Poultry, London

Poultry

Looking east down Poultry toward Bank junction in 2009
Length	110 m (360 ft)
Location	London, United Kingdom
Postal code	EC2
Nearest train station	Bank
West end	Cheapside
East end	Mansion House Street

Poultry is a short street in the City of London, the historic nucleus and modern financial centre of London. It is an eastern continuation of Cheapside, between Old Jewry and Mansion House Street, towards Bank junction.

Poultry takes its name, like other roads nearby such as Milk Street and Bread Street, from the various produce once sold at Cheapside (meaning "market-place" in Old English). John Stow, writing at the end of the 16th century noted that "the poulterers are but lately departed from thence into other streets".

The thoroughfare was anciently known as Conningshop-lane on account of the three conies or rabbits hanging over a poulterer's stall in the lane. In the 15th and early 17th century, Poultry was noted for its taverns, but few were rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666.

On the north side of the street once stood the church of St Mildred Poultry. Rebuilt after the Great Fire to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren, it was demolished in 1872 and its site sold and used to build the Gresham Life Assurance office. In 1891, Henry B. Wheatley wrote that, with the removal of the church,

"the clearing away of the old houses on both sides of the way, and the erection in their place of large blocks of offices and shops of considerable architectural pretensions, and the general widening of the thoroughfare, the Poultry has since 1850 been entirely changed in character and aspect."

The street gave its name to a prison, Poultry Compter, once located there. It was a brick building with fifteen wards, one of which was set aside specifically for Jews. It was closed in the early 19th century, and its prisoners transferred to the new White Cross Street Compter.

Although relatively short in length, Poultry is the location of a number of notable buildings. No 1 Poultry is a postmodern office and retail building which is home to the Coq d'Argent restaurant, which includes a rooftop terrace and formal garden. A small lane off Poultry, Grocers' Hall Court, leads to the livery hall of the Worshipful Company of Grocers, one of the City's original twelve great livery companies that ranks second in the companies' order of precedence. The main entrance to the hall is on Princes Street to the north.