Editing Cheapside

{{Short description|Street in the City of London}}
{{About|the street in London||Cheapside (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
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| footer = Cheapside in 1909 (left (above in mobile)), looking west and in 2005 (right (below in mobile)), looking east. The church in the background of each is [[St Mary-le-Bow]].
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'''Cheapside''' is a street in the [[City of London]], the historic and modern financial centre of [[London]], England, which forms part of the [[A40 road|A40 London to Fishguard road]]. It links [[St Martin's Le Grand]] with [[Poultry, London|Poultry]]. Near its eastern end at [[Bank Junction]], where it becomes Poultry, is [[Mansion House, London|Mansion House]], the [[Bank of England]], and [[Bank–Monument station|Bank station]]. To the west is [[St Paul's Cathedral]], [[St Paul's tube station]] and square.

In the [[Middle Ages]], it was known as Westcheap, as opposed to [[Eastcheap]], another street in the City, near [[London Bridge]]. The boundaries of the [[Wards of the City of London|wards]] of [[Cheap (ward)|Cheap]], [[Cordwainer (ward)|Cordwainer]] and [[Bread Street]] run along Cheapside and Poultry; prior to boundary changes in 2003 the road was divided amongst [[Farringdon Within]] and [[Cripplegate]] wards<ref>'Cripplegate, one of the 26 Wards of the City of London' [[Sir John Baddeley, 1st Baronet|Baddesley, J.J.]] p. 50: London: Blades, East & Blades; 1921</ref> in addition to the current three.

The contemporary Cheapside is the location of a range of retail and food outlets and offices, as well as the City's only major shopping centre, [[One New Change]].

==Etymology and usage==
[[File:ONL (1887) 1.313 - Cheapside Cross, as it appeared in 1547.jpg|thumb|The 1547 coronation procession of [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]] passing the [[Eleanor cross]] in Cheapside (West Cheap)]]

''Cheapside'' is a common English street name, meaning "market place", from [[Old English]] ''ceapan'', "to buy" (cf. German ''kaufen'', Dutch ''kopen'', Danish ''købe'', Norwegian ''kjøpe'', Swedish ''köpa''), whence also ''[[chapmen|chapman]]'' and ''[[chapbook]].''<ref>William Toone, ''A Glossary and Etymological Dictionary: Of Obsolete and Uncommon Words'' (Bennett: London, 1834)</ref> There was originally no connection to the modern meaning of ''cheap'' ("low-priced" or "low-quality", a shortening of ''good ceap'', "good buy"), though by the 18th century this association may have begun to be inferred.

Other cities and towns in England that have a Cheapside include [[Ambleside]], [[Ascot, Berkshire|Ascot]], [[Barnsley]], [[Birmingham]], [[Blackpool]], [[Bradford]], [[Brighton]], [[Bristol]], [[Derby]], [[Halifax, West Yorkshire|Halifax]], [[Hanley, Staffordshire|Hanley]], [[Knaresborough]], [[Lancaster, Lancashire|Lancaster]], [[Leicester]], [[Liverpool]], [[Luton]], [[Manchester]], [[Nottingham]], [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]], [[Settle, North Yorkshire|Settle]], [[Wakefield]] and [[Wolverhampton]]. There is also a Cheapside in [[Bridgetown]], Barbados; [[Lexington, Kentucky]], US; [[Greenfield, Massachusetts]], US; [[Saint Helier]], Jersey; and [[London, Ontario]], Canada.

==History==
[[File:Cheapside in 1823. Engraved by T.M. Baynes from a drawing by W. Duryer.JPG|thumb|Cheapside in 1823, looking west towards [[St Paul's Cathedral]]]]
[[File:Cheapside and Bow Church engraved by W.Albutt after T.H.Shepherd publ 1837 edited.jpg|thumb|A view of Cheapside published in 1837]]
[[File:Cheapside photochrom2.jpg|thumb|[[Photochrom]] of Cheapside, c. 1890–1900]]

Cheapside is the former site of one of the principal [[farmers' market|produce markets]] in London, ''cheap'' broadly meaning "market" in medieval English. Many of the streets feeding into the main thoroughfare are named after the produce that was once sold in those areas of the market, including Honey Lane, Milk Street, [[Bread Street]] and [[Poultry, London|Poultry]].

In medieval times, the royal processional route from the [[Tower of London]] to the [[Palace of Westminster]] would include Cheapside. During state occasions such as the first entry of [[Margaret of France, Queen of England|Margaret of France]] (second wife of [[Edward I of England|King Edward I]]), into London in September 1299, the conduits of Cheapside customarily flowed with wine.<ref>Williamson, D. (1986), ''Kings and Queens of Britain'', p. 75, Salem House, {{ISBN|0-88162-213-3}}.</ref>

During the reign of [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] in the 14th century, tournaments were held in adjacent fields. The dangers were, however, not limited to the participants: a wooden stand built to accommodate [[Philippa of Hainault|Queen Philippa]] and her companions collapsed during a tournament to celebrate the birth of the [[Edward, the Black Prince|Black Prince]] in 1330. No one died, but the King was greatly displeased, and the stand's builders would have been put to death but for the Queen's intercession.

In the early 1300s one of the armourers working in the area was [[Alice la Haubergere]], who owned an armour shop and made her role within the occupation part of her identity, which was unusual for the period.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-10 |title=The Women who Forged Medieval England {{!}} History Today |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/history-matters/women-who-forged-medieval-england |access-date=2024-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240910134319/https://www.historytoday.com/archive/history-matters/women-who-forged-medieval-england |archive-date=10 September 2024 }}</ref>

On the day preceding her coronation, in January 1559, [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] passed through a number of London streets in a pre-coronation procession and was entertained by a number of pageants, including one in Cheapside.

Meat was brought in to Cheapside from [[Smithfield, London|Smithfield market]], just outside [[Newgate]]. After the great [[St Michael-le-Querne|Church of St Michael-le-Querne]], the top end of the street broadened into a [[dual carriageway]] known as [[the Shambles]] (referring to an open-air [[slaughterhouse]] and meat market), with butcher shops on both sides and a dividing central area also containing butchers. Further down, on the right, was Goldsmiths Row, an area of [[commodity]] [[merchant|dealer]]s. From the 14th century to the [[Great Fire of London|Great Fire]], the eastern end of Cheapside was the location of the [[Great Conduit]].

==Literary connections==

Cheapside was the birthplace of both [[John Milton]] and [[Robert Herrick (poet)|Robert Herrick]]. It was for a long time one of the most important streets in London. It is also the site of the 'Bow Bells', the [[St Mary-le-Bow|church of St Mary-le-Bow]], which has played a part in London's [[Cockney]] heritage and the tale of [[Dick Whittington]]. [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] grew up around Cheapside and there are a scattering of references to the thoroughfare and its environs throughout his work. The first chapter of [[Peter Ackroyd]]'s ''Brief Lives'' series on Chaucer also colourfully describes the street at that time.<ref>[http://www.randomhouse.com/nanatalese/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385507974&view=excerpt Ackroyd, Peter (2005). ''Chaucer'' (biography), chapter 1] at Random House.com</ref>

[[William Shakespeare]] used Cheapside as the setting for several bawdy scenes in ''[[Henry IV, Part I]]''. A reference to it is also made in ''[[Henry VI, Part II]]'', in a speech by the rebel [[Jack Cade]]: "all the realm shall be in common; and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to grass".

[[Thomas Middleton]]'s play ''[[A Chaste Maid in Cheapside]]'' (1613) both satirises and celebrates the citizens of the neighbourhood during the Renaissance, when the street hosted the city's goldsmiths.

[[William Wordsworth]], in his 1797 poem ''The Reverie of Poor Susan'', imagines a naturalistic Cheapside of past:

{{Quote
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And a river flows on through the vale of Cheapside.
}}

[[Jane Austen]], in her 1813 novel ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'', characterises Cheapside as a London neighbourhood frowned upon by the landed elite:<ref>[http://www.pemberley.com/etext/PandP/chapter8.htm Austen, Jane (1813). ''Pride and Prejudice'', chapter 8] at Pemberley.com</ref>

{{Quote
|
"I think I have heard you say that their uncle is an attorney in Meryton."

"Yes; and they have another, who lives somewhere near Cheapside."

"That is capital," added her sister, and they both laughed heartily.

"If they had uncles enough to fill all Cheapside," cried Bingley, "it would not make them one jot less agreeable."

"But it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world," replied Darcy.
|sign=|source=}}

[[Charles Dickens Jr.]] wrote in his 1879 book ''[[Charles Dickens Jr.#Dickens's Dictionary of London|Dickens's Dictionary of London]]'':

<blockquote>Cheapside remains now what it was five centuries ago, the greatest thoroughfare in the City of London. Other localities have had their day, have risen, become fashionable, and have sunk into obscurity and neglect, but Cheapside has maintained its place, and may boast of being the busiest thoroughfare in the world, with the sole exception perhaps of [[London Bridge|London-<!--SIC-->bridge]].<ref>
{{Cite web
 | author      = Dickens, Charles Jr.
 | year        = 1879
 | title       = Cheapside
 | work        = [[Dickens's Dictionary of London]]
 | url         = http://www.victorianlondon.org/dickens/dickens-chr.htm
 | access-date  = 2007-08-22
 | author-link        = Charles Dickens Jr.
}}
</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Cheapside and St. Mary-Le-Bow church, City of London - geograph.org.uk - 517805.jpg|thumb|Cheapside in 1979]]

[[Hugh Lofting]]'s book ''[[Doctor Dolittle]]'', published in 1951, names a quarrelsome London sparrow with a Cockney accent Cheapside. He lives most of the year in St Edmund's left ear in St Paul's Cathedral and is invited to the African country of Fantippo to deliver mail to cities because the other birds are not able to navigate city streets.

Cheapside is also depicted in [[Rosemary Sutcliff]]'s 1951 children's historical novel ''[[The Armourer's House]]'', along with other parts of [[Tudor London]].

In a more contemporary treatment, the Cheapside of the Middle Ages was referenced in a derogatory sense in the 2001 movie ''[[A Knight's Tale (film)|A Knight's Tale]]'' as being the poor, unhealthy and low-class birthplace and home of the unlikely hero.

Nineteenth century Cheapside is presented as the home of Mary "Jacky" Faber in ''[[Bloody Jack (novel)|Bloody Jack]]'' by [[L. A. Meyer]].

Additionally, Cheapside is depicted as a major setting in the bestselling novel by [[Maria McCann]], ''As Meat Loves Salt'', a historical feature set against the English Civil War.<ref>{{cite book|last=McCann|first=Maria|title=As Meat Loves Salt|year=2001|publisher=Flamingo/Harcourt|location=United Kingdom/Florida|isbn=978-0-15-601226-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/asmeatlovessalt00mcca_0/page/565 565]|url=https://archive.org/details/asmeatlovessalt00mcca_0/page/565|df=dmy-all|url-access=registration}}</ref>

[[William Gibson]]'s mystery novel ''[[The Peripheral]]'' depicts a 22nd-century Cheapside converted to a Victorian-era [[cosplay]] zone where only 19th century costume is allowed.

==Contemporary Cheapside==
[[File:Cheapside, London.JPG|thumb|Cheapside in 2012]]

Cheapside today is a street of offices and developments of retail outlets. It can no longer be described as "the busiest thoroughfare in the world" (as in Charles Dickens, Jr.'s day) and is instead simply one of many routes connecting the [[East End of London|East End]] and the City of London with the [[West End of London|West End]].

Cheapside was extensively damaged during [[The Blitz]] in late 1940 and particularly during the [[Second Great Fire of London]]. Much of the rebuilding following these raids occurred during the 1950s and 1960s and included a number of unsympathetic contemporary attempts at recreating the centuries-old architecture that had been destroyed. In recent years many of these buildings have themselves been demolished as a programme of regeneration takes place along Cheapside from [[Paternoster Square]] to [[Poultry, London|Poultry]].

The draft Core Strategy of the City's [[Local Development Frameworks]] outlines the vision and policies for the Cheapside area, aiming to increase the amount of retail space along and near the street, and make the area a good environment for visitors and shoppers. The plan is to re-establish the street as the City's "High Street", including as a weekend shopping destination (until recently many retail units in the City were closed on Saturday and Sunday).<ref>[http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/114DE61F-E5C0-4ABE-982E-7CF262D6A907/0/CoreStrategyAppendicesPDF.pdf City of London Corporation] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612210149/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/114DE61F-E5C0-4ABE-982E-7CF262D6A907/0/CoreStrategyAppendicesPDF.pdf |date=12 June 2011 }} draft Core Strategy, accessed July 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Environment_and_planning/Urban_design/Street_scene_challenge/Projects_in_the_pipeline/Cheapside+Area.htm City of London Corporation]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613135838/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Environment_and_planning/Urban_design/Street_scene_challenge/Projects_in_the_pipeline/Cheapside%2BArea.htm |date=13 June 2010 }} Cheapside area improvements</ref> A major retail and office development at the heart of the scheme, [[One New Change]], opened 28 October 2010.<ref name="FT">{{cite news|last=Thomas|first=Daniel|title=Retail centre gambles on Square Mile|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fa51f4be-e1f1-11df-a064-00144feabdc0.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fa51f4be-e1f1-11df-a064-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=29 October 2010|newspaper=Financial Times|date=27 October 2010}}</ref> It is sited on Cheapside at the intersection with New Change, immediately to the east of St Paul's Cathedral.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.onenewchange.com/|title=One new change|website=www.onenewchange.com}}</ref><ref>[http://www.incheapside.com/default.aspx?CATID=360 InCheapside] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713024233/http://www.incheapside.com/default.aspx?CATID=360 |date=13 July 2011 }} One New Change</ref>

To address the anticipated rise in the number of shoppers as a result of the regeneration, the street itself has undergone reconstruction works to make the area more sympathetic to pedestrian traffic; the works are expected to make Cheapside the main shopping area in the City of London.

Cheapside formed part of the [[2012 Olympic Marathon Course|marathon course]] of the [[2012 Summer Olympics|2012 Olympic]] and [[2012 Summer Paralympics|Paralympic]] Games. The women's Olympic marathon took place on 5 August and the men's Olympic marathon took place on 12 August. The four Paralympic marathons were held on 9 September.<ref>[http://www.london2012.com/athletics/event/men-marathon/coursemap/ 2012 London Olympics Men's Marathon: course map] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430135742/http://www.london2012.com/athletics/event/men-marathon/coursemap/ |date=30 April 2013 }} and [http://www.london2012.com/athletics/event/women-marathon/coursemap/ Women's Marathon: course map] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502180801/http://www.london2012.com/athletics/event/women-marathon/coursemap/ |date=2 May 2013 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Eleanor cross]]

==References==
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'''Sources''' <!--ALPHABETICALLY-->

* ''A Glossary and Etymological Dictionary: Of Obsolete and Uncommon Words'' William Toone (Bennett: London, 1834)
* ''Kings and Queens of Britain'', Williamson, D. (1986), Salem House, {{ISBN|0-88162-213-3}}.

'''Endnotes'''

{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Cheapside, London}}
* [http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/Archive/cheapsd.htm View, looking eastwards, of Cheapside in early Stuart times, showing the Cheapside Cross and the Standard]
* [http://www.incheapside.com The Cheapside Initiative official website]

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[[Category:Streets in the City of London]]
[[Category:History of the City of London]]