In the 17th century Clerkenwell became a fashionable place of residence. Oliver Cromwell owned a house on Clerkenwell Close, just off the Green. The Industrial Revolution changed the area greatly. It became a centre for breweries, distilleries and the printing industry. It gained an especial reputation for the making of clocks and watches. Clerkenwell was once known as London’s “Little Italy” due to its extensive Italian population from the 1850s to the 1960s.
