Cordwainer and Bread Street Ward Schools

The City of London was divided into wards for the purpose of government as early as Norman times. The wards had responsibility to keep the peace, supervise trade and oversee sanitation, and each ward has the right to elect an Alderman and Commoners to sit in the Court of Common Council, Corporation of London.

Cordwainer Ward lies between Vintry Ward south, Cheap Ward north, Bread Street Ward west and Cheap and Walbrook wards east. Bread Street Ward is bounded on the north by Cripplegate and Farringdon Within wards, on the south by Queenhithe, the west by Castle Baynard and the east by Cordwainer wards.

The ward school was established by subscription for boys in 1701 and for girls in 1714, it previously appears to have been the St Mary le Bow Charity School. In Rocque's map of 1746 the school is shown in Well Court, Bow Lane. A school- house was built in 1766 on a piece of ground leased from the Mercers' Company in Old Change. In 1822 this lease was surrendered and the school leased ground in Little Distaff Lane, where a new school-house and premises were erected. These premises were acquired by the City of London Corporation for street improvements in 1854 and the school moved to Shooters' Hill in Kent.