Aldersgate

Coordinates: 51°31′01″N 0°05′49″W / 51.517°N 0.0969°W / 51.517; -0.0969

Ward of Aldersgate
Ward of Aldersgate  Ward of Aldersgate shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ321817
Sui generis	City of London
Administrative area	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	EC1, EC2
Dialling code	020
Police	City of London
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Cities of London and Westminster
London Assembly	City and East
List of places: UK • England • London

Aldersgate was a gate in the London Wall in the City of London, which has given its name to a ward and Aldersgate Street, a road leading north from the site of the gate, towards Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington.

History

An old illustration of the gate circa 1650

The ward 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. It took in the liberty of St Martin's le Grand when that was dis-established in the 16th century.^[1] However, since the 2003 ward boundary changes, 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 old gate was taken down in 1617, and re-built in the same year from a design by Gerard Christmas. The gate was damaged in the Great Fire of London, but was repaired and remained until 1761. Aldersgate Street contained the Bishop of London's Chapel and his chambers at London House, which was used from the eighteenth century because it was closer to St Paul's Cathedral than his official residence at Fulham.

Also on this street is the church of St Botolph Aldersgate, and the site of the Moravian meeting room where John Wesley, founder of Methodism reaffirmed his faith on Wednesday 24 May 1738, which is marked by a plaque. It was a Moravian Church meeting, during a reading of Dr. Martin Luther's Commentary on Romans that Wesley, reported his heart "strangely warmed," an event he described as his conversion.^[2]

A memorial plaque commemorating the place of John Wesley's "Aldersgate experience".

To the south of St Botolph's is Postman's Park, named after the former principal sorting office in King Edward Street; it is the location of The Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice.

The house of Sarah Sawyer, in Rose and Rainbow Court (approximately the site of the present Museum of London), formed one of the earliest Quaker 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.^[3]

Aldersgate Street

Aldersgate Street is near the Barbican Estate and Centre, St Bartholomew's Hospital, and the Museum of London (which falls within the ward). Northwards it continues into Goswell Road, southwards it becomes St Martin's-le-Grand. Barbican tube station is located on Aldersgate Street, and was formerly known as Aldersgate station.

The ward is bounded by Aldersgate Street, Beech Street, Noble Street, Angel Street, King Edward Street and Montague Street. The ward contains the western part of the Barbican Estate, which in total has about 5000 residents, the largest resident population in the City. The remainder of the Estate is in Cripplegate ward.

The ward is also the location of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the City of London School for Girls.

Within the ward are located three livery company halls; Ironmongers Hall, Plaisterers Hall and Barber-Surgeons Hall.

The site of the now-demolished Aldersgate in the London Wall, next to the Museum of London, is the present start of the A1. Aldersgate Street runs north from here to the northern border of the City of London, where it becomes Goswell Road.

The General Post Office headquarters building, circa 1825–1830

Adjacent to the modern roundabout on the site of the Aldersgate is the former headquarters of the General Post Office (closed in 1910 and demolished shortly afterwards), and the adjoining Postman's Park. The southern part of the roundabout and the northern part of the Post Office site stand on the site of a collegiate church and sanctuary founded in 750 by Withu, King of Kent, hugely expanded in 1056 by Ingebrian, Earl of Essex and issued with a Royal Charter in 1068 by William the Conqueror. The site of the church was cleared in 1818 in preparation for the construction of the Post Office.^[4]

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 Aldersgate Street stood Shaftesbury House, built c. 1644 by Inigo Jones. It was demolished in 1882.^[5]

134 Aldersgate Street for many years had a sign claiming "This was Shakespeare's House".^[6] Although the building was very close to the nearby Fortune Playhouse, 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 tube station now occupies the site. The nearby Shakespeare Tower is named for this (tenuous) connection.

Barbican tube station was originally named "Aldersgate Street" when it opened in 1865. It was renamed "Aldersgate" in 1910, "Aldersgate and Barbican" in 1923, and "Barbican" in 1968.^[7]

Most of the buildings on Aldersgate Street were destroyed or badly damaged in World War II. The entire length of the eastern side of the street is now occupied by the huge 40 acre (162,000m²) Barbican residential and arts complex.^[8]

John Wesley

Memorial on the believed site of Wesley's conversion

In May 1738 clergyman John Wesley attended a meeting of the Moravians in Aldersgate Street. While attending the meeting, he underwent a profound religious experience, describing it in his journal thus:

"In the evening I went unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter to nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine and saved me from the law of sin and death."^[9]

This moment was for Wesley an awakening to the assurance found in salvation by grace alone and has been referred to by scholars as a defining moment in the Methodist movement.

In 1739 Wesley broke with the Moravians and founded the Methodist Society of England. In the following years, the Methodist church spread rapidly, becoming one of the most influential Christian denominations in the world, particularly in the United States and the British Empire. A memorial at the believed site of the Moravian chapel (its exact address is not known, but it is believed to have been at 28 Aldersgate Street) marks the site of the meeting, and Wesley's Chapel in nearby City Road remains a major focal point of the international Methodist movement.

Politics

Little Britain — a street in the ward

Aldersgate is one of 25 wards in the City of London, each electing an Alderman, to the Court of Aldermen and Commoners (the City equivalent of a Councillor) to the Court of Common Council of the City of London Corporation. Only electors who are Freemen of the City of London are eligible to stand.

See also

• List of demolished buildings and structures in London
• Fortifications of London
• London
• City gate
• City wall

The nearest London Underground stations are Barbican — on the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines; and St Paul's — on the Central Line.

References

External links

• City of London Corporation Map of Aldersgate ward (2003 —)
• 1772 map of Aldersgate ward 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)

v t e City of London Wards Aldersgate Aldgate Bassishaw Billingsgate Bishopsgate Bread Street Bridge Broad Street Candlewick Castle Baynard Cheap Coleman Street Cordwainer Cornhill Cripplegate Dowgate Farringdon Within Farringdon Without Langbourn Lime Street Portsoken Queenhithe Tower Vintry Walbrook Enclaves Inner Temple Middle Temple Localities Barbican Blackfriars Broadgate Farringdon Minories Smithfield Temple Attractions Bank of England Museum Barbican Centre Clockmakers' Museum College of Arms Dr. Johnson's House Finsbury Circus Guildhall Art Gallery Leadenhall Market London Mithraeum London Stone Mansion House The Monument Museum of London One New Change Prince Henry's Room Royal Exchange St Paul's Cathedral Smithfield Market Notable structures 2 King's Bench Walk 30 St Mary Axe Aldgate Pump Bank of England Bevis Marks Synagogue Golden Boy of Pye Corner Heron Tower Holborn Circus Lloyd's building London Stock Exchange Merchant Taylors' Hall National Firefighters Memorial Old Bailey Old Billingsgate Market Tower 42 Civil parishes List of civil parishes in the City of London Bridges Blackfriars Bridge Blackfriars Railway Bridge Cannon Street Railway Bridge London Bridge Millennium Footbridge Southwark Bridge Tube and rail stations Aldgate Bank-Monument Barbican Blackfriars Cannon Street City Thameslink Fenchurch Street Liverpool Street Mansion House Moorgate St. Paul's Tower Gateway Category Commons

v t e Gates and Bars of the City of London Former gates of London Wall and City bars Listed clockwise from the West Temple Bar · Ludgate† · Holborn Bar · Newgate† · Aldersgate† · Cripplegate† · Moorgate  · Bishopsgate† Bars · Aldgate† · (Tower) Posterngate Water-gates: Billingsgate and Dowgate Bridge-gates: Great Stone Gateway and New Stone Gate †The six Roman gates