Ironmonger Lane is a narrow lane in the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

 running roughly north-south between Gresham Street

Gresham Street

Gresham Street, in the City of London, is named after Thomas Gresham and runs from St. Martin's Le Grand near St Paul's Cathedral in the west, past Guildhall, to Lothbury in the east...

 and Cheapside

Cheapside

Cheapside is a street in the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Street. To the east is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the major road junction above Bank tube station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St...

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History

Ironmonger Lane has kept the same name since at least the 12th century when it was recorded as Ysmongerlane; "isen" was a typical early London dialect variant of "iron". Its name indicated that it was the location of ironmongers, but John Stow

John Stow

John Stow was an English historian and antiquarian.-Early life:The son of Thomas Stow, a tallow-chandler, he was born about 1525 in London, in the parish of St Michael, Cornhill. His father's whole rent for his house and garden was only 6s. 6d. a year, and Stow in his youth fetched milk every...

, writing at the end of the 16th century, records that the ironmongers of Ironmonger Lane and Old Jewry

Old Jewry

Old Jewry is the name of a street in the City of London, in Coleman Street Ward, linking Gresham Street with The Poultry.William the Conqueror encouraged Jews to come to England soon after the Norman Conquest; some settled in cities throughout his new domain, including in London. According to Rev....

 had already moved to Thames Street

Thames Street (London)

Thames Street, divided into Lower and Upper Thames Street, is a historic road in the City of London. It is mentioned in the diary of Samuel Pepys.The first mention of the road is from AD 1013 when the Custom-house was founded on the street....

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Until the Great Fire of London

Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...

 of 1666 Ironmonger Lane was one of only two accesses to the Guildhall

Guildhall, London

The Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...

 (the other being Lawrence Lane), a matter which made the travel of dignitaries difficult as two vehicles could not pass each other. The problem was alleviated after the Fire when King Street was added by Sir Christopher Wren to provide an access to Cheapside

Cheapside

Cheapside is a street in the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Street. To the east is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the major road junction above Bank tube station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St...

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St Thomas Becket is said to have been born on the corner of Cheapside

Cheapside

Cheapside is a street in the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Street. To the east is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the major road junction above Bank tube station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St...

 and Ironmonger Lane. Mercers' Hall may lie on the same spot; it is a relatively modern building, the first hall having perished in the Fire and the second in the Blitz

The Blitz

The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...

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