This neighbourhood area covers a scattering of buildings around Lime Street, running through the heart of the insurance district in the City of London. Most notably, the historic Lloyds of London stands on the western side of the street at its intersection with Leadenhall Street. The ‘inside-out’ building, completed in 1986, houses one of the largest global insurance institutions in the world, and its architecture is an example of the radical ‘bowellist’ style. Opposite here, offices are accommodated at the neo-classical Lime Street Estate, spanning 37–39 and 40 Lime Street. Works have been underway here since 2007, providing newly refurbished office suites, bicycle stores and showers as well as upper floor terraces. What once used to be one of the largest markets in the northern hemisphere, two thousand years on, Leadenhall Market currently boasts a number of high-end retailers, restaurants and pubs. As well as running guided tours, this grand arcade regularly holds public events, from live jazz to spoken word.

It is believed that the name Lime Street originates from the middle ages, when lime burners sold the construction material here to local buyers. A narrow street, joining Fenchurch Street and Leadenhall Street – both ancient roads that led out of London to the East of England – Lime Street has mostly been overshadowed by notable landmarks nearby. The Roman market which stood here in the first century was comparable in size to Trafalgar Square. One millennium into the future, the foundation for the renewed Leadenhall Market was laid. In the fourteenth century, this is where poulterers and cheesemongers traded their goods to city dwellers. The contemporary structure was built by Horace Jones in 1881. This redevelopment replaced stone with wrought iron to form the ornate Victorian parades still in use today. The ever-expanding Lloyds of London group has been present at this specific location since 1928, when syndicates of brokers underwrote risk for clients from separate stalls. By the 1980s, Lloyds had twice outgrown its premises and so a new, more extreme development was commissioned to Richard Rogers and Partners. The rationale behind the avant-garde exterior was to invert all of the building’s interior functions, in order to provide more space on the inside.

At the turn of the nineteenth century, when business at the Leadenhall Market was in full swing, one significant – though unofficial – resident of the stalls was a figure known as Old Tom. The character had escaped a narrow death from the blade of the poulterer, and after several attempts at recapturing the prisoner failed, the canny Tom was granted the status of free goose. The bird was left to roam the premises as he pleased and soon he became a sensation of the market, living here until his death from natural causes, aged 37. Old Tom was even dedicated an obituary in the Times newspaper in 1835 where a poem was featured in memory of the gander. Today, one can visit the eponymous pub at the market. The boozer has a beautiful antiquated interior design, feeling like a true Victorian tavern which left behind their scraps to feed the old bird, almost 200 years ago.

The first film about the teenage wizard, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, did some of its shooting at Leadenhall Market. In the scenes filmed here, the young wizard is transported from a fireplace to Diagon Alley, where he is to purchase his first magic wand.

If you are planning an event with the intention of leaving a lasting impression on your attendees, Landing Forty Two would be a solid candidate for a venue. Where better to throw a party than at one of the highest points overlooking the capital. Floor 42 of the Leadenhall Building, just north of the neighbourhood area, is officially the highest event space in London.

Whilst the various eateries at the Leadenhall Market may not suit those making a budget trip to the area, a number of more economical choices are dotted around the surrounding neighbourhood. The Mexican restaurant Tortilla is actually inside the market and has received excellent reviews. Although the Bootlegger cocktail bar is as pricey as the restaurants, its believably ‘speakeasy’ décor and atmosphere makes it worth the splurge.

This is an area that has seen intense development in the recent past, with Kohn Pedersen Fox’s ‘Scalpel’ building completed a few years ago. Nearby work recently concluded on the comically nicknamed ‘Can of Ham’ at 70 St Mary Axe, which offers 28,000 sqft of office space. While land within this postcode has become quite congested for future large-scale development, the surrounding area remains sort-after. Planning has also been approved for the redevelopment of the site at 50 Fenchurch street. Plans detail a 35-storey mixed use commercial development with ground floor retail and a huge green wall extending up past a public terrace garden on the 10th floor.