Ludgate was the westernmost gate in London Wall. Of Roman origin, it was rebuilt several times and finally demolished in 1760. The name survives in Ludgate Hill, an eastward continuation of

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

Ludgate Circus Ludgate Circus is a road junction in the City of London where Farringdon Street/New Bridge Street (the A201) crosses Fleet Street/Ludgate Hill. (Ludgate Hill is a gentle rise to St Paul's Cathedral.) Fleet Street was the only direct road betwe ...

and Ludgate Square.

Etymology

According to legend Ludgate is named after King Lud. The claim by the Norman-Welsh Geoffrey of Monmouth in his '' Historia Regum Britanniae'' that the gate was named after the ancient British Lud. Lud was said to be the brother of King Cassivelaunus but some folklorists think he is a manifestation of the god Nodens. There are other suggestions for the origins of the name, although none has been universally accepted. Later writers said it was derived from "flood gate" or "Fleet gate", from "ludgeat", meaning "back gate" or " postern", or from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

term ''"hlid-geat"''''Charters of Abingdon Abbey, Volume 2'',Susan E. Kelly, Published for the British Academy by Oxford University Press, 2001, , pp.623-266''Geographical Etymology'', Christina Blackie, pp.88English Place-Name society, Volume 36, The University Press, 1962, pp.205Middle English Dictionary, University of Michigan Press, 1998, pp. 972''An encyclopaedia of London'', William Kent, Dent, 1951, pp.402 a common Old English compound meaning "postern" or "swing gate".

History

Ludgate is believed to have been one of four original gates in the Roman London Wall, work on which started in 190 AD. The Great Fire of London, with Ludgate and Old St

The Great Fire of London, with Ludgate and Old St

Anti-royalist forces rebuilt the gate during the First Barons' War (121517) using materials recovered from the destroyed houses of Jews. The gate was rebuilt about 1450 by a man called Foster who at one time was lodged in the debtor's prison over the gate. He eventually became Sir Stephen Foster, Lord Mayor of London. His widow, Agnes, renovated and extended Ludgate and the debtor's prison; the practice of making the debtors pay for their own food and lodging was also abolished. Her gift was commemorated by a brass wall plaque,Caroline M. Barron, 'Forster , Agnes (d. 1484)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 22 May 2017
/ref> which read:

''Devout souls that pass this way,
For Stephen Foster, late mayor, heartily pray;
And Dame Agnes, his spouse, to God consecrate,
That of pity this house made, for Londoners in Ludgate;
So that for lodging and water prisoners here nought pay,
As their keepers shall answer at dreadful doomsday!''

In February 1554, Ludgate was the final setting of Wyatt's rebellion, when Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger arrived at the gate with part of his army numbering three or four hundred men. The gate was defended by Lord William Howard with the local militia, who refused entry to the rebels, causing them to retreat and later surrender. Ludgate was rebuilt in 1586 to the design of William Kerwin; niches in the facade were furnished with statues of Queen Elizabeth I and King Lud with his two sons; these statues replaced medieval ones that had been defaced by Protestant iconoclasts during the reign of King Edward VI. The gateway was finally demolished in 1760 at the request of the local citizens. It was still in use as a debtor's prison, so the inmates were transferred to the City workhouse in

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bishop ...

. The statues from the facade were preserved at the Church of

St Dunstan-in-the-West The Guild Church of St Dunstan-in-the-West is in Fleet Street in the City of London. It is dedicated to Dunstan, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is of medieval origin, although the present building, with an octagonal ...

. When the church was rebuilt in 1831, they were sold and taken to Hertford Villa in Regent's Park, but were returned to the church in 1935. Elizabeth's statue now stands in a niche over the vestry door, while the others are inside the porch. Ludgate plaque London

In literature

Ludd's Gate is mentioned in Bernard Cornwell's novel ''Sword Song'', set during the reign of

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...

. Ludgate is mentioned in Geoffrey of Monmouth's '' Historia Regum Britanniae'', written around 1136. According to the pseudohistorical work the name comes from the Welsh King King Lud, who he claims also gave his name to London. Ludgate is mentioned in Maria McCann's novel ''As Meat Loves Salt,'' set during the English Civil War. Ludgate appears in Walter de la Mare's poem "Up and Down", from ''Collected Poems 1901–1918'', Vol. II: Songs of Childhood, Peacock Pie, 1920.

Etymology

History

In literature

References

See also