Place Name
Named in the 16thCentury after the 13thCentury St Pancras Soper Lane, the church dedicated to St Pancras which stood here until destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. St Pancras was a teenage Christian orphan in Rome at the time of Diocletian’s persecutions. He was beheaded in AD303 for refusing to deny his faith. The church had stood here since at least 1257, when it is featured in documents, although tradition has it that it was founded by St Augustine some 700 years before. Following its destruction in 1666, the grounds were used as a burial ground until 1853 after which time the land was left derelict. However, following its purchase by the City of London, it has been transformed into a small garden. It was recorded as Nedlerslane in 1401, after the needle making trade here but became St Pancreases Lane in 1548.
