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 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 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 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 (including the
Museum of London), two
livery company 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 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. It is located on the west side of the
Barbican Estate and
Barbican Centre, near
St Bartholomew's Hospital and the
Museum of London 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) 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. Pick Hatch is mentioned in
The Merry Wives of Windsor ("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 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. 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 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
City of London when he resigned from the service of the
Lord Mayor of London 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. 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. The property at 28 Aldersgate Street is the approximate former location of a
Moravian Church. On (24 May 1738) / May 24, 1738, while attending a meeting at the church, the Anglican clergyman
John Wesley underwent a profound religious experience that he described as a "warming of the heart". The following year, he left the Moravians and founded the
Methodist Society of England. The yearly anniversary of his experience is celebrated by Methodists on
Aldersgate Day.
Wesley's Chapel, in nearby
City Road, remains a major focal point of the worldwide Methodist charismatic movement. Aldersgate Renewal Ministries (ARM) is a global movement where people may experience their own Pentecost, pray for healing, pray God's will in a heavenly language unknown to the speaker (tongues), encounter and pray with the Holy Spirit using spiritual / charismatic gifts that are listed in 1 Corinthians 12 of the Holy Bible. Working with churches in the Wesleyan heritage (including the United Methodist Church), people encounter the Holy Spirit, and are encouraged to live supernatural, Holy Spirit-filled lives. ARM teaches people today of the rich Wesleyan heritage and history, recognizing that John Wesley's theology of grace is in fact a theology of the Holy Spirit.
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. It was demolished in 1882. Lauderdale House was demolished in 1708, the London home of the
Duke of Lauderdale 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's House". 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 station now occupies the site. The nearby
Shakespeare Tower 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 , late 1820s. Adjacent to the modern roundabout on the site of the gate was
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 where the Post Office once stood are located 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. Most of the buildings on Aldersgate Street were destroyed or badly damaged in the
Second World War. 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. Opened in 1879 and refurbished and modernised in 1921, it suffered severe damage by the
Second World War bombs and was consequently demolished. After the
First World War it was temporary closed and commandeered by the government as a hostel for Jewish refugees escaping Poland and Belgium. Advertisement of the hotel regularly featured on local magazines and
periodicals referring to its splendid rooms, wine cellar, luncheon for City workers, and as a venue for wedding receptions. == See also ==