This neighbourhood area, in the financial centre of the capital, consists of two streets – Houndsditch and Bevis Marks, which becomes Dukes Place at the roads south-eastern end. 30 St Mary Axe, or ‘The Gherkin’, stands in the south-west of the area. Recently joined by similarly nicknamed buildings such as the newly built ‘Can of Ham’ at 70 St Mary Axe, as well as ‘The Cheesegrater’ at 122 Leadenhall Street. The rest of the architecture within the locale is characterised by a diverse set of buildings like the St Botolph Building, the grandiose Beaufort House or the brutalist Irongate House. St Botolph was designed by Grimshaw architects, recently replaced by some older municipally-owned office buildings. Houndsditch also has some pleasant eateries and bars: The Alice is a much-praised craft pub which serves reasonably priced meals and hosts a live DJ on weekends. Access the area via Aldgate underground station on the Circle and Metropolitan lines.

Houndsditch, the main road running through the area, is one of the rare examples of when a place name hints at the area’s origins – in the Roman period this is likely to have been a place for dumping the corpses of dogs. This was evidenced in 1989 when a number of fossilised skeletons were found here during excavations. Indeed, while the Roman ditch was filled and only recently unearthed, a number of other ditches were dug here all throughout the middle ages. However, due to their being constantly clogged with sewage and waste, these were soon filled permanently. The Jewish community has had a historical presence in the area, with the 20th-century department store, the Houndsditch Warehouse, becoming known as the ‘Selfridges of the Jewish Quarter’. An older and perhaps more significant institution here is the Bevis Marks Synagogue – the oldest synagogue in London still in use. This was constructed half a century after Cromwell allowed the Jewish people back into England after a long period of over 300 years of exile.

Moses Montefiore (1784 – 1885) was a member of the aforementioned Bevis Marks synagogue. Making an early fortune on the London Stock Exchange, he retired early and devoted his life to philanthropy and civic duty. Helping to found the Alliance Assurance Company, Imperial Continental Gas Association and the Provincial Bank of Ireland, he was made Sheriff of London in 1837. Montefiore spent much of the latter part of his life defending the rights of the Jewish diaspora around the world. In the Middle East, his friendship with the sultan of Turkey facilitated the extension of rights for Jews in the area. In Russia, he was able to persuade Tsar Nicolas I to allow Jews back into the western parts of the country. Whilst in the UK, he was president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and was an early thinker and key player in the movement which lead to Zionism. He died aged 100 in his lodge in Kent.

The inception of the charity for children in poverty – Barnardo’s – might have claim to this area, when Dr Thomas Barnardo came across a group of boys sleeping on the roof of the old rag market in Houndsditch in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Barnardo’s homeless refuge was subsequently set up in Stepney. On the other side of the coin, Houndsditch was also the site of a brutal shootout between a group of Latvian revolutionaries, who attempted to rob a jeweller on this street, and the City of London police force. The criminal gang were looking for ways to fund the Bolshevik movement stirring in Russia. Equipped with firearms, the revolutionaries fled the scene, killing three policemen.

According to some sources, a number of spaces in this area are the locations of medieval plague pits. Construction therefore avoids certain plots of land. Whilst this is not certainly verified, it perhaps better serves the aesthetic of the area to have some open spaces among the skyscrapers.

Bevis Marks House is planned to be redeveloped and replaced by a high density contemporary scheme designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox architects. Looking slightly further east, Unite Students has just completed a new private student accommodation building capable of housing upwards of 1,000 young scholars. Meanwhile a couple of blocks to the west, The Elizabeth line opened in May 2022 taking passengers west to Heathrow via Paddington, and east to Abbey Wood or Shenfield. Plans are also underway for a huge £1.5bn redevelopment of the grade II-listed terminal building at Liverpool Street Station. Designed by the Sellar design collective, this project will revamp the whole station, providing new retail, leisure and dining destinations, as well as a 16-storey tower block built by Herzon & de Meuron on top of the station.