Ludgate: Difference between revisions

Ludgate
Ludgate
	An old illustration of the gate c. 1650
General information
Town or city	London
Country	England
Coordinates	51°30′50.3″N 0°06′08.2″W / 51.513972°N 0.102278°W

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Ludgate was the westernmost gate in London Wall. Of Roman origin, it was rebuilt several times and finally demolished on 30th July 1760. The name survives in Ludgate Hill, an eastward continuation of Fleet Street, Ludgate Circus and Ludgate Square. The gates' materials were sold for £148.

Etymology

According to legend, recorded by the Norman-Welsh cleric Geoffrey of Monmouth, Ludgate was named after the ancient British king 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",^[1] from "ludgeat", meaning "back gate" or "postern",^[2] or from the Old English term "hlid-geat"^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] a common Old English compound meaning "postern" or "swing gate".^[3]^[4]^[5]^[7]

History

Lud Gate and surrounding area in the sixteenth century (as imagined in 1895)

Ludgate is believed to have been one of four original gates in the Roman London Wall, work on which started in 190 AD.^[8]

Anti-royalist forces rebuilt the gate during the First Barons' War (1215–17) using materials recovered from the destroyed houses of Jews.^[9] 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,^[10] 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!^[11]

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.^[12]

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;^[13] 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.^[12] It was still in use as a debtor's prison, so the inmates were transferred to the City workhouse in Bishopsgate.^[14] The statues from the facade were preserved at the Church of St Dunstan-in-the-West in Fleet Street. 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.^[13]

In literature

Ludd's Gate is mentioned in Bernard Cornwell's novel Sword Song, set during the reign of Alfred the Great.
Ludgate is mentioned in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written around 1136. According to the pseudohistorical work^[15]^[16] the name comes from the Welsh King King Lud, who he claims also gave his name to London.^[17]
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.
Ludgate appears in part III of Burnt Norton, the first of T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets. It is the last named of the seven "gloomy hills of London".

References

^ Walter Thornbury (1878). "Ludgate Hill". Old and New London: Volume 1. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
^ Bebbington, Gillian (1972). London Street Names. Batsford. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-7134-0140-0.
^ ^a ^b Charters of Abingdon Abbey, Volume 2, Susan E. Kelly, Published for the British Academy by Oxford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-19-726221-X, pp.623-266
^ ^a ^b Geographical Etymology, Christina Blackie, pp.88
^ ^a ^b English Place-Name society, Volume 36, The University Press, 1962, pp.205
^ Middle English Dictionary, University of Michigan Press, 1998, ISBN 0-472-01124-3 pp. 972
^ ^a ^b An encyclopaedia of London, William Kent, Dent, 1951, pp.402
^ Ross, Cathy; Clark, John (2008). London: the illustrated history. London: Penguin Books / Museum of London. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-14-101159-2. OCLC 607246513.
^ Timbs, John (1855). Curiosities of London: Exhibiting the Most Rare and Remarkable Objects of Interest in the Metropolis. D. Bogue. p. 538.
^ Caroline M. Barron, 'Forster, Agnes (d. 1484)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 22 May 2017
^ William Harvey (1863). London Scenes and London People: Anecdotes, Reminiscences, and Sketches of Places, Personages, Events, Customs, and Curiosities of London City, Past and Present. W.H. Collingridge. p. 256.
^ ^a ^b Thornbury, Walter (1878). Old and New London: Volume I. London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin. pp. 220–233.
^ ^a ^b Matthews, Peter (2018). London's Statues and Monuments. Oxford: Shire Publications. p. 70. ISBN 978-1784422561.
^ Burwick, Frederick (2015). British Drama of the Industrial Revolution. Cambridge University Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-1107111653.
^ Wright, Neil (1984). The Historia Regum Britannie of Geoffrey of Monmouth. Woodbridge, England: Boydell and Brewer. pp. xvii–xviii. ISBN 978-0-85991-641-7.
^ "...the Historia does not bear scrutiny as an authentic history and no scholar today would regard it as such.": Wright (1984: xxviii)
^ Ackroyd, Peter (2 December 2001). "London". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2008.

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+{{Short description|Former and Westernmost gate in London Wall}}
 {{For|the surname|Ludgate (surname)}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2013}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
 {{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
 {{Infobox building
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 | native_name =
 | image = Ludgate Hollar.PNG
-| caption = An old illustration of the gate circa 1650
+| caption = An old illustration of the gate {{Circa|1650}}
 | architectural_style =
 | cost =
@@ Line 25: / Line 26: @@
 }}
-'''Ludgate''' was the westernmost gate in [[London Wall]]. The name survives in [[Ludgate Hill]], an eastward continuation of [[Fleet Street]], [[Ludgate Circus]] and Ludgate Square.
+'''Ludgate''' was the westernmost gate in [[London Wall]]. Of Roman origin, it was rebuilt several times and finally demolished on 30th July 1760. The name survives in [[Ludgate Hill]], an eastward continuation of [[Fleet Street]], [[Ludgate Circus]] and Ludgate Square. The gates' materials were sold for £148.
 ==Etymology==
-Despite the claim by the Norman-Welsh [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] in his ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'' that Ludgate was so-called having been built by the ancient [[United Kingdom|British]] king called [[Lud son of Heli|Lud]] – a manifestation of the god [[Nodens]] – the name is believed by later writers to be derived from "flood gate" or "Fleet gate",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45038 |title=Ludgate Hill |author=Walter Thornbury |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |date=1878 |work=Old and New London: Volume 1 |access-date=9 December 2011}}</ref> from "ludgeat", meaning "back gate" or "[[postern]]",<ref>{{cite book |title=London Street Names |last=Bebbington  |first=Gillian |year=1972 |publisher=Batsford |isbn=978-0-7134-0140-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/londonstreetname0000bebb/page/207 207] |url=https://archive.org/details/londonstreetname0000bebb|url-access=registration }}</ref> or from the [[Old English]] term ''"hlid-geat"''<ref name=kelly>''Charters of Abingdon Abbey, Volume 2'',Susan E. Kelly, Published for the British Academy by Oxford University Press, 2001, {{ISBN|0-19-726221-X}}, 9780197262214, pp.623-266</ref><ref name=blackie>''Geographical Etymology'', Christina Blackie, pp.88</ref><ref name=EPN>English Place-Name society, Volume 36, The University Press, 1962, pp.205</ref><ref name=MED>Middle English Dictionary, University of Michigan Press, 1998, {{ISBN|0-472-01124-3}} pp. 972</ref><ref name=AEoL>''An encyclopaedia of London'', William Kent, Dent, 1951, pp.402</ref> a common Old English compound meaning "postern" or "swing gate".<ref name=kelly/><ref name=blackie/><ref name=EPN/><ref name=AEoL/>
+According to legend, recorded by the Norman-Welsh cleric [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]],  Ludgate was named after the ancient British king [[Lud son of Heli|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",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45038 |title=Ludgate Hill |author=Walter Thornbury |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |date=1878 |work=Old and New London: Volume 1 |access-date=9 December 2011}}</ref> from "ludgeat", meaning "back gate" or "[[postern]]",<ref>{{cite book |title=London Street Names |last=Bebbington  |first=Gillian |year=1972 |publisher=Batsford |isbn=978-0-7134-0140-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/londonstreetname0000bebb/page/207 207] |url=https://archive.org/details/londonstreetname0000bebb|url-access=registration }}</ref> or from the [[Old English]] term ''"hlid-geat"''<ref name=kelly>''Charters of Abingdon Abbey, Volume 2'', Susan E. Kelly, Published for the British Academy by Oxford University Press, 2001, {{ISBN|0-19-726221-X}}, pp.623-266</ref><ref name=blackie>''Geographical Etymology'', Christina Blackie, pp.88</ref><ref name=EPN>English Place-Name society, Volume 36, The University Press, 1962, pp.205</ref><ref name=MED>Middle English Dictionary, University of Michigan Press, 1998, {{ISBN|0-472-01124-3}} pp. 972</ref><ref name=AEoL>''An encyclopaedia of London'', William Kent, Dent, 1951, pp.402</ref> a common Old English compound meaning "postern" or "swing gate".<ref name=kelly/><ref name=blackie/><ref name=EPN/><ref name=AEoL/>
 ==History==
 [[File:Ludgate.jpg|right|thumb|Lud Gate and surrounding area in the sixteenth century (as imagined in 1895)]]
+Ludgate is believed to have been one of four original gates in the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[London Wall]], work on which started in 190 AD.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ross |first1=Cathy |last2=Clark |first2=John |title=London: the illustrated history |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/607246513 |publisher=Penguin Books / [[Museum of London]] |location=London |date=2008 |pages=47 |oclc=607246513 |isbn=978-0-14-101159-2}}</ref>
-The [[Roman Empire|Romans]] built a road along the north bank of the [[River Thames]] westwards through the gate later called Lud Gate as part of the [[fortifications of London]]. Guarding the road from the west, it led to the Romans' main burial mound in what is now Fleet Street. It stood almost opposite what is now St Martin's Church on what is now called Ludgate Hill. The site of the gate is marked by a plaque on the north side of Ludgate Hill, halfway between [[Ludgate Circus]] and [[St Paul's Cathedral]].
+[[File:The Great Fire of London, with Ludgate and Old St. Paul's.JPG|right|thumb|Ludgate in flames in [[1666]]. Oil painting by anonymous artist, circa 1670.]]
-Anti-royalist forces rebuilt the gate during the [[First Barons' War]] (1215{{ndash}}17) using materials recovered from the destroyed houses of [[History of the Jews in England|Jews]].<ref name=Timbs>{{cite book|first=John|last=Timbs|author-link=John Timbs|title=Curiosities of London: Exhibiting the Most Rare and Remarkable Objects of Interest in the Metropolis|url=https://archive.org/stream/curiositiesoflon00timbrich#page/538/mode/1up|year=1855|publisher=D. Bogue|page=538}}</ref> The rooms above the gate were used as a [[prison]] for petty offenders. The gate was one of three separate sites that bore the name Ludgate Prison. In 1378 it was decided that [[Newgate Prison]] would be used for serious criminals, and Ludgate for [[Freedom of the City|Freemen]] of the City and [[clergy]] who were imprisoned for minor offences such as debt. By 1419 it became clear that prisoners were far too comfortable here, as they were more likely to want to stay than to pay their debts and leave. They were all transferred to Newgate prison for this reason, although that prison was so overcrowded and unhealthy that they soon returned. It had a flat lead roof for prisoners to exercise on, as well as a 'large walking place' at ground level. 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 [[Stephen Foster (Lord Mayor of London)|Sir Stephen Foster]], [[Lord Mayor of London]]. His widow, [[Agnes Forster|Agnes]], renovated and extended Ludgate and the Debtor's Prison and the practice of making the debtors pay for their own food and lodging was abolished. Her gift was commemorated by a brass wall plaque,<ref name=agnes>Caroline M. Barron, ‘Forster , Agnes (d. 1484)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/54439, accessed 22 May 2017]</ref> which read:
-<BLOCKQUOTE>''Devout souls that pass this way,<br />
-For Stephen Foster, late mayor, heartily pray;<br />
-And [[Agnes Forster|Dame Agnes]], his spouse, to God consecrate,<br />
-That of pity this house made, for Londoners in Ludgate;<br />
-So that for lodging and water prisoners here nought pay,<br />
-As their keepers shall answer at dreadful doomsday!''<ref>{{cite book|author=William Harvey|title=London Scenes and London People: Anecdotes, Reminiscences, and Sketches of Places, Personages, Events, Customs, and Curiosities of London City, Past and Present|url=https://archive.org/details/londonscenesand00harvgoog|year=1863|publisher=W.H. Collingridge|page=[https://archive.org/details/londonscenesand00harvgoog/page/n294 256]}}</ref>
-</BLOCKQUOTE>
+Anti-royalist forces rebuilt the gate during the [[First Barons' War]] (1215{{ndash}}17) using materials recovered from the destroyed houses of [[History of the Jews in England|Jews]].<ref name="Timbs">{{cite book|first=John|last=Timbs|author-link=John Timbs|title=Curiosities of London: Exhibiting the Most Rare and Remarkable Objects of Interest in the Metropolis|url=https://archive.org/stream/curiositiesoflon00timbrich#page/538/mode/1up|year=1855|publisher=D. Bogue|page=538}}</ref> 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 [[Stephen Foster (Lord Mayor of London)|Sir Stephen Foster]], [[Lord Mayor of London]]. His widow, [[Agnes Forster|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,<ref name="agnes">Caroline M. Barron, 'Forster, Agnes (d. 1484)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/54439, accessed 22 May 2017]</ref> which read:
-[[File:Ludgate plaque London.jpg|thumb|Plaque marking the location of Ludgate]]
-Rebuilt by the City in 1586, a statue of King Lud and his two sons was placed on the east side, and one of [[Queen Elizabeth I]] on the west.<ref name=Timbs /> These statues are now outside the church of [[St Dunstan-in-the-West]], in Fleet Street. It was rebuilt again after being destroyed in the [[Great Fire of London|Great Fire]]. Like most of the other City gates it was demolished in 1760. The prisoners were moved to a section of the workhouse in [[Bishopsgate]] Street.
+<blockquote>''Devout souls that pass this way,''<br />
-==In literature==
+''For Stephen Foster, late mayor, heartily pray;''<br />
+''And [[Agnes Forster|Dame Agnes]], his spouse, to God consecrate,''<br />
+''That of pity this house made, for Londoners in Ludgate;''<br />
+''So that for lodging and water prisoners here nought pay,''<br />
+''As their keepers shall answer at dreadful doomsday!''<ref>{{cite book|author=William Harvey|title=London Scenes and London People: Anecdotes, Reminiscences, and Sketches of Places, Personages, Events, Customs, and Curiosities of London City, Past and Present|url=https://archive.org/details/londonscenesand00harvgoog|year=1863|publisher=W.H. Collingridge|page=[https://archive.org/details/londonscenesand00harvgoog/page/n294 256]}}</ref>
+</blockquote>
+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 [[William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham|Lord William Howard]] with the local [[militia]], who refused entry to the rebels, causing them to retreat and later surrender.<ref name ="Thornbury1878">{{cite book |last=Thornbury |first=Walter |author-link=George Walter Thornbury |date=1878 |title=Old and New London: Volume I |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol1/pp220-233 |location=London |publisher=Cassell, Petter & Galpin |pages=220–233}}</ref>
-Ludd's Gate is mentioned in [[Bernard Cornwell]]'s novel ''Sword Song'', set during the reign of [[Alfred the Great]].
+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;<ref name ="Matthews2018">{{cite book |last=Matthews |first=Peter |date=2018 |title=London's Statues and Monuments
-Ludgate is mentioned in [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'', written around 1136. According to the [[pseudohistorical]] work<ref name=Wright>{{cite book|last=Wright|first=Neil|title=The Historia Regum Britannie of Geoffrey of Monmouth|year=1984|publisher=Boydell and Brewer|location=Woodbridge, England|isbn=978-0-85991-641-7|pages=xvii–xviii}}</ref><ref>"...the ''Historia'' does not bear scrutiny as an authentic history and no scholar today would regard it as such.": Wright (1984: xxviii)</ref> the name comes from the Welsh King [[King Lud]], who he claims also gave his name to [[London]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/02/books/chapters/02-1st-ackro.html?ex=1225339200&en=b9c2c11ad6e1f435&ei=5070 |title=London |last=Ackroyd |first=Peter |work=New York Times |access-date=2008-10-28 |date=2001-12-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415232705/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/02/books/chapters/02-1st-ackro.html?ex=1225339200&en=b9c2c11ad6e1f435&ei=5070 |archive-date=15 April 2009 }}</ref>
+|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zl5RDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 |location=Oxford |publisher=Shire Publications |page=70 |isbn=978-1784422561}}</ref> these statues replaced medieval ones that had been defaced by Protestant [[iconoclast]]s during the reign of King [[Edward VI]]. The gateway was finally demolished in 1760 at the request of the local citizens.<ref name ="Thornbury1878"/> It was still in use as a debtor's prison, so the inmates were transferred to the City [[workhouse]] in [[Bishopsgate]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Burwick |first=Frederick |date=2015 |title=British Drama of the Industrial Revolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wNMmCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA166 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=166 |isbn=978-1107111653}}</ref> The statues from the facade were preserved at the Church of [[St Dunstan-in-the-West]] in [[Fleet Street]]. When the church was rebuilt in 1831, they were sold and taken to [[Winfield House#Hertford Villa|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.<ref name ="Matthews2018"/>
+[[File:Ludgate plaque London.jpg|thumb|Plaque marking the location of Ludgate]]
+==In literature==
+* Ludd's Gate is mentioned in [[Bernard Cornwell]]'s novel ''Sword Song'', set during the reign of [[Alfred the Great]].
-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.
+* Ludgate is mentioned in [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'', written around 1136. According to the [[pseudohistorical]] work<ref name="Wright">{{cite book|last=Wright|first=Neil|title=The Historia Regum Britannie of Geoffrey of Monmouth|year=1984|publisher=Boydell and Brewer|location=Woodbridge, England|isbn=978-0-85991-641-7|pages=xvii–xviii}}</ref><ref>"...the ''Historia'' does not bear scrutiny as an authentic history and no scholar today would regard it as such.": Wright (1984: xxviii)</ref> the name comes from the Welsh King [[King Lud]], who he claims also gave his name to [[London]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/02/books/chapters/02-1st-ackro.html?ex=1225339200&en=b9c2c11ad6e1f435&ei=5070 |title=London |last=Ackroyd |first=Peter |work=The New York Times |access-date=2008-10-28 |date=2001-12-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415232705/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/02/books/chapters/02-1st-ackro.html?ex=1225339200&en=b9c2c11ad6e1f435&ei=5070 |archive-date=15 April 2009 }}</ref>
+* 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.
+* Ludgate appears in part III of [[Burnt Norton]], the first of [[T. S. Eliot]]'s ''[[Four Quartets]]''. It is the last named of the seven "gloomy hills of London".
 ==References==
-{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
+{{reflist}}
 ==See also==
@@ Line 68: / Line 75: @@
 [[Category:London Wall and its gates]]
-[[Category:Town Gates in England]]
+[[Category:Town gates in England]]
 [[Category:Defunct prisons in London]]
 [[Category:Debtors' prisons]]
+[[Category:Former gates]]