Dufferin Street, EC1Y
Clerkenwell Green and St James’ Church
Credit: Nevilley
Dufferin Street runs between Bunhill Row and Whitecross Street.

Dufferin Street lies north of the modern Barbican and has been on the cusp between poverty and bourgeois for much of its existence.

Nearby Whitecross Street has been home to an eponymous market since the 17th century. By the late 19th century this area had become a by-word for poverty and alcohol, known colloquially as Squalors’ Market.

In 1883 the Peabody Donation Fund built two estates, one either side of Whitecross Street: The Whitecross Street estate comprised 21 blocks on the east side of Whitecross Street between Roscoe Street and Errol Street, including three blocks at the eastern end of Dufferin Street which was laid out at this time.

At one end of Dufferin Street, Dufferin Court was built for costermongers and features barrow storage sheds in the courtyard.

Finsbury Tower occupies a prominent island site on the west side of Bunhill Row at its junctions with Dufferin Street and Lamb’s Buildings.

Dufferin Street is also a major street in Toronto, Canada. In 2003 and 2007, the Canadian version was voted as one of "Ontario’s Worst 20 Roads" in the Ontario’s Worst Roads poll organised by the Canadian Automobile Association.

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