    aldersgate was a gate in the london wall around the city of london which gave its name to a city ward and aldersgate street, which runs north from the site of the gate towards clerkenwell. ==history==  the ward of aldersgate straddles the (now former) line of london wall and the old gate and historically was divided into "within" and "without" divisions, with a deputy (alderman) appointed for each division. it took in the liberty of st. martin's le grand when that was dis-established in the 16th century.a topographical dictionary of england, samuel lewis, 1831, p 134 however, since ward boundary changes in 2003, almost all of the ward is without and the former liberty and street of st. martin's is no longer within the ward's boundaries. in 1554 aldersgate street was the scene of a fraud where elizabeth crofts was smuggled into a wall to pretend to be a heavenly voice. reputedly 17,000 people came to listen to her give out anti-catholic propoganda.daniel hahn, âcrofts, elizabeth (b. c.1535)â, oxford dictionary of national biography, oxford university press, 2004 accessed 7 dec 2014 the old gate was taken down in 1617, and rebuilt in the same year from a design by gerard christmas. the gate was damaged in the great fire of london in 1666 but was repaired and remained until 1761. aldersgate street contained the bishop of london's chapel and his chambers at london house, which was used from the 18th century because it was closer to st. paul's cathedral than his official residence in fulham, west london. also on this street is the church of st. botolph's-without-aldersgate, and the site of the moravian meeting room where john wesley, the founder of methodism, reaffirmed his faith on wednesday 24 may 1738, which is marked by a plaque. it was a moravian church meeting, during a reading of martin luther's commentary on romans that wesley reported his heart "strangely warmed" â an event he described as his conversion.john wesley's heart strangely warmed, [http://
Barbican_Estate History_of_Methodism London_Wall_and_its_gates Wards_of_the_City_of_London