A Richard carpenter was found living in Fleetsreet in London as a possible
father of Town Clerk John Carpenter.
Gill carpenter quoted good 14th century material that suggested the area was
not suitable for quality habitation. The area in question was the Fleet
Prison, which upon further investigation was actually located on an island
in the Fleet River. Fleetstreet itself was a long road that ran parallel to
the Thames River. Thus the Fleet River could have only affected a small area
of the Fleetsreet. In addition I quoted material that showed extremely
influentual people living in Fleetsreet in the 1300s. Here is an additional
such person, quoted from Patent Rolls for 1359.
"The like to William de Shareshull, William de Thorpe, Robert de Thorpe,
Henry Grene, William de Notton and John Lovekyn, mayor of London, touching
certain satellites of the devil who plotting the death of Thomas de Setton,
one of the justices of the Bench retained by the king to be one of the
secret council, hired Thomas de Nesebit, chaplain, to kill him, which
Thomas, when Thomas de Seton was of the king's council, entered his dwelling
at Fleetstreet London, in friendly fashion and uttering fair words to him
there struck him in the belly with a knife and atrociously wounded him, so
that his life was despaired of."
I think this and the previous material quoted re. Fleetsreet confirms that,
regardless of poor conditions in one area, and a bad reputation hundreds of
years later, Fleetstreet prior to John the Town Clerk was a residential area
for the wealthy and educated.
Sincerely,
Bruce E. Carpenter