Aldersgate is a

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, England, named after one of the northern gates in the

London Wall The London Wall is a defensive wall first built by the Ancient Rome, Romans around the strategically important port town of Londinium in AD 200, as well as the name of a #modern, modern street in the City of London, England. Roman London was ...

which once enclosed the City. The Ward of Aldersgate is traditionally divided into Aldersgate Within and Aldersgate Without, the suffix denoting whether the part was within the line of the wall or outside it. The ancient ward boundaries were redrawn in 2013; the names are preserved but their location only loosely approximates to their historic extent. The gate also gave its name to Aldersgate Street, which runs north from the former gate towards

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...

. The street was wholly part of Aldersgate Without ward until a short section further north was renamed and so added to it.

The gate

The

Wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

was first built around the year 200, but Aldersgate was not one of the original Roman gates, being added later in the Roman period. The name ''Aldersgate'' is first recorded around 1000 in the form ''Ealdredesgate'', i.e. "gate associated with a man named Ealdrād"; the gate probably acquired its name in the late Saxon period. When

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

came to England to take the crowns of both England and Scotland in 1603, he entered the City at Aldersgate. Statues of the king were placed both outside (on horseback) and inside (seated on the throne) the gate to commemorate the occasion. The old gate was taken down in 1617, and rebuilt in the same year from a design by Gerard Christmas. The gate was damaged in the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

in 1666 but was repaired and remained until 1761. Aldersgate Street contained the

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

's chapel and his chambers at London House, which was used from the 18th century because it was closer to

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

than his official residence in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

Ward of Aldersgate

The ward of Aldersgate straddles the (now former) line of London Wall and the old gate and historically was divided into "Within" and "Without" divisions, with a deputy (alderman) appointed for each division. There is now only one deputy alderman for the ward.

Geography

Aldersgate Within

The ''Within'' division was focussed on the buildings on each side of St. Martin's Le Grand (which extends northward as Aldersgate Street), Noble Street and Foster Lane. The ward took in the

liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

of St. Martin's Le Grand when that was disestablished in the 16th century.

Aldersgate Without

''Aldersgate Without'' was, at an early date, part of an area outside the northern wall called the Soke of Cripplegate, held by the church of St. Martin's Le Grand. The ''Without'' division was coterminous with that part of the Ancient Parish of St Botolph Without Aldersgate that was part of the City. The area included the parish church of St Botolph's Aldersgate and the adjacent Postman's Park, named after the former principal

sorting office A sorting office or processing and distribution center (P&DC; name used by the United States Postal Service (USPS)) is any location where postal operators bring mail after collection for sorting into batches for delivery to the addressee, whic ...

in King Edward Street, and the location of the Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice. The church outside Aldersgate was one of four London churches dedicated to Saint Botolph, a 7th-century English saint. By the end of the 11th century Botolph was regarded as the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of boundaries, and by extension of trade and travel. The division was mainly focussed on the buildings on each side of Aldersgate street and included the western part of the

Barbican Estate The Barbican Estate, or Barbican, is a residential complex of around 2,000 flats, Apartment#Maisonette, maisonettes and houses in central London, England, within the City of London. It is in an area once devastated by World War II bombings an ...

(including the

Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

), two

livery company A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are Style (form of a ...

halls (the Ironmongers' Hall and the Plaisterers' Hall) as well as 200 Aldersgate, a large office complex at the southern end of the street.

Post-2013 ward

Since ward boundary changes in 2013, almost all of the ward is Without and the former liberty and street of St. Martin's is no longer within the ward's boundaries. The much-altered new

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Aldersgate is bounded by Aldersgate Street, Beech Street, Noble Street, Angel Street, King Edward Street and Montague Street.

Aldersgate Street

Aldersgate Street forms a short section of the A1 route towards

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. It is located on the west side of the

and

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...

, near

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by ...

and the

from its opening in 1976 until it closed in December 2022 prior to its move to Smithfield Market (during which time it fell within the ward). Northbound it continues into Goswell Road at the junction with Fann Street; southbound it continues into St. Martin's Le Grand. Barbican Underground station is located on Aldersgate Street and when it was opened in 1865 was named Aldersgate Street tube station. In 1910 it was renamed Aldersgate, then Aldersgate & Barbican in 1924, before finally being renamed Barbican in 1968. Originally Aldersgate Street only corresponded to the section starting from the church of St Botolph without Aldersgate towards Long Lane. The portion of the road from Long Lane till Goswell Street (after 1864

Goswell Road Goswell Road, in Central London, is an end part of the A1. The southern part ends with one block, on the east side, in City of London; the rest is in the London Borough of Islington, the north end being Angel. It crosses Old Street/Clerkenwel ...

) was formerly named Pickax Street, where today is located the Barbican tube station. This name may derive from Pickt Hatch, an area of brothels said to be in this part of London during the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female ...

. Pick Hatch is mentioned in ''

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

'' ("Goe ... to your Mannor of Pickt-hatch") and in '' The Alchemist'' ("The decay'd Vestalls of Pickt-hatch"). By the late eighteenth century the name Pickax was no more in use, and the road was fully incorporated into Aldersgate Street.

Politics

Aldersgate is one of 25 wards of the City of London, each electing an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

to the

Court of Aldermen The Court of Aldermen forms part of the senior governance of the City of London Corporation. It comprises twenty-five Aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor (becoming senior Alderman during his or her year of office). ...

and

commoner A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

s (the City equivalent of a

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

) to the

Court of Common Council The Court of Common Council is the primary decision-making body of the City of London Corporation. It meets nine times per year. Most of its work is carried out by committees. City of London Corporation elections , Elections are held at least eve ...

of the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...

. Only electors who are Freemen of the City of London are eligible to stand. In the 2017 City-wide Common Council elections, the Labour Party won one seat in Aldersgate ward with local resident Richard Crossan standing for Labour and being elected unopposed. The Labour Party won a record total of five seats on the Common Council in March 2017 winning two seats in Portsoken, two seats in

Cripplegate Cripplegate was a city gate, gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London, England. The Cripplegate gate lent its name to the Cripplegate Wards of the City of London, ward of the City, which encompasses the area where the gat ...

ward and one seat in Aldersgate ward. Current elected representatives in Aldersgate, following the 2022 Common Council election and Aldermanic election are Christopher Makin (Alderman), Randall Anderson (Deputy), Naresh Sonpar, Steve Goodman, Helen Fentiman, Deborah Oliver and Anett Ridegg.

History

The wards of London appear to have taken shape in the 11th century, before the Norman Conquest. Their administrative, judicial and military purpose made them equivalent to Hundreds in the countryside. The primary purpose of wards like Aldersgate, which included a gate, appears to be the defence of the gate, as gates were the weakest points in any fortification. The ward initially only included land within the walls, but a degree of growth beyond the gate meant some of the land beyond came under the sway of the City. Boundary markers – bars – were established here and elsewhere with the suburb eventually becoming part of the City. Aldersgate Bars are recorded as early as 1197. A mansion above Aldersgate, referred to as Aldrichgate, was gifted to John Blytone, the earliest known sword-bearer of the

when he resigned from the service of the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

in 1395.

Religion

In 1554 Aldersgate Street was the scene of a fraud where Elizabeth Crofts was smuggled into a wall to pretend to be a heavenly voice. Reputedly 17,000 people came to listen to her give out anti-Catholic propaganda.Daniel Hahn, 'Crofts, Elizabeth (b. c. 1535)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 7 Dec 2014
/ref> The house of Sarah Sawyer, in Rose and Rainbow Court (approximately the site of the present

), formed one of the earliest

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

meetings in London (before 1655). In 1675, it became a dedicated meeting house, the Box Meeting, used mainly by Quaker women for poor relief, on her marriage. Aldersgate Flame

28 Aldersgate Street is the approximate former location of a

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

. On 24 May 1738, attending a meeting at the church, the clergyman

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

underwent a profound religious experience. The following year, he broke with the Moravians and founded the Methodist Society of England. The yearly anniversary of his experience is celebrated by Methodists as Aldersgate Day.

Wesley's Chapel Wesley's Chapel (originally the City Road Chapel) is a Methodist Church of Great Britain, Methodist church situated in the St Luke's, London, St Luke's area in the south of the London Borough of Islington. Opened in 1778, it was built under the ...

, in nearby

City Road City Road or The City Road is a road that runs through central London. The northwestern extremity of the road is at Angel where it forms a continuation of Pentonville Road. Pentonville Road itself is the modern name for the eastern part of Lo ...

, remains a major focal point of the worldwide Methodist movement.

The arts

The poet Thomas Flatman was born in a house in Aldersgate Street in 1633. As with most historic buildings on this stretch of road, the building no longer stands. At Nos. 35-38 stood Shaftesbury House, built around 1644 by

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...

. It was demolished in 1882. Lauderdale House was demolished in 1708, the London home of the

Duke of Lauderdale Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...

and earlier the house of his mother-in-law, the Countess of Home. No. 134 for many years had a sign claiming: "This was

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's House". Although the building was very close to the nearby

Fortune Playhouse The Fortune Playhouse was an historic theatre in London. It was located between Whitecross Street, London, Whitecross Street and the modern Golden Lane, London, Golden Lane, just outside the City of London. It was founded about 1600, and suppre ...

, there is no documentary evidence surviving to indicate that Shakespeare resided here; a subsidy roll from 1598 shows a "William Shakespeare" as owner of the property, but there is nothing to indicate that it is the playwright. The building no longer exists, and Barbican station now occupies the site. The nearby

Shakespeare Tower William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

is named for this (tenuous) connection. At the point where Aldersgate Street changes its name to Goswell Road there is also a public house "The Shakespeare".

Lost buildings

Adjacent to the modern roundabout on the site of the gate was the former headquarters of the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...

(closed in 1910 and demolished shortly afterwards), and the adjoining Postman's Park. The southern part of the roundabout and the northern part of where the Post Office once stood are located on the site of a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

and

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

founded in 750 by Withu, King of Kent, hugely expanded in 1056 by Ingebrian, Earl of Essex, and issued with a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

in 1068 by

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

. The site of the church was cleared in 1818 in preparation for the construction of the Post Office. Most of the buildings on Aldersgate Street were destroyed or badly damaged in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The entire length of the eastern side of the street is now occupied by a part of the Barbican residential and arts complex. At the corner in between Aldersgate Street and Long Lane, opposite to the now Barbican station and Beech Street, stood the "Manchester Hotel" with over 240 rooms. It used to be a Victorian landmark in the area, popular with business men, visitors and juries attending trials at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

. Opened in 1879, refurbished and modernised in 1921, suffered severe damages by the

bombs and was consequently demolished. After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

it was temporary closed, and commanded by the government as a hostel for Jewish refugees escaping Poland and Belgium. Advertisement of the hotel regularly featured on local magazines and

periodicals Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

referring to its splendid rooms, wine cellar, luncheon for City workers, and as a venue for wedding receptions.

Image gallery

Site of Aldersgate - Aldersgate Street London EC1A 4JA.jpg, Site of Aldersgate ShaftesburyHouse.jpg, ShaftesburyHouse - demolished in 1882 Crescent House, Golden Lane Estate, Goswell Road, EC1 - geograph.org.uk - 1069837.jpg, Aldersgate Street Aldersgate Street - geograph.org.uk - 723858.jpg, Aldersgate Street, north side from the Barbican highwalk A1 Aldersgate Street - geograph.org.uk - 967304.jpg, Aldersgate Street, south side from the Barbican highwalk P10250LtlBrtn.JPG, Little Britain, a street in the ward St Botolph-without-Aldersgate Church, Aldersgate Street.jpg, St Botolph-without-Aldersgate Church St Botolph without Aldersgate, London EC1 - geograph.org.uk - 1209699.jpg, St Botolph-without-Aldersgate Church after redecoration Postman's Park from Aldersgate Street.JPG, Postman's Park from Aldersgate Street ALDERSGATE PLAQUE.jpg, Aldersgate plaque ALDERSGATE HISTORY.jpg, Aldersgate history Aldersgate view.jpg, Aldersgate street view French Protestant Chapel St Martin's Le Grand.png, No. 1 Aldersgate Street (the Money Order Office) (right) and the French Protestant Chapel in St Martin's Le Grand (left) (both demolished 1888).

References

External links

City of London Corporation
Map of Aldersgate ward (2003 —)

showing its precincts
Historic map showing the ward of Aldersgate
its two divisions and the liberty of St Martins
18th century map showing the location of the gate
(towards the bottom right corner)
Map of Early Modern London: Aldersgate Ward
- Historical Map and Encyclopedia of Shakespeare's London (Scholarly)
Aldersgate Ward Club
- A Social Club based in the City of London {{City of London gates Barbican Estate History of Methodism London Wall and its gates Wards of the City of London