This neighbourhood area contains the iconic, but still controversial Barbican Estate. Towering over its surroundings, much of life here is above ground, with an artificial lake, gardens, greenhouses, and even old Roman ruins, all crossed by raised walkways and terraces. The Estate was designed in Brutalist style, with the main building for local amenities flanked by two squares and a lake terrace but connected to the rest of the complex via the aforementioned elevated walkways. Three 42-floor,123-metre tower blocks rise up from the estate, named after Oliver Cromwell, William Shakespeare and the Earls of Lauderdale. To the centre of the Estate is the Barbican Complex, a performing arts centre (the largest of its kind in Europe), and is the base of the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra as well as the London venue of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The Barbican name comes from the Low Latin word ‘Barbecana’, meaning a fortified outpost, which the Barbican was, when it sat on the edge of Roman Londinium. Fast forward nearly 2,000 years, and in the 1850s the City had a population of 129,000, and the Cripplegate ward 14,000. This would come to an end after the Second World War, when the ward was almost completely destroyed, and only 48 residents remained. It was agreed that the area would be host to a residential project. Today over 4000 people live in the 40-hectare complex.

Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland in the period when he overthrew King Charles I, married Elizabeth Bourchier in St. Giles’ Church, today in the middle of the Barbican Estate, just a few months after his twenty-first birthday. Very little is known about Cromwell’s personal life, though a few surviving letters between him and his wife show a deep affection for one another. Elizabeth was never involved in politics, and was well-treated even after the Protectorate fell, and not seriously troubled after the Restoration, which she died 5 years following,

Guildhall School of Music and Drama has students from almost 60 countries around the world, with almost half of all music students coming from outside the UK. The music students from the school regularly perform at prestigious London venues, including the local Barbican Hall. The Barbican is also home to the second largest Conservatory in London. Housing exotic fish and over 2,000 species of tropical plants, the Conservatory is open every Sunday to the public.

Some residents complain that the concrete structure of the Barbican means the sound of construction carries for quite a long way. However, despite its Brutalist-style, and occasionally maze-like corridors, the Barbican is actually surprisingly comfortable to the resident. Little traffic passes by on the weekends, and the very love-hate fort-like design creates an atmosphere of peace within the compound of the Estate, even during weekdays.

The all encompassing design and grade-II listed status of the Barbican development means that there are no plans for redevelopment in the immediate vicinity. However, for residents willing to explore beyond the walls of the fortress, an entrance to the new Elizabeth Line has recently opened at Moorgate station to the east, complete with a mixed-use commercial development to be built above. Looking west, the Museum of London is scheduled to move to the old Smithfield’s Market in order to accommodate more of its collection. While there were plans to build a new state-of-the-art concert hall in its place, these were scrapped due to spending cuts during the Covid-19 pandemic. Current plans invisage mixed use retail and commercial development interwoven with public greenspace which should help pay for the relocation of the museum.