in which the Greek War of IndependenceGreek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
saw a wave of emigres settle in Britain. Initially trading in shipping and commodities, most of these families were from Chios
Chios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
and Constantinople, and settled around Finsbury Square
Finsbury Square
Finsbury Square is a square in central London. It was developed in 1777 on the site of a previous area of green space to the east of London known as Finsbury Fields, in the parish of St Luke's and near Moorfields. It is sited on the east side of City Road, opposite the east side of Bunhill Fields....
in London, close to the commercial heart of the shipping industry; the Baltic Exchange
Baltic Exchange
The Baltic Exchange is the world's only independent source of maritime market information for the trading and settlement of physical and derivative contracts...
and Lloyds of London. Others settled in the commercial cities of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, and later Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. They were joined by other Greeks from the Aegean, Ionan, Smyrna, Athens and beyond. As they prospered these Greek merchants began to settle in London's Bayswater
Bayswater
Bayswater is an area of west London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the west . It is a built-up district located 3 miles west-north-west of Charing Cross, bordering the north of Hyde Park over Kensington Gardens and having a population density of...
and established permanent institutions such as the Greek necropolis at Norwood
West Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery is a cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery.One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries of London, and is a site of major historical, architectural and...
in 1842, a Greek school and the Greek Orthodox church, later Cathedral of Aghia Sophia
Saint Sophia (London)
Saint Sophia Cathedral is a Greek Orthodox church on Moscow Road in the Bayswater area of London.It was consecrated as the Church of St Sophia on 5 February 1882 by Antonios, Archbishop of Corfu, as a focus for the prosperous Greek community that had settled in London, particularly around...
in 1877.
Britain gained control over Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
on 4 June 1878 as a result of the Cyprus Convention
Cyprus Convention
The Cyprus Convention of 4 June, 1878 was a secret agreement reached between the United Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire which granted control of Cyprus to Great Britain in exchange for their support of the Ottomans during the Congress of Berlin...
and formally annexed it in 1913. Greek Cypriots began to settle in London only from the 1930s. The earliest migrants came to the area around Soho, and many more arrived at the end of the Second World War. As rents in the West End increased, Camden and Fulham became popular areas for Greek-Cypriot migrants. Women initially worked from home in industries such as dressmaking. By the 1960s, a Greek language school and Greek Orthodox church, St Nicholas, had been established in Fulham
Fulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
.
Population
It is estimated that the Greek population of London numbered several thousand by 1870 AD, whereas in 1850 AD it numbered just a few hundred.The 2001 UK Census recorded 35,169 British residents born in Greece and 77,673 born in Cyprus, although the latter includes Turkish
Turkish Cypriots
Turkish Cypriots are the ethnic Turks and members of the Turkish-speaking ethnolinguistic community of the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The term is used to refer explicitly to the indigenous Turkish Cypriots, whose Ottoman Turkish forbears colonised the island in 1571...
as well as Greek Cypriots. Recent estimates suggest that up to 400,000 ethnic Greeks may reside in the UK. The Office for National Statistics
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
estimates that, as of 2009, the Greek-born population of the UK was 29,000.
Distribution
The 2001 Census recorded 12,360 Greek-born people living in London, with particular concentrations in the Hyde ParkHyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, Regent's Park
Regent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...
, Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
and Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
Census tract
Census tract
A census tract, census area, or census district is a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census. Usually these coincide with the limits of cities, towns or other administrative areas and several tracts commonly exist within a county...
s. There are also large Greek communities in Sunderland, Moss Side
Moss Side
Moss Side is an inner-city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre and has a population of around 17,537...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
. Generally, clusters of Cypriot-born people are found in the same locations as Turkish-born people, with 60 per cent living in areas of London with notable Turkish communities. The Census tracts with the highest number of Cypriot-born people in 2001 were Palmers Green
Palmers Green
Palmers Green is a place in the London Borough of Enfield. It is a suburban area situated 7.6 miles north of Charing Cross. Postally, it is in London N13...
, Upper Edmonton
Edmonton, London
Edmonton is an area in the east of the London Borough of Enfield, England, north-north-east of Charing Cross. It has a long history as a settlement distinct from Enfield.-Location:...
, Cockfosters
Cockfosters
Cockfosters is a suburb of North London, lying partly in the London Borough of Enfield and partly in the London Borough of Barnet. The counties of Hertfordshire and Middlesex respectively are still used in postal addresses.The name has been recorded as far back as 1524, and is thought to be either...
, Lower Edmonton, Tottenham
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
North and Tottenham South. Many Greek-Cypriots reside in Wood Green
Wood Green
Wood Green is a district in north London, England, located in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated north of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London.-History:...
, Green Lanes
Green Lanes
Green Lanes, London, is a main road in North London and forms part of the A105. At approximately 7.5 miles from end to end, it is one of the longest streets in the capital....
and Palmers Green, the latter habouring the largest community of Greek-Cypriots outside Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, resulting in these areas bearing local nicknames whereby the Green is replaced by Greek – as in Greek Lanes and Palmers Greek.
According to a City of London Corporation sponsored report, there are between 28,600 and 31,000 Greek speakers in Greater London.
Students
There is a considerable number of Greek students studying in the UK. According to the official UK Higher Education Statistics Agency statistics, 16,050 Greek students attended UK universities in 2006/07, making Greece the fourth most common country of origin amongst overseas students in 2006/07, after ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
.
Further reading
G.F. Bartle, 'The Greek boys at Borough Road during the War of Independence', Journal of Educational Administration and History 20 (1988), 1-11P.A. Bezodis, 'The Greek church (later St. Mary's Crown Street) and St. Martin's Almshouses', in Survey of London, 44 vols. (London, 1900–94), xxxiii. 278-84
Robert Browning, 'Some early Greek visitors to England', in Essays in Memory of Basil Laourdas (Thessaloniki, 1975), pp. 387–95
Timotheos Catsiyannis, The Greek Community of London (London, 1993)
Timotheos Catsiyannis, Pandias Stephen Rallis, 1793-1865 (London, 1986)
Maria Christina Chatziioannou, 'Greek merchants in Victorian England', in Greek Diaspora and Migration since 1700, ed. Dimitris Tziovas (Aldershot, 2009), pp. 45–60
Chatziioannou Maria Christina (2010) Mediterranean pahtways of Greek merchants to Victorian England, The Historical Review, Institute for Neohellenic Research, Vol. VII, pp. 213-237
Michael Constantinides, The Greek Orthodox Church in London (London, 1933)
P.M. Doll (ed.), Anglicanism and Orthodoxy 300 Years after the ‘Greek College’ in Oxford (Oxford and Bern, 2000)
T.E. Dowling and E.W. Fletcher, Hellenism in England (London, 1915)
Evangelia Georgitsoyanni, 'An unknown verse newspaper of the Greek diaspora', Analele Universitstii "Stefan Cel Mare" Suceava: Serie Filologie B. Literatura 11 (2005), 45-64
Jonathan Harris, 'The Grecian Coffee House and political debate in London, 1688-1714', The London Journal 25 (2000), 1-13
Jonathan Harris, Greek Emigres in the West, 1400-1520 (Camberley, 1995)
Jonathan Harris, 'Silent Minority: the Greek Community of Eighteenth-Century London', in Greek Diaspora and Migration since 1700, ed. Dimitris Tziovas (Aldershot, 2009), pp. 31–43
Jonathan Harris, 'Two Byzantine craftsmen in fifteenth century London', Journal of Medieval History 21 (1995), 387-403
Jonathan Harris and Heleni Porphyriou, ‘The Greek diaspora: Italian port cities and London, c.1400-1700’, in Cities and Cultural Transfer in Europe: 1400-1700, ed. Donatella Calabi and Stephen Turk Christensen (Cambridge, 2007), pp. 65–86
Alan Haynes, 'Greek nationals in England 1400-1705', History Today 29 (1979), 179-87
George Kakavas (ed.), Treasured Offerings. The Legacy of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sophia, London (Athens, 2002)
Demetrius Mangreotis, 'The demographic history of the Greek mercantile community in London, 1837-1881', Historica 6 (1986), 349-68 (in Greek)
External links
- A short history of the Greek presence in pre-20th century London
- Greek Cypriot wine festival
- London Greek Radio
- Greek London online magazine
- Greek London online magazine
- Union of Greek students in London
- The Hellenic Centre, promoting Hellenic Culture in the UK
- London Festival of Greek Drama
- Parikia - Newspapers for the UK Greek community
- Parikia Directory - Promoting Greek and Cypriot Businesses in the UK
- The Archdiocese of Thyatira and Great Britain