St Botolph's Aldgate

Coordinates: 51°30′50″N 00°04′34″W / 51.51389°N 0.07611°W / 51.51389; -0.07611 St Botolph's Aldgate (St Botolph without Aldgate and Holy Trinity Minories in full, sometimes known simply as Aldgate Church) is a Church of England parish church in London, standing at the junction of Houndsditch and Aldgate High Street in the historic City of London. The current 18th-century church building is made of brick with stone quoins and window casings. The tower is square with an obelisk spire.

The ecclesiastical parish was united with that of the Church of Holy Trinity, Minories, in 1899.

Dedication

The church was one of four in medieval London dedicated to St Botolph, a 7th-century East Anglian saint, each of which stood by one of the gates of the London Wall. The others erected were St Botolph's, Billingsgate (destroyed by the Great Fire and not rebuilt); St Botolph's, Aldersgate; and St Botolph's, Bishopsgate.

Medieval church

The earliest known written record of the church dates from 1115, when it was received by the Holy Trinity Priory (recently founded by Matilda, wife of Henry I) but the parochial foundations may very well date from before 1066.

Botwulf of Thorney

Botwulf of Thorney (also called Botolph, Botulph or Botulf; died around 680) was an English abbot and saint. He is the patron saint of travellers and the various aspects of farming. His feast day is celebrated either on 17 June (in England) or 25 June (in Scotland), and his translation falls on 1 December.

Life and works

Little is known about Botwulf's life, other than doubtful details in a surviving account written four hundred years after his death by the 11th-century monk Folcard. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records for the year 653¹: The Middle Angles, under earldorman Peada, received the true faith. King Anna was killed and Botulf began to build the church at Ikanho. Icanho, which means 'ox hill', has now been identified as Iken, which is located by the estuary of the Alde in the East Anglian county of Suffolk: a church remains on top of an isolated hill in the parish.² The Life of St Ceolfrith, written around the time of Bede by an unknown author, mentions an abbot named Botolphus in East Anglia, "a man of remarkable life and learning, full of the grace of the Holy Spirit".³

Aldgate

Coordinates: 51°30′48″N 0°04′40″W / 51.5132°N 0.0777°W / 51.5132; -0.0777

Aldgate was the eastern-most gateway through the London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the East End of London. It gives its name to a City ward bounded by White Kennet Street in the north and Crutched Friars in the south, taking in Leadenhall and Fenchurch Streets, which remain principal thoroughfares through the City, each splitting from the short street named Aldgate that connects to Aldgate High Street. The road is situated 2.3 miles (4 km) east north-east of Charing Cross.

John Cass's school, where a plaque records the former placement of London Wall, is sited on the north side of Aldgate (the street).

Etymology

The etymology of the name "Aldgate" is disputed. It is first recorded in 1052 as Æst geat ("east gate") but had become Alegate by 1108. Writing in 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 1486–7. 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 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 whilst Weinreb and Hibbert, writing in 1983, revert to Stow's theory that the name means "Old Gate".

Aldgate (disambiguation)

Aldgate may refer to: