Artsy Tidbit: Shoreditch

I just found my wonderful flat in Shoreditch, which I’m incredibly excited about. Shoreditch is a trendy area, with some of the most inspiring and distinctive fashion in the city. While lounging around my boyfriend’s house I noticed a book called London Lore: The Legends and Traditions of theWorld’s Most Vibrant City by Steve Roud. The book explores various neighborhoods in London, including where my new home lies. The section discusses the origination of the name “Shoreditch”. Roud draws on the claim that the neighborhood is named after Jane Shore, the famous mistress of Edward IV, who died poor and in a ditch in the area. But, few believed she could have died in poverty and the “area was known as a variation of Shoreditch around 400 years before her time”. Shoreditch also had a reputation, which fits properly with the belief of the origin of its name. Author Henry Wheatley writes in his book titled London Past and Present (1891):

Shoreditch was formerly notorious for the easy character of its women. ‘To die in Shoreditch’ was not a mere metaphorical term for dying in a sewer.

I’m not sure if there is still in underlying existence of the reputation in the area, but easy girls or not, I’m still in love.