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Database: The Map of Early Modern London
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TY - ELEC
A1 - Mann, Paisley
ED - Jenstad, Janelle
T1 - Love Lane (Thames Street)
T2 - The Map of Early Modern London
ET - 6.6
PY - 2021
DA - 2021/06/30
CY - Victoria
PB - University of Victoria
LA - English
UR - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/LOVE1.htm
UR - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/xml/standalone/LOVE1.xml
ER -
Love Lane (Thames Street) was situated
within Billingsgate Ward (or Belingsgate
) (Hughson 91). Billingsgate Ward is two wards to the west of the Tower of London. The Agas map shows
that the lane goes from north to south—up to St. Andrew Hubbard and down to Thames Street. It runs parallel to the streets St. Mary at Hill Street and Botolph Lane.
Programmer, 2018-present. Junior Programmer, 2015-2017. Research Assistant, 2014-2017. Joey Takeda was a graduate student at the University of British Columbia in the Department of English (Science and Technology research stream). He completed his BA honours in English (with a minor in Women’s Studies) at the University of Victoria in 2016. His primary research interests included diasporic and indigenous Canadian and American literature, critical theory, cultural studies, and the digital humanities.
Research Assistant, 2017-2019. Chase Templet was a graduate student at the University
of Victoria in the Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) stream. He was specifically
focused on early modern repertory studies and non-Shakespearean early modern drama,
particularly the works of
Data Manager, 2015-2016. Research Assistant, 2013-2015. Tye completed his undergraduate honours degree in English at the University of Victoria in 2015.
Director of Pedagogy and Outreach, 2015–present. Associate Project Director, 2015–present. Assistant Project Director, 2013-2014. MoEML Research Fellow, 2013. Kim McLean-Fiander comes to
Janelle Jenstad is Associate Professor of English at the University of Victoria, Director of
Programmer at the University of Victoria Humanities Computing and Media Centre (HCMC) who maintained the
Programmer at the University of Victoria Humanities Computing and Media Centre (HCMC). Martin ported the MOL project from its original PHP incarnation to a pure eXist database implementation in the fall of 2011. Since then, he has been lead programmer on the project and has also been responsible for maintaining the project schemas. He was a co-applicant on MoEML’s 2012 SSHRC Insight Grant.
Student contributor enrolled in
Merchant examined in Parliament in
Sheriff of London
Historian and author of
Architect, mathematician, and astronomer.
Billingsgate Ward is west of Tower Street Ward. The ward is named after Billingsgate, a water-gate and harbour on the Thames.
Thames Street was the longest street in early modern London, running east-west from the ditch around the Tower of London in the east to St. Andrew’s Hill and Puddle Wharf in the west, almost the complete span of the city within the walls.
Aldermanbury ran north-south, between Lad Lane in the south and Love Lane in the north and parallel between Wood Street in the west and Basinghall Street in the east. It lay wholly in Cripplegate Ward. This street is not to be confused with Alderman Bury, the former meeting place of the
St. Christopher le Stocks was originally built on Threadneedle Street on the banks of Walbrook before was dedicated to the patron saint of watermen
(Weinreb and Hibbert 751). The church has been known by many names, which include St. Christopher upon Cornhull
, St. Christopher in Bradestrete
, and St. Christopher near le Shambles
(Harben; BHO). Since the 14th century, the church has been known as some variant of St. Christopher le Stocks, which derives from its proximity to the Stocks Market. The church is not labelled, but is identifiable, on the Agas map.
The city of London, not to be confused with the allegorical character (
Pudding Lane is most famously known as the
starting point of the Great Fire of 1666. Pudding Lane ran south from Little Eastcheap down to Thames Street, with New Fish Street
(Newfyshe Streat) framing it on the west and
Botolph Lane on the east. The only
intersecting street on Pudding Lane is St. George’s Lane, and the nearby parishes include
St. Margaret, New Fish Street, St.
Magnus, St. Botolph, Billingsgate, St. George, and St.
Leonard, Eastcheap. On Ekwall’s map it is labeled as Rother (Pudding) Lane
after
Billingsgate (Bylynges gate or Belins Gate), a water-gate and harbour located on the north side
of the Thames between London Bridge
and the Tower of London, was
London’s principal dock in
Love Lane (Wood Street) ran east-west, connecting Aldermanbury in the east and Wood Street in the west. It ran parallel to Addle Street in the north and Lad Lane in the south. It lay within Cripplegate Ward, and is labelled as Lone la.
on the Agas map.
Wood Street ran north-south, connecting at its southernmost end with Cheapside Street and continuing northward to Little Wood Street, which led directly into Cripplegate. It crossed over Huggin Lane, Lad Lane, Maiden Lane (Wood Street), Love Lane, Addle Lane, and Silver Street, and ran parallel to Milk Street in the east and Gutter Lane in the west. Wood Street lay within Cripplegate Ward. It is labelled as Wood Streat
on the Agas map and is drawn in the correct position.
Cripplegate Ward is east of Aldersgate Ward and Farringdon Within Ward, encompassing area both inside and outside the Wall. The ward is named after Cripplegate.
Our editorial and encoding practices are documented in detail in the Praxis section of our website.
Location:
In early modern London, there were several streets with the name Love Lane,
although the exact number of them varies from account to account. Today,
there are numerous streets with variations on the name Love Lane. Eilert
Ekwall, in his dictionary of the City of London, lists four such streets,
one in Aldermanbury
(Ekwall
165). Gertrude Burford Rawlings suggests that there are ten Love
Lanes in the London district [i.e., Greater London], two Love Courts and one
Love Walk
(73). The modern
Love Lane (Thames Street) was situated
within Billingsgate Ward (or Belingsgate
) (Hughson 91). Billingsgate Ward is two wards to the west of the Tower of London. The Agas map shows
that the lane goes from north to south—up to St. Andrew Hubbard and down to Thames Street. It runs parallel to the streets St. Mary at Hill Street and Botolph Lane. next out of Thames
Streete is Lucas [Love]
lane, and then Buttolph lane,
and at the North end thereof Philpot
lane, then is Rother lane, of olde time so called, and thwart the same lane is little Eastcheape, and these be the
bounds of Billinsgate warde
(Stow 1:206). The street is included in
the parish of St. Mary-at-Hill, or St. Mary atte Hille
according to the
spelling of a 1458 record (Harben
371).
According to Henry Harben, the earliest mention of Love Lane (Thames Street) was in 1394, when it was referred to as
having formerly been called Roppelane
or Roperelane
(371). In
of old time called Roape lane, [and] since called Lucas laneafter an owner of nearby land, and then
corruptly called Loue Lane(Stow 1:210). This emphasis on the name being corrupt is of note. Stow refuses to refer to the lane by its contemporary name, continuing instead to use the archaic
Rope-lane, to
Lucas lane, to
Love lanewithout commenting that this latest change was
corrupt(86).
The use of the name Lucas Lane
, and then corruptly
called Love Lane (Thames Street) (Harben 371). Further substantiating this claim is
the evidence that the lane was in fact called Love Lane (Thames Street) in the early records. One theory is that
the name was changed from Roper
to Love
Lane around 1377. At that time,
in an ordinance for safeguarding the City, the Alderman of Billygnes-gate Ward was to guard the
wharf of
(Harben 371). Harben suggests that the name was
changed at this time in honour of the Love family, who were likely wealthy
members of the ward (371).
However, there are other hypotheses about the origin of the name Love
.
Harben records that it could have been named after contracted into Lukin, and
Lukins, and later converted into
Lucas
(371). This evidence suggests that Billingsgate Ward’s
Love Lane (Thames Street) has a different etymology
than other Love Lanes in London. This research is significant for the lane’s
reputation, because other Love lanes were so named for their brothels: in
the Middle Ages the wanton women of the City gathered in [Love Lane near Aldermanbury], seeking customers, and the street thereby acquired
its name
(Smith 129). Similarly,
a haunt of prostitutes in the Middle Ages(Weinreb and Hibbert 485). Gillian Bebbington in
Although a sordid reputation attaches to Love Lane in Cripplegate
Ward, many scholars argue that all Love Lanes should not be regarded
as sharing a similarly infamous history. For example, Rawlings states that
we may well believe that
and
hypothesizes that many, no doubt, were named from innocent everyday
romances
(73). Ekwall corroborates
Rawlings’ assertion, suggesting that while the name
(166). Ekwall points out that streets called Love
Lane in Swedish towns exclude the coarser meaning
and instead suggest a
lane where loving couples are wont to walk
(166). He extends this theory to the Love Lanes in
London, and considers Billingsgate Love
Lane to have this more innocent origin.
After the early modern period, Love Lane is mentioned in a 1683 text entitled
Come to the George you Epicurean Crew That love good Eating, there’s a Diſh that’s New ’tis an OLEO, a more Spermatick Meat, Not fit for every Son of Truckle Bed, Incipit, Dull, Illiterate Logerhead
In 1774, during excavations undertaken on Love Lane (Thames Street) for the building of a sugar warehouse, pieces of Roman bricks and ancient Saxon coins were found (Harben 371). In
calamitous fire in the citystarted on
Love Lane, Lower Thames Streetin the early morning at the
well-knowntavern called the Rose and Crown, at no. 17 Love Lane (Thames Street) (68). Love Lane was eventually shortened so that Monument Street could be formed (Harben 371).
The modern travel book
one of the City’s most atmospheric cobbled streets, once renowned for its brothels( 211). Interestingly, this statement contradicts what the aforementioned scholars suggest about this street. Although
le Stuehous, which demonstrates the lane’s connection with
wantons, he argues (Kingsford 2.311).
houses of Bordell(
See also: Chalfant 122.