Blackfriars (London)
Blackfriars | ||
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View of Blackfriars Bridge with St. Paul's | ||
Coordinates | 51 ° 31 ′ N , 0 ° 6 ′ W | |
OS National Grid | TQ3154081043 | |
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Residents | 1046 (as of 2001) | |
administration | ||
Post town | LONDON | |
ZIP code section | EC4 | |
prefix | 020 | |
Part of the country | England | |
region | London | |
London Borough | City of London | |
British Parliament | Cities of London and Westminster | |
Blackfriars is a district in central London that is in the southwest corner of the City of London .
The name is derived from a Dominican monastery founded in 1228 , which was located in this place between the Thames and Ludgate Hill and whose monks wore black robes (English blackfriar , which means Black Brother ). The medieval convent was a wealthy and influential institution. Its halls were often used for the meeting of government councils. Before the Wars of the Roses (1455–1485) began, the so-called Black Parliament met here . The monastery was secularized in 1538 under the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547) and its large property was parceled out and leased by private developers.
Blackfriars was already considered an elegant district of London in William Shakespeare 's time, because there were stone-paved streets. In the immediate vicinity were the Royal Wardrobe , the official residence of the " Master of the Revels " ( French maître des plaisirs ), the domiciles of other high court officials and the royal treasurer (Engl. Lord High Treasurer ).
During the epoch of Elizabeth I and Jacob I , two rulers who were both devoted to drama, a children's theater called Blackfriars Theater developed into a theater of the same name for plays by William Shakespeare in the new residential district . 1632 acquired Pharmacists Society (Engl. Society of Apothecaries ), an influential London Guild, the monastic guest house and turned it into a principal office. The property was destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666, but the guild immediately rebuilt the complex. Apothecaries' Hall can still be visited in Blackfriars today.
Blackfriars station for long-distance and underground trains has been located in the district since the 19th century . It also forms the northern bridgehead of the historic Blackfriars Bridge and the Blackfriars Railway Bridge , and since 2000 the Millennium Bridge . The Victoria Embankment stretches along the north bank of the Thames from Blackfriars to Westminster Bridge .
Individual evidence
Web links
- Location of the London borough of Blackfriars (www.streetmap.co.uk)
- G. Walter Gumbley: On the name Blackfriars. In: Blackfriars: A Monthly Review, Vol. 1, No. 1. 1920, pp. 54-55 , archived from the original on August 22, 2014 ; accessed on July 19, 2017 (English).
- Historic England: Apothecaries' Hall (English)