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Shoreditch (St. Leonard) in Middlesex County England History and GeographySHOREDITCH (ST. LEONARD), a parish in the Tower division of the hundred of OSSULSTONE, county of MIDDLESEX, adjoining the north-eastern portion of the metropolis, and, with Haggerstone and Hoxton, which, by a recent act of parliament, have been constituted distinct parishes, containing 52,966 inhabitants. This parish, in ancient records called Sordig, Soresdich, and Shordych, appears to have derived its name from the great common sewer, or ditch, which passed through it, and to have given name of the family of Sir John de Sordig, lord of the manor, and one of the ambassadors of Edward III. to Philip of France, more than a century prior to the time of Jane Shore, from whom, according to a legendary tradition, it is supposed to have been originally derived. The Roman military way leading from London wall to the ford at Hackney, passed through part of the churchyard, and there are still some vestiges of the old artillery ground, anciently a Roman Campus Martis, which was subsequently celebrated for archery and other military exercises practised there by the citizens of London, but now covered with houses. The parish, which is very extensive, consists of numerous streets connecting it with the metropolis, and of several ranges of building on the roads to Kingsland, Hackney, and Bethnal Green; it is well paved, lighted with gas, and amply supplied with water. There are some remains of ancient houses, but by far the greater number are of modern appearance, and many of them of recent erection. Among the more ancient is one near the bath of St. Agnes de Clare, rebuilt after the fire of London, in which the practice of inoculation for the small-pox was first brought to perfection, previously to the erection of the Small-pox hospital in the parish of St. Pancras, to which the original establishment was removed in 1765. The only branches of manufacture carried on in the parish are such as are connected with the silk-factories of the adjoining parish of Spitalfields, and there are several breweries, and some extensive foundries for church bells. The parish is within the jurisdiction of a court of requests for the Tower Hamlets, established under an act passed in the 23rd of George II., and 19th of George III., for the recovery of debts under 40s., and within the limits of the new police act. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of London, rated in the king's books at £17, and in the patronage of the Archdeacon of London. The church, rebuilt in 1740, is a handsome edifice in the Grecian style of architecture, with a tower, from which rises an open turret surrounded with Corinthian pillars, supporting an elliptical dome surmounted by a small, but well-proportioned, spire; the western entrance is through a stately portico of four columns of the Doric order, supporting an enriched entablature and cornice, and surmounted by a triangular pediment. The interior is well arranged; the east window is embellished with stained glass, and there are numerous ancient monuments, among which may be noticed an altartomb, with recumbent effigies, of Sir John Elrington and his lady; a monument of Sir Thomas Leigh, in a kneeling posture; one for four ladies of the Rutland family, whose figures are represented kneeling at an altar, two on each side, in a recess; some erect statues, and various other memorials. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyan and other Methodists. The charity school, for the maintenance, clothing, and education, of boys, was established in 1705, and a school-house erected by subscription, in 1722: a similar institution for girls was established in 1709, and the school-house was erected in 1723; the former has an annual income of £100, and the latter one of £160, arising from rents and personal estates; they are further supported by subscription, and afford maintenance and instruction to fifty boys and forty girls. There are National and Sunday schools in connexion with the established church and the various dissenting congregations. On the south side of Old Street-road are twelve almshouses, built, in 1591, by Judge Fuller, who endowed them with £50 per annum, for twelve aged widows of the parish: on the opposite side of the road are eight almshouses, founded, in 1658, by Mr. John Walter, who endowed them for aged widows, who have an allowance of money weekly, and an annual supply of coal: adjoining these are almshouses erected by the Company of Weavers, for decayed members, to which Mr. William Watson was a great benefactor in 1670: there are also some almshouses belonging to the Dutch church in Austin Friars, among which are two tenements, the gift of Egbert Guede, of Overyssel, Gent., for the maintenance and habitation of four poor men belonging to that church. The Refuge for the Destitute, in Kingsland-road, a spacious building, in every respect adapted to its purpose, is also within the parish. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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