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A Route Older Than The City It Skirts
Locksmith Old Street: Older Than Rome, Newer Than You'd Think
The street was already called "old" 700 years ago, and may predate Roman London entirely. The junction at its centre lasted barely a generation. Call 020 8534 4949 for a locksmith who knows the difference between the two.
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- Old Street Coverage
Covering Old Street from Goswell Road through to the old junction. Open in Google Maps
Why Old Street Is Different
A name that was already old 700 years ago
Old Street turns up in written records as "Ealdestrate" around 1200, and as "le Oldestrete" in 1373. It was already being called the old street by the time Edward I sat on the throne. That's not a modern nickname settling in over a generation or two. It's a name that had stuck for centuries before anyone thought to write it down.
Historians reckon it may be older still. Both ends connect to confirmed Roman routes: the eastern end lines up with Ermine Street, running arrow-straight toward York. The western end follows the old road out through Aldersgate. Some believe Old Street itself is Roman, or even pre-Roman, and that it was deliberately routed to skirt around the walls of Londinium rather than through it.
A Junction That Barely Lasted A Generation
The roundabout at its centre tells the opposite story. It functioned as a traditional gyratory for decades, then TfL and the local councils dismantled it entirely. Two-way traffic returned in 2019, one arm closed for good to make way for a new public square, and the junction most people think of as permanent had, by then, been a roundabout for less time than the street itself had already been called "old" before the Romans arrived.
The safety case for the change was blunt. Forty-four people were injured there in road collisions over a single three-year stretch, most of them on foot or on a bike. Whatever the roundabout's staying power as a landmark, it never had the durability of the name painted onto every map since the sixteenth century.
We work on both kinds of building this contrast produces: doors and frames old enough that nobody's entirely sure how old, and fittings barely a few years old on flats built into the redevelopment around the new junction.
Looking for something specific? Try lockout help, a repair booking, or our out-of-hours line.
What Old Street Residents & Businesses Call About
The jobs this street actually brings in
Genuinely Old Building Stock
A handful of eighteenth and nineteenth-century buildings survive along the street's narrower eastern stretch. Careful repair respects what's actually there.
Book aheadNew-Build Flats Near The Junction
Development around the redesigned junction brought a wave of new residential blocks. Their doors fault in ordinary ways, usually a gearbox or hinge issue rather than anything historic.
Book aheadLockouts Near The Old Junction
Footfall here is heavy at almost any hour, junction or no junction. Fast, discreet entry matters as much as getting it right.
Same-day priorityShopfront & Office Security
Small shops and ground-floor offices along the street need proper commercial security, whatever era the building itself dates from.
Book aheadBroken Or Snapped Keys
Genuinely old barrels and modern-cut keys don't always agree. See broken keys for what careful extraction usually involves.
Call nowOut-of-Hours Emergencies
A street this central doesn't go quiet for long. Cover around the clock handles whatever hour it happens.
Call nowWorth stating plainly: our work covers physical locks, doors and hardware. We don't cut or duplicate keys, and any building-wide access-control or fob system sits with a specialist provider or the managing agent, not us.
Locked Out On Old Street
How a lockout plays out along this stretch
Toward the eastern, narrower end, a lockout often means an older building with a door frame that's seen more than one refit over the decades. We look at what's genuinely fitted before touching anything.
Nearer the old junction, it's a busier picture. Pedestrians and cyclists dominate the space now more than vehicles do, and a locked door here tends to get noticed within minutes rather than hours.
Either way, a non-destructive approach comes first. It resolves the great majority of lockouts without a drill ever coming out, regardless of whether the door is a decade old or considerably older.
A snapped key is typically the more straightforward fix compared to one that's properly gone. Our broken keys and lost keys pages cover each case.
Right Along Old Street
Just off this stretch
The full postcode surrounding this stretch, for the wider picture.
The estate immediately south, a short walk from the old junction.
Further south again, sharing the same stretch of tech-era redevelopment.
Meets Old Street's western end, on the old road out via Aldersgate.
Sits directly on this stretch, midway along the route.
The six-postcode overview, for context on the wider patch we cover.
What We Do
Services along Old Street
Two Ages On One Street
Working across the street's two eras
Walk the eastern stretch toward Shoreditch and the street narrows, with a handful of genuinely old domestic buildings still standing among later infill. These carry hardware that's often been through several rounds of repair long before we arrive, and we treat each layer with some caution rather than assuming a single fix covers everything.
Closer to the old junction, almost nothing predates the last few decades. Development followed the roundabout's removal fairly quickly, and much of what's there now is standard modern build, fitted with hardware that behaves predictably and fails in ordinary, fixable ways.
Neither end is harder than the other. They're just different jobs, and knowing which one we're walking into changes what's in the van before we set off.
If you're unsure which category your building falls into, tell us roughly when it was built when you call. That alone usually settles the approach.
The Process
Booking a locksmith Old Street callout
- Call or WhatsAppGive us a rough idea how old the building is.
- We match the approachGenuinely old hardware and modern builds need different care.
- On-site assessment firstThe engineer checks the door in person before pricing anything.
- Fixed properly, first visitMost jobs along this stretch are done in one trip.
Access & Traffic
Getting an engineer along the street
The removal of the old gyratory changed traffic patterns for good. Two-way flow replaced the roundabout, one arm closed permanently, and what used to be a predictable loop is now a junction that behaves more like an ordinary crossroads with heavier pedestrian and cycle priority.
That's mostly welcome, but it means an engineer relying on an old mental map of the area can misjudge timing. We route around the current layout rather than the one that existed before 2019.
Old Street station sits close to the junction and helps with access by public transport, though step-free options are limited. Cycle lanes now run through much of the junction, which is worth knowing if you're expecting a van to pull up exactly where a roundabout used to be.
Why People Call Us
What sets this stretch apart
- We know the street's two ages. A pre-Roman route and a five-year-old flat get different treatment.
- Careful with anything genuinely old. We check first rather than assume a standard fix applies.
- Familiar with the current junction layout. We route by what's there now, not by an outdated map.
- Both trade and home covered. Flats and shopfronts alike, properly.
- Straightforward about our limits. Locks and doors, not key cutting or access-control programming.
- Available at any hour. This stretch doesn't go quiet for long, and neither do we.
Nearby
Areas around Old Street
Common Questions
The Street's Name & Origins
Was Old Street really named that centuries ago?
Yes. Written records show "Ealdestrate" around 1200 and "le Oldestrete" by 1373, so the name has stuck for at least 700 years.
Is it true the street might be older than Roman London?
Some historians think so. Both ends connect to known Roman roads, and the route appears to have been laid out to go around Londinium rather than through it.
Do any genuinely old buildings survive along the street?
A handful do, mainly toward the narrower eastern end. Most have been altered over time, and we check what's actually there before suggesting any work.
Does the street's age mean special permission is needed for lock work?
Not usually. Most of what survives isn't formally listed, though we'll flag it plainly on the rare occasion a specific building does need that consideration.
The Junction & Its Redevelopment
Why did the roundabout disappear?
Safety was the stated reason. A significant share of injuries there involved pedestrians or cyclists, and the redesign introduced two-way traffic and a new public space instead.
When did the roundabout actually stop being a roundabout?
The main changeover happened in 2019, after several years of planning and construction work around the junction.
Has new building work changed what kind of jobs you see near the junction?
Yes, noticeably. Newer flats near the junction bring fairly standard modern faults, quite different from the older stock further along the street.
Booking Along Old Street
Do you cover the whole length of Old Street, both ends?
Yes, we treat the street as one stretch rather than splitting coverage by which end you're on.
Can you reach a lockout quickly near the old junction?
Yes, it's a well-covered part of our patch, and footfall there keeps it firmly on our radar for fast response.
How do I book if I'm not sure which postcode my address falls under?
Just give us the street name and number. We'll confirm the postcode ourselves rather than needing you to work it out first.
Is out-of-hours cover available for shops as well as flats?
Yes, genuinely around the clock, for both. A shutter fault at 2am gets the same priority as a residential lockout.
Can you fit us in around a shop's opening hours rather than closing early?
Usually, yes. Tell us the hours when you book and we'll work the visit around them rather than asking you to shut early.
Centuries old, or barely five years built. One number either way.
Old building stock or new-build flat, eastern end or the old junction — call or message us and we'll match the right engineer to the job.