Aldgate Escorts

Aldgate was the eastern most gateway through London Wall leading from the City of Londonto Whitechapel and the east end of London. Aldgate gives its name to a ward of the City. This is bounded by White Kennet Street in the north and Crutched Friars in the south, taking inLeadenhall and Fenchurch Streets, which remain principal thoroughfares through the City of London, each splitting from the fifty-metre street named Aldgate that connects to Aldgate High Street.
There are only two buildings on the street. To the north is Sir John Cass's school, where a plaque records the former placement of London Wall. To the south is AXA's UK head office, a French insurance company.
It is thought that a gate at Aldgate was already spanning the road to Colchester in the Roman period, when the City Wall itself was constructed. The gateway stood at the corner of the modern Duke's Place; and was always an obstacle to traffic. It was rebuilt between 1108-47, again in 1215, and reconstructed completely between 1607 and 1609. The gate was finally removed in 1761; it was temporarily re-erected at Bethnal Green.
The etymology of the name "Aldgate" is disputed. Writing in the sixteenth 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".