Lloyd’s Avenue is a small neighbourhood, largely incorporating Lloyd’s Avenue and the buildings on the street. The area is just south of Fenchurch Street, and just north of London Fenchurch Street railway station. It is located near Aldgate, towards the east of the City of London, where the tall skyscrapers of the City start to shrink into neoclassical buildings and onto the terraced housing of east London. Lloyd’s Avenue itself is mostly grand Edwardian neoclassical buildings, with solid masonry facades. There are also one or two modern reconstructions, but overall the street is remarkably homogeneous and consistent in its architectural style. The occupants are mainly offices, with a few eateries at street level.

Excavations have shown that there was a Roman settlement by a tributary, with some first-century timber buildings and ditches. The Roman Forum was located immediately to the west of this area. The Roman abandonment left the area largely unsettled until the early medieval era more than half a century later. Fast forward to the 1800s, and the Industrial Revolution as well as Empire had begun to shape the area, with Bonded Warehouses of the East India Trading Company occupying the area. These warehouses would eventually be demolished, removing most pre- existing buildings (apart from the church, synagogue and some other smaller buildings), and the design which we see today began to take shape.

Edward Lloyd, owner of Lloyd’s Coffee House and Lloyd’s Register of Shipping came to London at the age of 32. Lloyd’s coffee house became one of many with a specialist interest, where those concerned with shipping would sit down and discuss. However, Lloyd didn’t just allow others to do the talking – he would publish a regular sheet of intelligence on ships, cargo, and foreign events, establishing a network of correspondents in ports throughout Europe. He ended up becoming one of the 19th century’s leading newspaper proprietors and published popular fiction – one of the enduring characters of which was Sweeney Todd.

Lloyd’s Register of Shipping and Lloyd’s Bank both date back to 1900 and mark the first phase of the development of Lloyd’s Avenue by architects Emmanuel and Colcutt. The only building on the Avenue to not use classical features is Marlow House, designed in 1929, combining glass and metal panels alongside stone a Tudor-style frieze. Meanwhile, the two buildings which flank the street’s southern entrance were constructed in the 70s and avoid the imposing appearance of the northern buildings.

The area largely dies out after the City workers have left – however, at the same time nearby Tower Hill means that shops are still open in the vicinity, while not being too close to the tourist hordes. London Fenchurch Street, a stone’s throw away, is also a big selling point, connecting to the southeast.

Lloyd’s Avenue has been designated as a Conservation Area, with Protected Views and sustainability plans put in place to preserve the heritage of the area. These range from reducing motor vehicle traffic, to protecting mature trees and enhancing the paving and surfaces of the area. Planning has also been approved for the redevelopment of the site at 50 Fenchurch street, one stree to the west of Lloyd’s Avenue. 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.