Cordwainer is a small ward

Wards of the City of London

The City of London , in the United Kingdom, is constituted of 25 wards. The City is the historic core of the much wider metropolis of London, with an ancient and sui generis form of local government, which avoided the many reforms enacted to local government elsewhere in the country in the 19th and...

 in the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is named after the Cordwainer

Cordwainer

A cordwainer is a shoemaker/cobbler who makes fine soft leather shoes and other luxury footwear articles. The word is derived from "cordwain", or "cordovan", the leather produced in Córdoba, Spain. The term cordwainer was used as early as 1100 in England...

s, the professional shoemakers who historically lived and worked in this particular area of London; there is a City livery company

Livery Company

The Livery Companies are 108 trade associations in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade, craft or profession. The medieval Companies originally developed as guilds and were responsible for the regulation of their trades, controlling,...

 (a guild

Guild

A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...

) for the trade — the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers

Worshipful Company of Cordwainers

The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Cordwainers were workers in fine leather; the Company gets its name from "cordwain" , the white leather produced from goatskin in Cordova, Spain...

. The ward is sometimes referred to as the "Cordwainers' ward".

It is bounded to the north by Cheapside (the boundary with Cheap Ward), to the west by the eponymous Bread Street (Ward), to the south by Cannon Street (Vintry Ward) and to the east, Wallbrook (ward). Within its boundaries are, amongst others, Bow Lane, Budge Row, Pancras Lane and part of Watling Street. Queen Street

Queen Street, London

Queen Street is a street in the City of London, which runs from Upper Thames Street north to Cheapside. The thoroughfares of Queen Street and King Street were newly laid out, cutting across more ancient thoroughfares in the City, following the Great Fire of London of 1666; they were the only...

 runs north-south through the centre of the ward.

Precincts

In mediaeval times the ward was divided into eight precincts. These were

• St. Mary, Aldermary, upper and lower
• Allhallows, Bread Street
• St. Mary-le-Bow
• St. Antholin, upper and lower
• St. Pancras
• St. Bennet, Sherehog and St. John
• St. Thomas the Apostle
• Trinity

Modern day

Today it is home to many large businesses and new initiatives such as Bow Bells House, named after the bells of St Mary-le-Bow

St Mary-le-Bow

St Mary-le-Bow is an historic church in the City of London, off Cheapside. According to tradition, a true Cockney must be born within earshot of the sound of the church's bells.-Bells:...

  due for completion at the end of 2007. The ward contains one other church (St Mary Aldermary

St Mary Aldermary

Ashlar-faced outside and Gothic throughout, St Mary Aldermary is an Anglican church in Bow Lane in the City of London. The church was badly damaged in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren.-History:...

) and the site of Antholin’s Budge Row, demolished in 1875. Cordwainer Ward is quite distinctive for its high number of licensed premises, but in addition has its own club dedicated to promoting the area positively.

Politics

Cordwainer is one of twenty-five ward

Wards of the United Kingdom

A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...

s in the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

, each electing an alderman

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

 to the Court of Aldermen

Court of Aldermen

The Court of Aldermen is an elected body forming part of the City of London Corporation. The Court of Aldermen is made up of the twenty five Aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor...

 and Commoners (the City equivalent of a councillor

Councillor

A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...

 elected to the Court of Common Council of the City of London Corporation.) Only electors who are Freemen of the City of London are eligible to stand for election.

External links

• Cordwainer The Official Ward Website