The earliest mention is found in a rent register of 1422 as "agger anglicorum" (dam of the English). In 1440 it is referred to as "engelischer tamm" in a charter issued by the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order concerning boundary corrections between the Main Town and the Danzig Commandery.

From the details in this charter, it appears that the street's course was determined by the pond called Brensa, already mentioned in the Main Town's founding charter of 1342. By 1440 this pond had been filled in, but its former outlet into the Motlawa river is identified as the spot where the Scharpau granary backed onto the Englischer Damm.

The Englischer Damm formed the boundary between the meadows belonging to the Main Town (Langgarten and the Lower Town) and the lands of the Teutonic Order. This circumstance likely prompted the English merchants -- who had settled in Danzig in growing numbers since the early 15th century, particularly after the suppression of the uprising of 1410/11 -- to establish themselves here on Order territory, where they enjoyed comparatively greater safety from the hostility of their Main Town trading rivals.

The favor shown to English guests by the Grand Master provoked strong resentment in the Main Town, where the English already owned the property known as the "English House" on Brotbaenkengasse (Bread Stall Lane). Relations with the citizenry were quite strained and even led to several violent clashes.

In some of the historical literature, the Englischer Damm is confused in terms of its extent with the Schottischer Damm (Scottish Dam) or Mattenbudener Damm. Even today, this street still bears the translated name Englischer Damm (English Dam).

History