Moorfields

Moorfields was once a broad stretch of marshland north of the City of London’s medieval wall. The River Walbrook and its tributaries fed the wet ground, held back by the wall like a dam. By the late 12th century it was already known as a great fen, larger than the later Moorfields. Four sections divided the open land: Little Moorfields, Moorfields proper, Middle Moorfields and Upper Moorfields. The fields formed the inner edge of a green wedge that reached from the wall towards the countryside beyond. The area’s wetness shaped its history. In 1572 a drainage scheme began to make parts usable, though the ground stayed marshy for centuries. After the Great Fire in 1666, refugees camped on the fields while King Charles II urged them to leave. By the early 18th century Moorfields hosted open-air markets and fairs, yet it also gained a rough reputation with highwaymen and brothels. James Dalton and Jack Sheppard hid there, and a path called Sodomites Walk ran beside a wall later removed for Finsbury Square. Thomas Moore’s carpet factory once supplied fine carpets designed by Robert Adam for grand houses. Today the name lives on in several places. Moorfields Eye Hospital still stands nearby, though it has moved to a new site. St Mary Moorfields church keeps the memory alive, and a short street called Moorfields runs parallel to Moorgate. Above ground, Moorfields Highwalk winds through the Barbican Estate as one of its raised walkways. The old marshes have vanished under streets and squares, but the name endures in the city’s map and memory.