Sir Christopher Hatton
Lord Chancellor
Born Circa 1540
Died 20th November 1591
Inscription reads:
Plaque reads:
Sir Christopher Hatton was born in 1540 and died in 1591.He was Lord Chancellor of England
and according to some, a secret lover of Elizabeth I. She granted him the grounds of Ely Palace
on which Hatton House was built. A generous gift which did much to fuel the rumours. Hatton House
was demolished in the 1600s to make way for a new small town called Hatton Garden: this became
the centre of London’s jewellery trade. By 1850, all of the houses in the area had become a workshop
or a diamond merchant’s {sic}. In 1987. 80% of the world’s diamonds passed through Hatton
Garden where De Beers has its headquarters.
