spitsq3b

 

Number 20 - the house next door but one to Number 18.

Spital Square is where the Master Silkweavers lived. They were the masters of the trade who oversaw the ordering of raw silk cocoons from Italy to the finished product – glorious coloured floral silks for the gowns and waistcoats of London’s high fashion seekers.

The whole area of Spitalfields would have had an air of prosperity. Even as you walk further east towards Brick Lane, where it is possible to see how the houses become less opulent, there is still a feeling of the 1700’s being a time of success. Fifty years ago this was a slum area; houses now sell for four to six million pounds each!

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