This neighbourhood area in southern Clerkenwell forms a highly-populated residential area as well as an active business sector filled with small and medium-sized businesses. Many of the buildings in this area are repurposed warehouses dating back to the Victorian era, when this neighbourhood was the centre of London’s gin and clock-making industries. The result is a group of tightly-woven streets lined with a range of beautiful dark-bricked buildings that developers have worked hard to modernise without damaging the historical aesthetic of this area. Clusters of pubs and restaurants have begun to spring up in increasing numbers along Clerkenwell Road and Leather Lane in the southern part of this neighbourhood, granting residents and visitors a generous supply of venues to eat and drink at, with something new always around the corner.

In the 17th century this neighbourhood area became a fashionable place of residence. A number of wealthy aristocrats moved in as it was known for being relatively spacious whilst remaining a short walk from the city. A number of venues arose to accommodate this new demographic, such as tea gardens and theatres. However, at the advent of the industrial revolution, this neighbourhood underwent a radical transformation, becoming a centre for breweries, distilleries, and the printing industries. It also acquired an unmatched reputation for clock and watch-making, which employed a large portion of the residents. While a number of craft workshops still continue these historical trades, the surviving companies have since left this neighbourhood area.

Elizabeth Wilkinson, known to be the first official female boxer once lived in this neighbourhood area. She was the English bare-knuckle boxing champion during the early 1700s, who quickly became famous due to her knack for self-promotion and her entertaining trash-talk.

This neighbourhood area was also home to Michael Fagan, who broke into Buckingham Palace and entered Queen Elizabeth II’s bedroom in 1982. Fagan scaled the 4.3 metre high wall surrounding the palace, negotiating the barbed wire and spikes atop it, before climbing a drain pipe on the palace itself. He is believed to have wandered around for a while before entering the Queen’s bedroom at 7:15am. Although an alarm had gone off immediately upon his entry, the police had believed it to be faulty and silenced it. Strangely, Fagan was not charged with trespassing, as the law had the act down as a civil wrong rather than a criminal offence.

Many of the pubs in and around this neighbourhood area are licensed to open at dawn. This is to allow them to serve people finishing their night shift at the nearby Smithfields meat market. Curiously, the nursery rhyme ‘Pop Goes the Weasel’ refers to the act of selling your suit after spending all your money in the pubs of Clerkenwell.

The main issue with this neighbourhood area is the traffic along the busy Clerkenwell Road which makes congestion air and noise pollution higher than its surroundings. Local business owners were unfazed by this, arguing that it was the norm in such a central location of London, and could be avoided by taking the underground at the nearby stations of Chancery Lane and Farringdon.

The local council aims to continue to promote this neighbourhood’s role within central London’s night-time economy through investments in small and medium-sized businesses like bars, theatres, and nightclubs. The recently opened Elizabeth Line station at Farringdon, is hoped to aid this plan, bringing visitors in from around the Greater London area. The Herbal House office scheme is one example of the investment in this area, exemplifying the factory conversions which characterise this postcode. Another is the Yard, a contemporary residential development centred around a courtyard on Warner Street.