Aldersgate is a Ward of the City of London, England, named after one of the northern gates in the London Wall 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. 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 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 came to England to take the crowns of both England and Scotland, 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 in 1666 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 18th century because it was closer to St Paul's Cathedral than his official residence in Fulham.
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 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.