Grub Street, later known as Milton Street, was a street in the Cripplegate Without suburb, just north of London's defensive wall. It ran from Fore Street, east of St Giles-without-Cripplegate, north to Chiswell Street.

The street was later renamed Milton Street. It was heavily damaged during World War II bombing and partially covered by the Barbican Estate development, but parts of it still remain. The name Grub Street continues to be used as a term to describe poor writers and works of little literary value.

Grub Street had narrow entrances to alleys and courts along its length, many of which kept the names from early signs. A group of artists and writers lived there, along with low-rent boarding houses, brothels, and coffeehouses.

Grub Street was famous for having many poor "hack writers," aspiring poets, and small publishers and booksellers. It existed on the edges of London's journalism and literary world.

According to Samuel Johnson's Dictionary, the term originally referred to a street "much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary poems, whence any mean production is called grubstreet." Johnson is said to have lived and worked on Grub Street early in his career, but this is uncertain. The popular image of Grub Street was promoted by Alexander Pope in his poem Dunciad.

Toponymy

Grub Street likely got its name from a ditch where trash was thrown (called "grub") that ran next to it. Over time, the name changed in different ways, such as Grobstrat (1217–1243), Grobbestrate (1277–1278), Grubbestrate (1281), Grubbestrete (1298), Grubbelane (1336), Grubstrete, and Crobbestrate. The word "grub" was also used as a disrespectful term for someone with low skill or poor manners, or someone who dressed sloppily and acted rudely.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the verb "grub" means "to dig lightly on the surface of the ground; to clear the ground of roots and stumps." The earliest known use of the word was in 1300, in the phrase "Theif hus brecand, or gruband grund," and again in 1572, in "Ze suld your ground grube with simplicitie." The word "grub" shares the same origin as the words "grave" and "graft."

History

Grub Street was located in the Cripplegate ward of the St Giles-without-Cripplegate parish. The ward was divided by city walls, making it both inside and outside the city. Much of the area was once marshland, stretching from the Fleet Ditch to Bishopsgate and next to Moorfields to the east.

In 1267, records from St Alphage Churchwardens' Accounts describe a stream flowing from nearby marshes through Grub Street and under the city walls into the Walbrook river. This stream may have provided water for local people, but the marshes were drained in 1527.

One early resident of Grub Street was Henry Welby, a reclusive man who owned the Goxhill estate in Lincolnshire. In 1592, his half-brother tried to shoot him with a pistol. After this, Welby moved to Grub Street and lived in seclusion for the rest of his life. He died in 1636 and was buried at St Giles in Cripplegate. Another resident was Giles Farnaby, a musician who lived there from 1634 until his death in 1640.

Grub Street’s land was used for archery practice. In 1483, Henry VII ordered Finsbury Fields to be converted into archery grounds. However, by the Elizabethan era, archery was no longer popular, and Grub Street became mostly empty, with only gambling houses and skittle-grounds. John Stow wrote in 1603 that Grub Street was convenient for bowyers because it was near the archery practice areas in Finsbury Fields. In 1651, poet Thomas Randolph wrote about Grub Street in a poem.

In 1677, a London directory listed six merchants living in Grub Street. Costermongers, who sold goods on the street, also worked there. A man named Mr. Horton earned £2,000 by renting wheelbarrows. Land in Grub Street was cheap and mostly occupied by poor people. The area was known for diseases like ague and the Black Death. During the 1660s, the Great Plague of London killed nearly 8,000 people in the parish.

In 1801, the population of St Giles was estimated at about 25,000, but by the late 1800s, it had declined. In the 18th century, Cripplegate was known for its poor and criminal population. By the mid-1800s, crime was common, and criminals were punished severely, such as being left hanging in chains on Moorfields.

The parish kept four "cages" as shelters for the poor, sick, and people accused of fraud. Conditions in the cages were bad, and some people died from hunger. One cage was near Grub Street, where poverty was seen as a crime against society. Punishments included whipping and cutting a hole in the ear. Before writers moved there in the 18th century, Grub Street was already a poor area.

The first literary mention of Grub Street was in 1630 by poet John Taylor. The area was known for its nonconformist religious views. Presbyterian preacher Samuel Annesley was replaced by an Anglican in 1662. Famous Puritans who lived near Grub Street included John Foxe, John Speed, and Robert Crowley. John Milton also lived nearby.

In 1403, the City of London approved a guild for stationers, who were booksellers, illuminators, or bookbinders. By 1557, the guild received a royal charter and became the Stationers’ Company, a printers’ guild. In 1559, it became one of London’s 47 livery companies.

The Stationers’ Company had the power to search for and seize unlicensed printed materials, backed by the state. This monopoly continued until 1641, when the Long Parliament abolished the Star Chamber, ending state censorship. Despite this, some pamphlets were still distributed by street hawkers.

During the English Civil War, Grub Street printers published anti-Caroline literature and false stories about the Irish Rebellion. One printer, Bernard Alsop, was involved in publishing fake letters, leading to the pillorying of John Bond. Alsop and his colleague were imprisoned for several months.

After the war, the Licensing Order of 1643 tightened press control, but many unlicensed printers still operated. The Bill of Rights in 1689 led to the end of the Licensing of the Press Act in 1695, allowing more freedom for the press. Jonathan Swift joked about the lively news from Grub Street.

Publishing houses and garrets made Grub Street a home for many writers. The term "hack writer" became associated with the area, as writers were often hired for their work. Authors like Andrew Marvell and Oliver Goldsmith were linked to this term. Ned Ward described writers as similar to prostitutes, forced into writing for survival.

One such writer was Samuel Boyse. Contemporary accounts describe him as…

Legacy

Grub Street became a symbol for making printed materials for sale. In early 18th-century America, early writings like handwritten songs and short humorous pieces were shared among wealthy people, taverns, and coffeehouses. Similar to England, many of these writings focused on politicians of that time.

"Grub Street Productions," a group of American TV producers named David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee, created two situation comedies called Wings and Frasier.

New York magazine features a blog series titled "The Grub Street Diet." Each week, the blog describes a week of eating in the life of a different celebrity, written from the celebrity's own perspective.