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{{Short description|Street in the City of London, England}}{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}{{coord|51.5170|-0.0978|display=title}}(File:P10250LtlBrtn.JPG|thumb|200px|An office building on Little Britain.)(File:London little britain 34.jpg|thumb|St Botolph’s Aldersgate on Little Britain)Little Britain is a street in the City of London running from St. Martin’s Le Grand in the east to West Smithfield in the west. It is situated in the Aldersgate and Farringdon Within wards. Postman’s Park is also bounded by Little Britain.Historically, Little Britain referred to a small district in the City just north of London Wall, including this street.Washington Irving described this district in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., published in 1820. The opening paragraph reads:According to Irving, its name is derived from “having been, in ancient times, the residence of the Dukes of Brittany” but this is disputed (see below). Irving also called it “the stronghold of true John Bullism .. with its antiquated folks and fashions”.

History

Booksellers dominated the street from the mid-16th century, followed by goldsmiths and clothing trades from the mid-18th to the 20th centuries.Bradley and Pevsner, op. cit. The offices of the Daily Courant, the first British daily newspaper, in the 1700s were in Little Britain. Benjamin Franklin lived in Little Britain while working at Palmers printers. WEB, 30: Quirky Street Names - Little Britain, Baker, Hazel,londonguidedwalks.co.uk/podcast/little-britain/, London Guided Walks, 18 June 2023, The conversions of John and Charles Wesley in 1738 are recorded as happening at the house of John Bray at number 12.JOURNAL, John Bray – His Guests and his Visitors, Herbert W Mansfield, Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society, 22, 3,www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/articles_whs_05.php, September 1939, 18 June 2023,

Cultural references

Little Britain is mentioned in Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations as the location of Jaggers’ office. It is also mentioned in Waverley by Sir Walter Scott in connection with the publication of a manuscript. It is not correct, as often said, that the name comes from a medieval Breton enclave, or a possession of the Dukes of Brittany.Simon Bradley and Nikolaus Pevsner, London 1: the City of London, 1997, p. 534

Transport

The nearest London Underground stations are St Paul’s (Central line) and Barbican (Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines) and the closest mainline railway stations are City Thameslink and Moorgate.

References

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Further reading

• s:The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon (1819)/Little Britain|Full text of Irving’s account, at WikiSource]]
• Victorian London - Districts - Little Britain
• BHO : The Records of St. Bartholomew’s Priory and St. Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield: Volume 2, pp.213-231
• Hazel Baker. 30: Quirky Street Names - Little Britain