SHOREDITCH (ST-LEONARD), a parish in the
Tower division of the hundred of OSSULSTONE, county
of MIDDLESEX, adjoining the north-eastern portion of
the metropolis, and, with . Haggerstone and Hoxton,
which, by a recent act of parliament, have been constituted
distinct parishes, containing 52,966 inhabitants.
This parish, in ancient records called Sordig, Soresdich,
and Shordych, appears to have derived its name from
the great common sewer, or ditch, which passed through
it, and to have given name to the family of Sir John
de Sordig, lord of the manor, and one of the am-'
bassadors of Edward III. to Philip of France, more
than a century prior to the time of Jane Shore, from
whom, according to a legendary tradition, it is supposed
to have been originally derived. The Roman
military way leading from London wall to the ford at
Hackney, passed through part of the churchyard, and
there are still some vestiges of the old artillery ground,
anciently a Roman Campus Martis, which was subsequently
celebrated for archery and other military
exercises practised there by the citizens of London, but
now covered with houses. The parish, which is very
extensive, consists of numerous streets connecting it
with the metropolis, and, of several ranges of building
on the roads to Kingsland, Hackney, and Bethnal
Green; it is well paved, lighted with gas, and amply
supplied with water. There are some remains of ancient
houses, but by far the greater number are of
modern appearance, and many of them of recent
erection. Among the more ancient is one near the
bath of St. Agnes de Clare, rebuilt after the fire of
London, in which the practice of inoculation for the
small-pox was first brought to perfection, previously to'
the erection of the Small-pox hospital in the parish'
of St. Pancras, to which the original establishment was
removed in 1765. The only branches of,manufacture
carried on in the parish are such as are connected with
the silk-factories of the adjoining parish of Spitalfields,
and there are several breweries, and some extensive
foundries for church bells. The parish is within the jurisdiction
of a court of requests for the Tower Hamlets,
established under an act passed in the 23rd of George II.,
and 19th of George III., for the recovery of debts under
40s., and within the limits of the new police act.
The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and
diocese of London, rated in the king's books at £ 17,
and in the patronage of the Archdeacon of London.
The church, rebuilt in 1740, is a handsome edifice in the
Grecian style of architecture, with a tower, from which
rises an open turret surrounded with Corinthian pillars,
supporting an elliptical dome surmounted by a small,
but well-proportioned, spire; the western entrance is
through a stately portico of four columns of the Doric
order, supporting an ,enriched entablature and cornice,
and surmounted by a triangular pediment. The interior
is well arranged; the east window is embellished
with stained glass, and there are numerous ancient
monuments, among which may be noticed an altartomb,
with recumbent effigies, of Sir John Elrington
and his lady; a monument of Sir Thomas Leigh, in a
kneeling posture; one for four ladies of the Rutland
family, whose figures are represented kneeling at an
altar, two on each side, in a recess; some erect statues,
and various other memorials. There are places of worship
for Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyan and other
Methodists. The charity school, for the maintenance,
clothing, and education, of boys, was established in
1705, and a school-house erected by subscription, in
1722; a similar institution for girls was established in
1709, and the school-house was erected in 1723; the
former has an annual income of £100, and the latter
one of £ 160, arising from rents and personal estates;
they are further supported by subscription, and afford
maintenance and instruction to fifty boys and forty
girls. There are National and Sunday schools in connexion
with the established church and the various
dissenting congregations. On the south side of Old
Street-road are twelve almshouses, built, in 1591, by
Judge Fuller, who endowed them with £ 50 per annum,
for twelve aged widows of the parish; on the opposite
side of the road are eight almshouses, founded, in
1658, by Mr. John Walter, who endowed them for aged
widows, who have an allowance of money weekly, and
an annual supply of coal: adjoining these are aimshouses
erected by the Company of Weavers, for decayed
members, to which Mr. William Watson was a great benefactor
in 1670; there are also some almshouses belonging
to the Dutch church in Austin Friars, among
which are two tenements, the gift of Egbert Guede, of
Overyssel, Gent., for the maintenance and habitation of
four poor men belonging to that church. The Refuge
for the Destitute, in Kingsland-road, a spacious building,
in every respect adapted to its purpose, is also
within the parish.