
Great Maze Pond, London Bridge, UK
Posted by:
Team Sieni
N 51° 30.223 W 000° 05.226
30U E 702156 N 5709866
A large plaque explaining the name of this street - Great Maze Pond
Waymark Code: WM9HA5
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/22/2010
Views: 5
This large plaque, erected by the Pool of London, explains the history of the street - Great Maze Pond. The plaque reads:
The "Maze" Pond which used to be situated at the southern end of the Guy's site was fed by a tributary of the River Thames, now known as 'Guy's Creek'. Archaeological excavation of the site has unearthed an early Romano-British boat and Roman timbers edging the creek.
In the Middle Ages farmers from kent and Surrey used to drive their cattle up to London for sale at Smithfield Market. The fields around the Maze Pond were a focal point where the cattle were grazed and watered.
"Guy's Hospital for Incurables" was built on this iste in 1725. John Rocque's 1746 Map of London shows the pond still in existence. The local street-names then included "Maze Pond", "Little Maze Pond" and "The Maze Pond", which subsequently became Great Maze Pond - the name it still has today.
The area now occupied by London Bridge station and Guys Hospital was once known as "the Maze", and was the site of a Manor - Maze Manor - as far back as 1386. See A History of the County of Surrey, H.E. Malden, 1912