Street life in medieval London

This chapter provides an analysis of how we might reconstitute the everyday life and space of a pre-modern street, namely Cheapside in late medieval London. Street life in the past can be difficult to recapture in all its complexity and inter-relations. Written documents, such as deeds, purveyances, regulations and court cases, can tell us much, but it is only through a broader range of evidence– archaeological, architectural, literary and visual – that we achieve a better understanding. Such an approach also reminds us how both the built environment and culture of urban space shapes its use, and that the form of the street can be resilient over time despite radical changes.