This area lies across borders of the London Boroughs of Hackney, Islington and the City of London. Liverpool Street station takes up roughly one half of the neighbourhood area. Trains from Cambridge come in on the West Anglia Main Line whilst the Great Eastern Main Line brings in commuters from Norwich. The Stansted Express leaves from here every fifteen minutes, taking fifty minutes to arrive at the airport terminal. The Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines run through the underground station, slightly south of the area’s border. Passengers at the station can enjoy a range of shopping outlets, from T. M. Lewin to Lush whilst bars and restaurants are plentiful as well – Piccolino serves classic Italian specialities; the Botanist offers a contemporary British cuisine and features a basement club downstairs. Residential property in this dense part of London is relatively scarce but one may find some typical Georgian town houses on Christopher Street and a number of luxury penthouse apartments dotted around the station. Chic bars in Shoreditch such as the Queen of Hoxton, a short walk away from the neighbourhood area, is a primary destination for young professionals on a Friday night.

The City of London part of the area lies in the ward of Bishopsgate – called thus due to one of eight gates forming part of the defensive London Wall having been positioned at the intersection of Wormwood Street and Bishopsgate, just south of the area. The original train station initially made use of Bishopsgate station in neighbouring Shoreditch, but with an increasing flow of commuters making their way into the capital, a new station had to be built. When trains started running in 1874, the station was not yet completed. When it was finally unveiled, the windows and the wrought iron gave rise to the stations nickname at the time – the ‘dark cathedral’. During WWII, thousands of Jewish children arrived here on the Kindertransport. The Arrival, a statue outside the station of children with suitcases by Frank Meisler, honours this period of time at Liverpool Street. A major transformation of the ‘dark cathedral’ has been under way since the seventies. Today the station is celebrated for the integration and preservation of some of its historic parts with the more contemporary look which it has acquired.

Charles Barry Jr. is the architect responsible for designing the Great Eastern Hotel, just next to the train station. He is the son of the acclaimed architect Charles Barry who, in the first half of the 19th century, rebuilt the Houses of Parliament. Charles Jr continued the family occupation together with his younger brother Edward Middleton Barry. The family is credited with much of the design behind buildings in the suburb of Dulwich, including the New College. Charles Jr designed the hotel on Liverpool Street with the high life in mind – guests could bathe in fresh sea water which would be brought in specially from the coast.

Among the four railway stations included on the British Monopoly board game is Liverpool Street Station, together with Kings Cross, Marylebone and Fenchurch Street. Prior to the days of the ‘dark cathedral’ – from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century, to be exact – there stood a hospital treating mentally ill patients, known as the Priory of St Mary of Bethlehem. A plaque hangs inside the current station in its honour. Bethlem Royal Hospital – the priory’s legacy – is currently situated in Beckenham.

Perhaps not surprisingly, this neighbourhood area has almost no greenery compared with the London average. In addition, one can naturally expect masses of people to pass through the area during peak travel times.

The most significant recent development here is the arrival of the Elizabeth line in early 2022. Trains can now take passengers to Heathrow via Paddington and to Abbey Wood or Shenfield via Whitechapel. A ticket hall for the line also acts as a link between Liverpool Street station and neighbouring Moorgate train station.