Fore Street, London

History

Fore Street was created outside (before) the London city walls, and thereby got its name. In 1654, a postern gate was built at the northern end of Aldermanbury or the larger Cripplegate and Fore Street soon became an important shopping street until the middle of the nineteenth century.

In the nineteenth century, Joseph Todd established his drapery business in Fore Street. James Morrison, who subsequently became a millionaire and MP started work for Todd and married his daughter. The firm became known as Morrison, Dillon & Co, and later was converted into the Fore Street Limited Liability Company.

Before bombing during the Second World War, the street extended from Redcross Street to Finsbury Pavement.

Fore Street, on 25 August 1940, was the first place in the City of London to be hit by a German bomb during the Second World War, just before the start of the London Blitz proper. A plaque on the wall of Roman House, on the corner with Wood Street, marks the spot.

Up to the 1970s a Post Office telephone exchange stood between Moor Lane and Fore Street Avenue with a Post Office on the corner between Fore Street and Fore Street Avenue.