Early History
The abbey of St Mary Graces stood near Tower Hill until the dissolution of the monasteries. An old map shows a river running down each side of "Nightingall Lane" (now called Thomas More Street). In 1954 Kenneth Reid suggested this was one of London's "lost rivers" and that it ran from Well Street into the Thames. In 1686 the "Tower Liberty" was extended beyond the Tower of London to include Minories, the Old Artillery Ground and Wellclose. The word "Wellclose" was used to indicate the whole area until the middle of the nineteenth century.
Daniel Defoe mentions the square is his book "A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain" (1724). He says that there used to be a well in the centre of the square. It was also known as Goodman's Field's Well.
Read more about this topic: Wellclose Square
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