This Monument & Bishopsgate area surrounds Gracechurch Street, which begins near Christopher Wren’s Monument to the Great Fire of London to the south. To the north, the street leads onto Bishopsgate, with St. Peter’s Cornhill Church lying at the junction where Gracechurch Street and Cornhill meet. Several alleys branch off from this main street, including Bull’s Head Passage and Bell Inn Yard. The street itself is a mismatch of old neoclassical buildings and newer post-war buildings, blending together across the streetscape. Monument & Bishopsgate lie at the heart of the City of London, a stone’s throw away from Bank junction. Offices dominate the area, complemented by restaurants serving a wide variety of cuisines, from South American to Indian.

The name for Gracechurch Street stems from ‘grass-church’, describing a former hay market which was located nearby (from 1680 to 1868). The street served as a main thoroughfare from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. This area has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times throughout London’s history, from the Great Fire of London to the Blitz. Today, one of the oldest buildings is the Grade-I listed St. Peter upon Cornhill church, designed by the great architect Christopher Wren. The church stands at the highest point in the City of London, and has been a place for Christian worship since Roman times.

Gracechurch Street has been mentioned in several Victorian-era novels, including Jane Austen’s famous Pride and Prejudice, where it is named as the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner (the aunt and uncle of the Bennet sisters). The street is also mentioned in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.

In Shakespeare’s time, his troupe of actors – known as the Lord Chamberlain’s Men – performed plays in the courtyard of the Crosse Keyes pub. The company was founded during the Elizabethan era by Henry Carey, who was the 1st Baron Hunsdon and was responsible for court entertainments. His monument in St. John the Baptist’s chapel is the tallest in Westminster Abbey, made of alabaster and marble and rising 36 feet high.

Gracechurch Street is in the middle of the City and is dominated by office blocks, which bring heavy congestion on weekdays and leave the area almost completely deserted on weekends. At the same time, however, the area is home to various restaurants and entertainment venues such as the nearby Escape. Furthermore, City life does not completely die out – nearby Leadenhall Market still caters to tourists, as does Bishopsgate a bit further away.

The most notable changes to this area are probably the recent improvements made to Bank Station, including 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. Planning has also been approved for the redevelopment of the site at 50 Fenchurch street slightly to the east of this postcode. 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.