Browsing through a volume on London history I came across a word “Cnihtengild“, a typo obviously, but no just my ignorance.
King Edgar 943-957 also known as Edgar the peaceful
The Cnihtengild (Knights Guild) was a body of thirteen Knights who were granted the land lying to the east of Aldgate and Bishopsgate in the 10th century by King Edgar. The parcel of land was known as Portsoken and measured around 5 hectares in area and was given to the Knights in return for them organising regular jousting tournaments.
The guild was made up of Knights and soldiers who were “welbeloved to the king and realme, for service by them done“. The guild were allegedly responsible for the creation of St Botolph’s church at Aldgate, sometime before 1115 and the decedents of the original Knights are named in conjunction with the custodianship of the church, “Radulphus Fitzalgod, Wilmarde le Deuereshe, Orgare le Prude, Edward Hupcornehill, Blackstanus, and Alwine his kinsman, and Robert his brother, the sonnes of Leafstanus the Goldsmith, Wiso his sonne, Hugh Fitzvulgar and Algare Secusme“.
Circa 1530
The land set aside for jousting continued to be used until the knights gave the land to the Austin friars of Holy Trinity Priory at Aldgate in 1108 for the monks to use as a garden. The land reverted to the crown in the 1530s and was divided up and sold to courtiers and merchants and by the 1700s was covered by houses and workshops
Circa 1670
The area today is known as Devonshire Square with part of it named Cutlers Garden which is owned by the Standard Life Insurance Company. In 1989 they commissioned a statue by Denys Mitchell which was unveiled in 1990 celebrating the origins of the the land that the gardens sit upon.
A Knight of the Cnihtengild
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