Aldersgate 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 . 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 . 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 " — an event he described as his conversion . To the south of St . Botolph ' s is Postman ' s Park , named after the former principal sorting office in King Edward Street ; it is the location of the Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice . The house of Sarah Sawyer , in Rose and Rainbow Court ( approximately the site of the present Museum of London ) , formed one of the earliest Quaker meetings in London ( before 1655 ) . In 1675 , it became a dedicated meeting house , the Box Meeting , used mainly by Quaker women for poor relief , on her marriage . Aldersgate Street . Aldersgate Street forms a short section of the A1 route towards Edinburgh . It is located on the west side of the Barbican Estate and Barbican Centre , near St Bartholomew ' s Hospital and the Museum of London ( which falls within the ward ) . Northbound it continues into Goswell Road at the junction with Fann Street ; southbound it continues into St . Martin ' s Le Grand . Barbican tube station is located on Aldersgate Street and when it was opened in 1865 was named Aldersgate Street tube station . In 1910 it was renamed Aldersgate , then Aldersgate & Barbican in 1924 , before finally being renamed Barbican in 1968 . The poet Thomas Flatman was born in a house in Aldersgate Street in 1633 . As with most historic buildings on this stretch of road , the building no longer stands . At Nos . 35 - 38 stood Shaftesbury House , built around 1644 by Inigo Jones . It was demolished in 1882 . No . 134 for many years had a sign claiming : " This was Shakespeare ' s House " . Although the building was very close to the nearby Fortune Playhouse , there is no documentary evidence surviving to indicate that Shakespeare resided here ; a subsidy roll from 1598 shows a " William Shakespeare " as owner of the property , but there is nothing to indicate that it is the playwright . The building no longer exists , and Barbican station now occupies the site . The nearby Shakespeare Tower is named for this ( tenuous ) connection . Ward of Aldersgate . The ward of Aldersgate is bounded by Aldersgate Street , Beech Street , Noble Street , Angel Street , King Edward Street and Montague Street . The ward contains the western part of the Barbican Estate , which in total has about 5 , 000 residents , the largest resident population in the City . The remainder of the estate is within Cripplegate ward . Aldersgate is the location of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the City of London School for Girls . Within the ward are located three Livery Company halls : Ironmongers ' Hall , Plaisterers ' Hall and Barbers - Surgeons ' Hall . Adjacent to the modern roundabout on the site of the Aldersgate is the former headquarters of the General Post Office ( closed in 1910 and demolished shortly afterwards ) , and the adjoining Postman ' s Park . The southern part of the roundabout and the northern part of where the Post Office once stood are located on the site of a collegiate church and sanctuary founded in 750 by Withu , King of Kent , hugely expanded in 1056 by Ingebrian , Earl of Essex , and issued with a royal charter in 1068 by William the Conqueror . The site of the church was cleared in 1818 in preparation for the construction of the Post Office . Most of the buildings on Aldersgate Street were destroyed or badly damaged in World War II . The entire length of the eastern side of the street is now occupied by the 40 - acre ( 162 , 000m² ) Barbican residential and arts complex . The resident population of the ward is 1 , 465 ( 2011 ) . John Wesley . In May 1738 , clergyman John Wesley attended a meeting of the Moravians in Aldersgate Street . While attending the meeting , he underwent a profound religious experience , describing it in his journal thus : This moment was for Wesley an awakening to the assurance found in salvation by grace alone and has been referred to by scholars as a defining moment in the Methodist movement . In 1739 Wesley broke with the Moravians and founded the Methodist Society of England . In the following years , the Methodist church spread rapidly , becoming one of the most influential Christian denominations in the world , particularly in the United States and the British Empire . A memorial at the believed site of the Moravian chapel ( its exact address is not known , but it is believed to have been at 28 Aldersgate Street ) marks the site of the meeting , and Wesley ' s Chapel in nearby City Road remains a major focal point of the international Methodist movement . Politics . Aldersgate is one of 25 wards of the City of London , each electing an alderman to the Court of Aldermen and commoner s ( the City equivalent of a councillor ) to the Court of Common Council of the City of London Corporation . Only electors who are Freemen of the City of London are eligible to stand .