Leadenhall Street

Leadenhall Street (/ˈlɛdənˌhɔːl/) is a road in London that is about 0.3 miles (500 m) long and links Cornhill and Bishopsgate in the west to St. Botolph Street and Aldgate in the east. It is situated in the City of London, which is the historic nucleus of modern London as well its primary financial district.

The Leadenhall Street Mosaic is a Romano-British mosaic from the first or second century and was discovered during building work on the premises of the East India Company. The design of the floor was recorded, and it was lifted in sections. The surviving pieces were eventually transferred to the British Museum in 1880.

The surviving medallion depicts Bacchus astride a tigress; in his left hand Bacchus holds a thyrsus upright with its terminal resting on his left thigh, his right arm rests across the shoulders of the tigress and in his right hand is a tilted white goblet outlined dark grey. On his head he wears a wreath of vine leaves. The tigress’ left paw is held high as if she is striding.

It was formerly the start of the A11 road from London to Norwich, but that route now originates on Aldgate High Street, just east of Leadenhall Street. Originally, the A11 started at the Bank of England in the City of London, next to Bank Underground station, and went eastwards along Cornhill and Leadenhall Street, past Aldgate Pump and along Aldgate. Hence leading to the current A11 starting point at Aldgate.

The Aldgate Pump is located at the east end of the street. During much of the 18th and 19th centuries its name was synonymous with the East India Company, which had its headquarters there. Today it is perhaps most widely associated with the insurance industry and particularly the Lloyd's insurance market, whose 1928-1958 building fronted onto the street, and whose current building since 1986 also has an entrance on Leadenhall Street.

The nearest London Underground station is Aldgate (Circle and Metropolitan lines), and the closest mainline railway station is Fenchurch Street.

Notable buildings and companies

A picture of Leadenhall Street (engraving after Thomas H. Shepherd, 1837)

The Leadenhall Press was established following a move of the publisher Field & Tuer to No. 50 Leadenhall Street in 1868.

In 1879 a telephone exchange was installed at No. 101 Leadenhall Street by The Telephone Company (Bells Patents) Ltd. – one of the first in London.

The street was home to East India House from 1729 until its demolition in 1861; that site is now occupied by Lloyd's of London. Leadenhall Market is accessible via Whittington Avenue, a small side-road off Leadenhall Street.

The London Metal Exchange is located at No. 56, opposite the church of St. Katharine Cree, which dates from 1631 and was made a Grade I listed building in 1950.

Several major companies are headquartered on Leadenhall Street, including Xchanging, Ace European Group, Digital Guardian EMEA, and Allianz Global Risks. Due to the proximity of Lloyd's, a number of other insurance firms and brokers also have offices on Leadenhall Street. The Leadenhall Building, located at No. 122 and opposite the Lloyd's building, is a 48-storey skyscraper, used as the venue for the BBC's The Apprentice interviews. The Scalpel, a 38-storey skyscraper at 52-54 Lime Street is being constructed at the junction of Leadenhall Street and Lime Street. A new office development including a tower of 34 storeys has been proposed for 40 Leadenhall Street.

See also

• Fenchurch Street
• Lime Street
• St Mary Axe

References

• Google Maps

External links

Media related to Leadenhall Street at Wikimedia Commons