Stretching down from Monument underground station towards London Bridge, this neighbourhood area is home to a handful of banks and financial institutions. They are housed in neo-classical style buildings of exceptional grandeur, like 75 King William Street – home to Danske Bank – or 5 King William Street in Classic Renaissance style, accommodating DC Advisory and Daiwa Capital Markets. Opposite, at number 85 is Capital House which boasts healthy fast food outlets at ground level. Meanwhile, 1 King William Street has recently been refurbished and brought back into use by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris architects, winning a RIBA London award. The original Portland stone at the street-facing end seamlessly transforms into a modern complex stretching onto St Swithin’s Lane. The church of St Mary Woolnoth, at the intersection of King William Street and Lombard Street is grade-I listed and is an example of the English Baroque style. Bank station is located at the top of King William Street. Harry’s Bar is a much-loved rustic style bar and restaurant with an especially popular a la carte and wine menu.

The street was built between 1829 and 1835. It was named after the monarch in power at the time, William IV. It is thought that there had been a place of worship at the location of St Mary Woolnoth since at least the dawn of the current era. Indeed, archaeological findings have unearthed what seem like religious artefacts from the pre-Roman period. A Norman church stood here until 1445 and after it was rebuilt with an additional spire, it lasted until the Great Fire of 1666. Like most of the surrounding area, it was restored under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren. Abchurch Lane runs between Cannon Street and King William Street. It has been historically associated with the Rothschild Investment Bank since 1809, when Nathan Rothschild moved down from Manchester to establish himself as a banker in the City. He first leased the area known as New Court for £750 and built his family home here, from which he would also conduct his business. Since then, three new headquarters have been present on the site; most recently, the building by OMA was completed in 2011.

One notable figure associated with the area was the anti-slavery campaigner and author of the hymn Amazing Grace – John Newton. The evangelical clergyman was not always on the right side of history. Newton had served as a slave ship master himself – and equally as a slave when he fell into the hands of a slave trader in Sierra Leone. Upon being rescued, Newton carried on his voyages across the oceans and participated in the trade. It was only when he became a priest in Buckinghamshire and began preaching that his ideas against the ongoing trade found listeners. Among them, William Wilberforce – an MP who became a vocal campaigner against the atrocities of the slave trade – became directly influenced by Newtown’s preaching. The same year that slavery was abolished, Newton’s health gave in and the priest was buried next to his wife in St Mary Woolnoth.

In the 1920s, T. S. Elliot was working as a banker in the City of London and simultaneously devising a new modernist style of poetic writing. His major work, The Waste Land, nods to neighbourhood area in its prime: “And each man fixed his eyes before his feet. Flowed up the hill and down King William Street.”

On the 10th November 1902, a quarrel broke out between a pair of lovers on King William Street. Kitty Byron and Reginald Baker, whose relationship had been abusive, were evicted from their room in Portland Street. At 2.30pm, Byron met Baker on the busy street outside a post office and stabbed him fatally with a kitchen knife. In 1957 the case was dramatised as a BBC Radio show.

There is currently a significant construction project underway at 10 King William Street (see next section). As a result, there is likely to be a fair amount of noise pervading the area. The three main ways into the area are via Bank, Monument, and Cannon Street stations. The first of these has turned out to be Londoners’ least favourite station since it has failed to cope with the 50 percent increase in demand over the past decade.

The most significant developments affecting this area are the improvements that have been made to Bank Station. These include a new entrance on Cannon Street, and an expanded Northern Line platform with step free access via a new concourse. Above this new Cannon Street entrance will also sit a new office block. Taller than originally planned, planners recently gave permission for TFL to add an eighth floor to their plans, with work scheduled to start by the end of 2022. On King William Street itself, plans were recently greenlit for a rooftop extension to an office building on the top of the street.