Cowcross Street & The 'Debtor's Door'

The Castle pub on Cowcross Street in London is the only pub in the city authorized to operate as a pawnbroker, a privilege granted after King George IV reputedly pawned his watch there around 1820. Cowcross Street derived its name from a medieval stone cross marking the Smithfield Cow Market. In 1762, Eliza Smith, future wife of Bank of England architect Sir John Soane, was born at an earlier pub on this site.

London Β· from the walk β€œMonks, Martyrs & Marxists” Β· audio ~3 min Β· Generated

Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6BY

Why does The Castle pub on Cowcross Street in London display a pawnbroker sign?

Now, you might assume the name comes from cattle crossing here on their way to Smith-field Market. But that's actually not quite right. There was once a medieval stone cross standing right where this street meets Saint John Street... a marker for the separate Smithfield Cow Market. The cow market cross gave Cow Cross, and eventually Cowcross Street, its name.......... For centuries, this was a main droving route north out of the City. Imagine it... mooing, snorting herds driven on the hoof by men and dogs, sometimes from Hundreds of miles away, all funneling toward Smithfield and its open-air slaughter. The stench of blood and tallow hung in the air permanently.......... But here's where it gets Really interesting. Just northwest of where you're standing, there once existed one of London's most notorious entertainment districts... a place called Hock-ley-in-the-Hole. The name literally meant "muddy field," thanks to the flooding of the River Fleet. And the entertainment? Bear-baiting, bull-baiting, cockfighting, bare-knuckle boxing. In seventeen oh nine, the owner of the Bear Garden, a man named Christopher Pres-ton, was actually attacked and nearly devoured by one of his Own bears. A sermon was preached about it at Saint James's Church.......... Now... look up the street toward the curve where Cowcross meets Turn-mill Street. You'll see a handsome pub called The Cas-tle. On its wall hang three golden balls... the sign of a pawnbroker. It is the Only pub in London to display that symbol. The legend goes like this. Sometime around eighteen twenty, a portly, well-dressed stranger stumbled in after losing everything at the cockfights in Hock-ley. He begged the landlord to lend him money, offering his gold pocket watch as security. Days later... a royal messenger appeared, redeemed the watch with a handsome sum, and presented the landlord a Royal Warrant to operate as a pawnbroker. The stranger had been none other than King George the Fourth.......... Is the story true? Almost certainly not! But it's been repeated so often that a pawnbroker's licence has been issued to The Cas-tle annually ever since, and a grand painting inside still shows the King dangling his watch before the bewildered landlord.......... One more hidden gem. Eli-za Smith, born right here at an earlier Cas-tle pub in seventeen sixty two, was the daughter of the publican. She went on to marry Sir John Soane, one of Bri-tain's greatest architects, the man who designed the Bank of Eng-land. From a tavern on a butcher's lane... to the drawing rooms of architectural history.

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