41 Cloth Fair: London’s Oldest Home

Built around 1597, 41 Cloth Fair in London remarkably survived the English Civil War, the Great Fire and The Blitz.

41 Cloth Fair is the only house in the City of London to have survived the devastating Great Fire of 1666.

According to Historic UK, the reason it escaped the fire was due to it being enclosed within a large set of priory walls.

Today, the structure hides in plain sight at numbers 41-42 Cloth Fair - a narrow street sandwiched between the glass and iron splendour of Smithfield Market and the high walls of Bart’s Hospital.

Records show that the building was also originally part of a larger scheme of eleven houses featuring a courtyard in the middle, known as “The Square in Launders Green”.

Having dramatically survived the Great Fire, 41 Cloth Fair faced another big threat.

In 1929, the building was under review for demolition by the City of London Corporation as part of their sanitary scheme.

The building was served with a dangerous structure notice making its future even less certain.

However, luckily in 1995, it was purchased by a new set of owners and subsequently underwent an extensive renovation.

As a testament to the quality of the restoration, it was even awarded the City Heritage Award in 2000.

The remarkable building still stands today - and it’s well worth a visit if you’re near the area.

The street's name reflects the fact that this was where cloth merchants met to trade their goods in mediaeval times.

There was still one cloth trading business located here (at no 40) as recently as 1951.

There is also a well known pub, called the Rising Sun at No 38, which has been the site of a pub or ale house for many centuries.

If you venture down the street, you’ll be rewarded - you’ll see some ancient stonework and the magnificent church of St Bartholomew the Great too.

Through the gate there’s a churchyard, here, a lovely collection of trees and shrubs frame a strangely timeless view of 41-42 Cloth Fair.

The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great dates from 1123.

The church also survived the Great Fire of London and the Blitz, and it’s the oldest church in the City of London.

A half-timbered gatehouse was added in 1595, above a 13th century stone arch.

Later hidden behind a Georgian shop front, a WWI zeppelin raid blew the façade open revealing the extraordinary Tudor structure beneath.

Fully restored in 1932, the building is now Grade II listed and even retains some of the 13th century stonework from the original nave.

On the first floor of the property there is bolection-moulded panelling from around 1700, whilst the attic boasts original panelling dating back to 1595.

The only house to survive The Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London was a catastrophic event that ravaged the city of London in 1666.

13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, The Royal Exchange, Guildhall and St. Paul’s Cathedral – built during the Middle Ages – was totally destroyed.

Lasting for almost five days from September 2nd to September 6th, it left a trail of destruction, reshaping the landscape of the city and impacting its residents in profound ways.

Back in the 1660s, people were not as aware of the dangers of fire as they are today.

Buildings were made of timber – covered in a flammable substance called pitch, roofed with thatch – and tightly packed together with little regard for planning.

About 350,000 people lived in London just before the Great Fire, it was one of the largest cities in Europe.

London had to be almost totally reconstructed.

Temporary buildings were erected that were ill-equipped, disease spread easily, and many people died from this and the harsh winter that followed the fire.

As well as loss of life, the financial costs were staggering, the costs were estimated at £10 million. 

Shortly after, clever businessmen spotted an opportunity to provide the surety of insurance, though reduced their risk of financial losses by employing men to extinguish fires: the first fire brigades were formed. 

Someone who recently visiting 41 Cloth Fair, wrote on TripAdvisor: “This street is a lovely little street in the heart of the city of London.

”If you like old buildings and cobbled streets then you will enjoy checking this out.”

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