41-695: Minories ( / ˈ m ɪ n ər iː z / MIN -ə-reez ) is the name of a small former administrative unit, and also of a street in the Aldgate area of the City of London . Both the street and the former administrative area take their name from the Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate . Both are positioned just to the east of, and outside, the line of London's former defensive walls , in London's East End . The area of
82-527: A Jewish family in Aldgate. He was author of The Art of Boxing and became an English boxing champion from 1792 to 1795. From 1700 distances into Essex and Middlesex were measured from Aldgate Pump. The original pump was taken down in 1876, and a "faux" pump and drinking fountain was erected several yards to the west of the original; it was supplied by water from the New River . In ancient deeds, Alegate Well
123-479: A Saxon named "Ealh," or reference to foreigners ("el") or oil ("ele") or "awl". Gillian Bebbington, writing in 1972, suggests Alegate, Aelgate ("public gate") or Aeldgate ("Old Gate") as equally viable alternatives, while Weinreb and Hibbert, writing in 1983, revert to Stow's theory that the name means "Old Gate". It is thought that a gate at Aldgate spanned the road to Colchester in the Roman period, when London Wall
164-547: A cable 7 miles (11 km) long, to which the trains were attached on the cable car principle. It opened on 6 July 1840, as the City of London terminus for the L&;BR (then known as the Commercial Railway). The following year, it was supplemented by a new station several hundred yards to its west, named Fenchurch Street , designed by William Tite . However, Minories station continued in use as an alternative terminus; it
205-496: A civil parish in 1895 and absorbed into the parish of Whitechapel . The parish took its name from Holy Trinity Minories church, just off St Clare St, which was built 1706 on the site of an earlier church but destroyed during the Blitz in 1940. The modern street named Minories runs north–south with traffic flowing both-ways from Aldgate to Tower Hill ; it is part of the A1211 road between
246-619: A part of the London and Blackwall Railway – a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) cable railway. The site is now occupied by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station Tower Gateway , which opened in 1987 as the system's western terminus. The DLR was extended westward in 1991 to Bank , leaving Tower Gateway as a secondary alternative terminus. 51°30′39″N 0°04′30″W / 51.5108°N 0.0751°W / 51.5108; -0.0751 Aldgate Aldgate ( / ˈ ɔː l ɡ eɪ t / )
287-619: A well-preserved Roman statue of an eagle with a snake in its mouth, thought to have been part of a funerary monument, was discovered on a building site on the street, close to its junction with Aldgate High Street. Burials were forbidden within the inhabited area in the Roman period, so the City's defensive wall was ringed by many large cemeteries. The statue is considered to be one of the best examples of Romano-British sculpture in existence. The street gave its name to Minories railway station , built in 1840 as
328-419: Is mentioned, adjoining the City wall, and this may have been the source (of water) for the original pump. A section of the remains of Holy Trinity Priory can be seen through a window in a nearby office block, on the north side. In the 1970s, the historic street pattern in central Aldgate was altered to form one large traffic gyratory at the junction which included Whitechapel High Street and Commercial Road. This
369-457: Is now bounded by White Kennet Street in the north and Crutched Friars in the south, taking in Leadenhall and Fenchurch Streets . It therefore now includes a small area outside the line of the former walls. The Augustinians priory of Holy Trinity Aldgate was founded by Matilda , the wife of King Henry I , in 1108, on ground just inside the gate. Within Aldgate ward, a short distance to
410-470: Is prominently marked by a course of paving on the western side of the square. Notable sculptures in Aldgate are the bronze abstract "Ridirich" (1980) by Keith McCarter in the Square between Little Somerset Street and the bus garage on Aldgate High Street; "Sanctuary" (1985) outside the church of St Botolph without Aldgate made of fibreglass by Naomi Blake ; "Column" (1995) cast in bronze by Richard Perry marking
451-512: Is the closest Docklands Light Railway station. Listed clockwise from the West Minories railway station Minories was the western terminus of the London and Blackwall Railway (L&BR), located on the east side of Minories , a short distance north-east of the Tower of London . The line was operated on a cable-hauled basis with a 400 hp pair of stationary steam engines winding
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#1732848631588492-516: The Barbican and Whitechapel . The border between the City and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets ran haphazardly between Minories and nearby Mansell Street until boundary changes in 1994 relocated the present-day border along Mansell Street, so that Minories is now within the City of London. Aldgate Underground station is at the northern end of Minories, on Aldgate High Street. In September 2013,
533-507: 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 are eligible to stand. 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
574-899: The Swiss Re Building) now occupies the site, and the Baltic Exchange is located at 38 St Mary Axe. The ward today is dominated by the insurance industry, with several brokers and underwriters based there; prominent buildings include the Lloyd's Register building, 30 St Mary Axe, the Willis Building and the London Metal Exchange . Three churches are located in Aldgate ward: St. Botolph's , St Katharine Cree (1631) and St Andrew Undershaft (1532) – administered from St. Helen's in Lime Street ward . The Bevis Marks Synagogue (1699),
615-476: The Whitechapel area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets . The stretch of Whitechapel High Street extending as far as Gardiners Corner , and including Aldgate East tube station is also occasionally referred to as part of Aldgate. The church of St Botolph's Aldgate stands just outside the position of the former gate, and was in place by 1115, though some traditions suggest an earlier origin. In about 1420
656-486: The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was founded in Aldgate, but it later moved to nearby Whitechapel . The foundry continued to supply bells to churches in the city, including the rebuilt church of St Botolph without Aldgate in 1744. During the late 16th-century, an immigrant from Antwerp named Jacob Jansen (d. 1593) established a pottery producing English Delftware at Aldgate. A Jewish community developed in
697-670: The oldest in the United Kingdom , is also located in the ward, on Bevis Marks . John Cass 's school, where a plaque records the former course of London Wall, is sited on the north side of Aldgate (the street). The nearest London Underground station is Aldgate on the Circle and Metropolitan lines ; nearby Aldgate East is served today by the District and Hammersmith & City lines . Nearby mainline railway stations are located at Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street , and Tower Gateway
738-419: The 16th century, John Stow derived the name from "Old Gate" (Aeld Gate). However, Henry Harben, writing in 1918, contended that this was wrong and that documents show that the "d" is missing in documents written before 1486–87. Alternative meanings include "Ale Gate" in connection with a putative ale-house or "All Gate" meaning the gate was free to all. Other possibilities canvassed by Harben include reference to
779-524: The Minories reflects that. The name Minories can be found in other English towns, including Birmingham , Colchester , Newcastle upon Tyne and Stratford-upon-Avon . {{{annotations}}} Minories was in the ancient parish of St Botolph without Aldgate until 1557, when it became extra-parochial . The area was a papal peculiar outside the jurisdiction of the English bishops. The abbey was dissolved in 1539,
820-497: The area after Oliver Cromwell invited the Jews to return to England. They established London's oldest synagogue at Bevis Marks in 1698, In 1773 Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley , the first book by an African American was published in Aldgate after her owners could not find a publisher in Boston , Massachusetts. Daniel Mendoza was born in 1764 to
861-533: The attackers. While he was a customs official, from 1374 until 1386 - including the period of the Great Rising, Geoffrey Chaucer occupied apartments above the gate, where he wrote some of his poems. London's aldermen had first conceived of renting unneeded space over the City gates earlier in the century. Although keenly sought after due to their location, the rooms "were built for military occupancy and remained rough-hewn [and] nonprivate". Chaucer likely occupied
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#1732848631588902-506: The church of St Botolph without Aldgate , was opened on 15 June 2018 by the Lord Mayor of the City of London. The cafe on the square, Portsoken Pavilion (named after the extramural Portsoken ward), was designed by Make, architects of the award-winning Visitor Information Centre at St Paul's Cathedral . The alignment of the former London Wall , and with it the start of the East End of London,
943-456: The countryside. The primary purpose of Wards like Aldgate, which included a gate, appears to be the defence of the gate, as gates were the weakest points in any fortification. The historic City ward is bounded on the east by the line of the former London Wall , effectively parallel with Houndsditch , which separates it from the Portsoken ward. Since major boundary changes in 2013, the ward
984-429: The entrance to Petticoat Lane Market at the southern end of Middlesex Street; and six hurtling bronze horses (2015) by Hamish Mackie in the piazza at Goodman's Fields. In 2013 in Minories, Aldgate – on the last day of excavations – archaeologists found a 1,900-year-old Roman sculpture from the late 1st or early 2nd century AD in what was Roman London's "Eastern Cemetery". "The Minories Eagle", hailed by experts as one of
1025-475: The former administrative unit was outside the City of London (most recently in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets ), with the street partially in the City and partly in Tower Hamlets. Boundary changes in 1994 mean the area of both is now wholly within the City of London. Minories' name is derived from the former Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate , founded in 1294. The minoresses were nuns,
1066-480: The hooks remaineth yet. Also there hath been two portcullisses; the one of them remaineth, the other wanteth, but the place of letting down is manifest". The gate was removed in 1761 in order to improve traffic flow. The historical and cultural significance of the gate led local antiquarian Ebenezer Mussell to buy the gates stones (or some of them) and also the reliefs. The materials were used to extend his home at Bethnal Green. The reliefs were prominently displayed and
1107-590: The house renamed Aldgate House . The house was in turn cleared to make way for development between 1807 and 1811. The site, on what is now known as Victoria Park Square has since been redeveloped again, and is now the site of the 'Church of our Lady of the Assumption'. The originally Roman A11 Road, once known as the Great Essex Road , is known as Aldgate High Street as it passes through the Portsoken Ward, and
1148-465: The male Franciscans had adopted for themselves the Latin term fratres minores ("lesser or little brothers"), rendered in English as "friars minor" or just "minors". In a similar way, the female Franciscans were known in Latin as sorores minores ("lesser or little sisters"), anglicised to "minoresses". Members of the order were also known as Poor Clares or Clarisses, and the name St. Clare Street, just off
1189-586: The name being an anglicisation of the latin sorores minores ("little sisters"), a name they took out of humility. The Abbey was also known as the Abbey of St Clare, and by a variety of other variations. The Abbey was a house of the Order of St Clare of Assisi founded by St Clare, one of the first followers of St Francis of Assisi . The order was and is the female branch of the Order of St Francis or Order of Friars Minor known as Franciscans . As an expression of humility,
1230-586: The north of the gate, Jews settled from 1181, until their expulsion in 1290 by King Edward I . The area became known as Old Jewry. Jews were welcomed back by Oliver Cromwell , and once again they settled in the area, founding London's oldest synagogue at Bevis Marks in 1698. On 10 April 1992 the Provisional IRA detonated a bomb close to the Baltic Exchange , severely damaging the historic building and neighbouring structures. 30 St Mary Axe (formerly
1271-595: The property passing to the Crown. The chapel of the former abbey became the Church of Holy Trinity, Minories , and other buildings were used as an armoury and later as a workhouse. In 1686, the area became part of the Liberties of the Tower of London . The Minories area historically hosted a large Jewish community. Minories Holy Trinity, also known as Minories Holy Trinity , was abolished as
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1312-650: The rarest and finest artefacts ever unearthed in Britain would have stood in a niche in a mausoleum above the tomb of a very powerful and wealthy man. Carved in Cotswold oolitic stone and rich in iconography it shows an exquisitely carved and outstandingly preserved eagle with a serpent in its beak. It was exhibited at the Museum of London in October 2013. Aldgate is one of 25 wards in the City of London , each electing an Alderman to
1353-496: The single tower on the south end of the gate. A 1585 sketch of Aldgate's north tower reveals an interior room of approximately 16 by 14 foot (4.9 by 4.3 m); its southern sibling probably had similar dimensions. The space would have been "cramped, cold, rudimentary in its sanitary arrangements, and (perhaps most seriously in the case of a writer) ill lit, even at midday". In his Survey of London (1598), John Stow wrote that Aldgate "hath had two pair of gates, though now but one;
1394-471: The use of Aldgate as a place name typically applies to this extramural area around Aldgate High Street. The High Street is around 290 metres (950 feet) long. Due to the road geography, and its historic interest, the Aldgate Pump , a few metres inside the position of the former gate is also usually included. Immediately east of Aldgate High Street the road becomes known as Whitechapel High Street as it enters
1435-478: The use of the Aldgate and Portsoken Wards as everyday place names is very limited. Consequently, the use of Aldgate as a place name is informal, and typically applies to the Portsoken Ward, especially the central area around Aldgate High Street. Aldgate High Street is 2.3 miles (3.7 km) east of Charing Cross . The etymology of the name "Aldgate" is uncertain. It is first recorded in 1052 as Æst geat ("east gate") but had become Alegate by 1108. Writing in
1476-505: Was "fortified with porticullises and chained" in 1377 due to concerns about potential attacks by the French. Aldgate's defensive functions are known to have been tested twice. Firstly during the Great Rising in the summer of 1381 when thousands of insurgents from the surrounding region, assisted by sympathisers within and without, entered the City through Aldgate, unopposed. The second breach
1517-470: Was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London . The gate gave its name to Aldgate High Street , the first stretch of the A11 road , that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken Ward of the City of London. There is an ancient Aldgate Ward inside the line of the former gate and wall, and a similarly ancient Portsoken Ward that lies just outside of it. However
1558-478: Was closed temporarily between 15 February 1849 and 9 September 1849, before finally closing for good on 24 October 1853. The station site was later converted into goods sidings , and the lower levels of the old station were converted into the Mint Street Goods Depot. The depot remained open until April 1951; demolition came shortly afterward. The location of the station and winching houses are marked by
1599-404: Was constructed. The gateway – which probably had two circular towers – stood at the corner of the modern Duke's Place, on the east side of the city, with a busy thoroughfare passing through it. The gate was rebuilt between 1108 and 1147, again in 1215, and reconstructed completely between 1607 and 1609 "in a more classical and less functional style". Like London's other gates, Aldgate
1640-542: Was during the Siege of London , in the spring of 1471, when troops led by the Bastard of Fauconberg forced the gate, but were penned in and defeated in the small open space inside the gate. It has been argued that Aldgate's defenders deliberately allowed the vanguard of Fauconberg's men to through the gate in order that the portcullis could be lowered behind them; allowing the defenders to trap and defeat in detail that proportion of
1681-627: Was followed by office development on the traffic island at the centre, and a network of underground subways was constructed to provide pedestrian access beneath the one-way system and to provide a link to the London Underground stations. This led to parts of Aldgate being protected in the Whitechapel High Street Conservation Area and there are numerous listed buildings. Aldgate Square, a new public square sited between two heritage listed buildings, The Aldgate School and