East Smithfield

East Smithfield is a district located east of the City of London and northeast of the Tower of London. Its name derives from smoothfield , with the prefix east helping to differentiate it from the Smithfield northwest of Cripplegate (Harben). As time progressed, it transformed from what Stow describes as a plot of ground with very few houses into a densely populated area by the mid-seventeenth century (Stow; Harben).
The Agas map shows East Smithfield in its older, less populated state. It is located east of Little Tower Hill and is north of St. Katherine’s Lane. The district is identified by the label Easte Smith .

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