Cripplegate Cripplegate was a gate in the London Wall and a name for the region of the City of London outside the gate . The area was almost entirely destroyed by bombing in the Blitz and today it is the site of the Barbican Estate and Barbican Centre . The name is preserved in the church of St Giles - without - Cripplegate , in the Cripplegate ward of the City , and in a small road named Cripplegate Street which lies slightly to the north of the site of the Wall between Viscount Street and Bridgewater Street . The ward of Cripplegate straddles the ( now former ) line of the Wall and the old gate and is often ( even today ) divided into " Within " and " Without " parts , with a beadle and a deputy ( alderman ) appointed for each part . Since the 1994 ( City ) and 2003 ( ward ) boundary changes , most of the ward is Without , with the ward of Bassishaw having expanded considerably into the Within area . History . Cripplegate stood at the northern end of what is now Wood Street at the junction of St . Alphage Gardens . It was already in place when the London Wall was built as it was the northern gate of a Roman fort which was built in 120 . The northern and western walls formed part of the new wall , although these defences were completely rebuilt in early medieval times . Like a number of its sister gates , it was used as a prison for part of its life , being leased for accommodation at other times . The gate gave access to a substantial medieval suburb and to the village of Islington . Extra defensive works on the northern site outside the gate gave rise to the name ' barbican ' ( or outer fortification of the City ) , which was then taken as the name for the post - War rebuilding of the area . It originally only led into the fort and became a gate into the City when the fort was demolished . In 1244 it was rebuilt by the Brewers Company , and then rebuilt again in 1491 ; it had alterations in 1663 and was finally demolished in 1760 so that the street could be widened . The materials were sold to a local carpenter for £91 . In 1555 , John Gresham endowed the new Gresham ' s School in Norfolk with three tenements in the parish of St . Giles Without , Cripplegate , including ' The White Hind ' and ' The Peacock ' . During the Second World War the Cripplegate area was virtually destroyed and by 1951 the resident population of the City stood at only 5 , 324 , of whom 48 lived in Cripplegate . Discussions began in 1952 about the future of the area , and the decision to build new residential properties was taken by the Court of Common Council on 19 September 1957 . The area was reopened as the Barbican Estate in 1969 . Cripplegate is today the most populous of the four residential wards of the City , with a population of 2 , 782 ( 2011 ) . Etymology . The name of the gate has uncertain origins . It could be derived from the Anglo - Saxon term " crepel " , meaning a covered way or underground passage . Supporting this is the gate ' s mentions in the fourth law code of Æthelred the Unready and a charter of William the Conqueror from 1068 : in both these documents the spelling used is ' Crepelgate ' ( ' Saxon London ' , by Alan Vince , 1990 , p43 ) . However it is not certain this is the origin of the name . Other theories suggest it is so - called because of the cripple s who used to beg there ; however this is unsubstantiated . Additionally the body of St . Edmund the Martyr was said to have been carried through it in 1010 on its way from Bury St Edmunds to St . Gregory ' s church to save it from the Danes and Lydgate , a monk of Bury , claimed that the body cured many lame peasants as it passed through the gate . The Ward of Cripplegate . Cripplegate is one of the 25 ancient wards of the City of London , each electing an alderman to the Court of Aldermen and commoners ( 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 are eligible to stand . In the early 12th century , the area was originally referred to as " Alwoldii " which was probably the name of the current alderman . The early records are unreliable as regards who the Aldermen were , but from 1286 there is a more reliable list of Aldermen available . In popular culture . The second wedding in the film " Four Weddings and a Funeral " takes place in the fictional church of St Mary - in - the - Fields , Cripplegate , EC2 It was filmed in the chapel of the Royal Naval College , Greenwich .