Place Name
This was until the 15thCentury, when it was superseded by Billingsgate, the City’s most important landing place. Meaning the Queen’s Dock it was named in 1152 as Quenhyth in honour of Queen Matilda (February 7, 1102 – September 10, 1167), wife of Henry I, who was granted duties on goods landed here, which she then gave to the Priory of Holy Trinity which she had founded at Aldgate. However this dock can be traced back to Saxon times as it was built as a royal quay and mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon Carter of AD898 as Ætheredes hyd meaning Æthelred’s harbour, referring to the underling of Mercia and King Alfred’s son-in-law. It is thought that the dock may even be far older, dating back to Roman times. This small street was first recorded as Quenehith in 1547.
