Most of that parish lay within the medieval, near fixed, boundaries of the City of London, with the main exception being this northernmost area in the adjoining county of Middlesex.

[3] The name and date of establishment of the liberty (1601) attest to its "glass-house" or glass-making factory, recorded in later decades.

This status coincided with the reign of Elizabeth I, whose government pursued a policy of encouraging new industries, exempting them from onerous tithes.

[11] The liberty was a separate jurisdiction from the remainder of the parish of St Botolph for the administration of the poor law,[3][12] and by the early eighteenth century the chief officer was known as the "headborough".

[11][14][15] A board of guardians of twenty members was formed, with 2 being elected from the parish of St Botolph Aldersgate.

The Holborn District Board of Works covered five Middlesex parishes and consisted of forty-nine vestrymen, of which one represented Glasshouse Yard.

A modern street named Glasshouse Yard has been constructed to the west of Goswell Road and adjacent to the Golden Lane Estate.