Cordwainer "cobbler" have often been considered not interchangeable, according to a tradition in Britain that restricted cobblers to repairing shoes. In this usage, a "cordwainer" is someone who makes new shoes using new leather, where as a "cobbler" is someone who repairs shoes. Medieval cordovan leather was used for the highest quality shoes, but cordwainers also used domestically produced leathers and were not solely producers of luxury footwear. In the historic London guild system, the cobblers and cordwainers were separate guilds, and the cobblers were forbidden from working in new leather. Historically, cobblers also made shoes, but only using old leather
Cordwainer (ward) to the east by Walbrook ward and a street of the same name. Streets within Cordwainer's boundaries are, amongst others, Bow Lane, Pancras Lane and part of Watling Street. Queen Street runs north-south through the centre of the ward. In mediaeval times and long before the most recent boundary changes in 2003, Cordwainer was divided into eight precincts: The contemporary ward is home to many large businesses and new initiatives such as Bow Bells House, named after the bells of St Mary-le-Bow church—and not as sometimes thought the area of Bow. Cordwainer contains one other church, St Mary Aldermary, and