Clerkenwell first became a fashionable place to live in the 17th century, as a resort where Londoners enjoyed tea gardens, theatres (like Sadler's Wells) and spas; in fact, you can still see part of Clerks' Well after which the village was originally named.

The area later became famous as a centre for clock and watch-making, alongside the jewellers and goldsmiths of Hatton Garden. Dr Johnson regularly strode these streets, as did Nell Gwynne, Daniel Defoe and John Bunyan. Clerkenwell Green is also distinguished by a long tradition of radicalism. Oliver Cromwell lived just off the Green (where Oliver Twist first saw Fagin and the Artful Dodger at work), and Lenin shared many a pint with Stalin in what is now the Crown Tavern.

It's still one of the best preserved village centres in central London - a vibrant modern community with a fascinatingly rich past.

apartments in clerkenwell

May 22, 2009