London Fleet Street

Fleet Street runs from the Strand by the Aldwych in the east to Ludgate Hill near St Paul's Cathedral. Fleet Street has a long tradition as the home of printing. When it was the publishing centre of Britain, Charles Lamb (1775-1834) the essayist put it thus:
'The man must have a rare recipe for melancholy, who can be dull in Fleet Street!'
Just to the north of Fleet Street is the home of Dr Johnson, who is credited with creating the first English dictionary.

National daily newspapers were printed in Fleet Street until recent years, and the local pubs were always filled with journalists. In the 1970s all the newspapers moved out to new buildings. Most moved along the river to the giant Wapping print works, which is now home to all of the English national papers in the Rupert Murdoch stable.

Now many of Fleet Street's newspaper buildings lay empty, such as The Sun buildings just off Fleet Street in Bouverie Street. Back in 1846 Charles Dickens worked for a short time as editor of the Daily News in Bouverie Street. In David Copperfield he refers to the giant figures that can still be seen along Fleet Street on St Dunstan-in-the-Wests clock.
There are also a number of historic pubs along Fleet Street, including the 17th century Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, which was a favourite haunt of Dr Johnson, and later of Charles Dickens too.

Address: Fleet Street, City of London, London, EC4A 2BU