The Whittington Avenue area is bounded by Gracechurch Street to the west, Leadenhall Street to the north, and Lime Street, which curves around the eastern and southern portion of the neighbourhood. This slice of the City of London is home to a collection of Victorian buildings in a close-knit historic townscape centred on Leadenhall Market. The Market is an opulent indoor marketplace that is surprisingly off the radar of many tourists and Londoners alike. Still, it is home to several stores, restaurants, and bars, as is the rest of the surrounding area – a welcome change from the City’s towering skyscrapers, which can sometimes feel sterile. The neighbourhood is also criss-crossed by many small lanes and passageways, revealing the age of the streetscape.

The Whittington Avenue neighbourhood is on the site of the former Forum-Basilica, the centre of the Roman town of Londinium. It was an area of civic administration as well as a marketplace. The historic marketplace continued to grow in later years, with the stalls of Leadenhall overflowing to nearby Cheapside. The market remained the most important in London for centuries, exceeding even Smithfield for meat and poultry. It expanded in size and drew increasingly large crowds until the City Corporation finally bowed to pressures to relocate the market, creating the indoor Leadenhall Market as it is seen today. Lime Street has long been linked to the market, both physically and characteristically. It has retained these ties to the present day.

Hugh de Neville was the owner of a mansion in the Leadenhall Market area. He was the Chief Forester to Richard I, John I, and Henry III, and he was named in the Magna Carta as one of John’s officials (referred to as the king’s evil councillors). Despite being on good terms with King John, de Neville suffered from the King’s notorious behaviour with women, including an interest in de Neville’s wife. At one point, his wife allegedly had to give the King 200 chickens in order to spend a night with de Neville. Later, when King John rescinded the Magna Carta, the rebel barons would invite Prince Louis to take the English throne. Hugh de Neville abandoned John and joined the rebels, and he later pledged loyalty to Henry III.

Leadenhall Market was popularly depicted in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It features as the site of the magical Diagon Alley, and offers Harry’s first glimpse into the world of magic. The market also features briefly in the Tomb Raider, with Lara Croft racing through the market on a motorbike.

Despite being in the centre of the City of London, in very close proximity to the heart of the business district, this neighbourhood area stands out as an enclave of Victorian London; it is well-preserved and sometimes even quiet. The streets retain the character of 200 years prior, and tourists – aside from those on Harry Potter tours – are less common than in other parts of central London.

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. 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.