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Located in Farringdon Within Ward, Ludgate was a gate built by the Romans (Carlin and Belcher 80). for his owne honor
(Stow 1:1).
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seven double-gated entranceways
(FitzStephen), counts
Ludgate as the sixth principal gate
(Stow 1:36). Originally there were four gates: one gate in each cardinal
direction, with Ludgate granting access into the Roman city from the West.
Ludgate was situated to the immediate west of St. Paul’s, at the north-eastern corner of Blackfriars. Anyone entering the city through Ludgate would have seen the large cathedral through and towering over the gate. For those leaving the city, Ludgate was the egress to Ludgate Hill, Fleet Bridge, and thence Fleet Street.
According to preserved in this city next to the gate that is now named
after him: Portlud in the British tongue and Ludesgata in the Saxon
(Adams 83). Most etymologists believe that Ludgate
likely derives its name not from has no certain Roman origin
and
archeological evidence supports the more ancient claim
(Hill 61).
In by which it was
ordained, that all freemen of this citie, should for debt, trespasses, accounts, & contempts, be imprisoned in Ludgate
(Stow 1:39) while more serious criminals, for offences such as treason, would be sentenced to Newgate.
Throughout the early modern period, Ludgate held a number of celebrity inmates, detained for their extravagances
(Heminges 8). Ludgathians,
as
impudent creatures, turbulent creatures(Jonson 1.2.124).
No musicke here, did sothe myne eare but soundes of men in greefe Who at the gratte In woefull state doth bellow for releife. Poor men that soe are brought to woe To leade a Captiue Life And Spend the tyme of all thier prime from parentes Children wyfe!
The prisoners’ living conditions were notoriously unpleasant. From the chapel at Ludgate in
And I hope no sober Man, or Christian, will judge, that four Pence in Bread, and six Pence in Money, can be a Competency
sufficient to maintain a Man a whole Month
(Strype 29). However, as a prison specifically for debtors, Ludgate usually held men of notable positions; mostly merchants and clergymen who had fallen on hard times. The legacies
and donations, much lamented by for the comfort and reliefe of all the poor prisoners
in memory of her
late husband (Stow 1:39). Not only did she build better quality accommodations and a chapel, but she also had
the roof reinforced so that the prisoners could walk upon it for fresh ayre
and, in an act of humanity, covered the cost so that for lodging and water prisoners here nought pay, / as their keepers shal
all answere at dreadful doomes day
(Stow 1:40). Even more remarkably, it was while falling into the Way of Merchandize,
they were married: Her Riches and his
Industry brought him both great Wealth and Honour
(Strype 26).
We can picture the destitute debtors thanks to several references in popular drama and a number of surviving artifacts. A vivid description appears in
He! I hope to see him lodge in Ludgate first, and angle into Blackfriars for brass farthings with an old mitten!(Congreve 3.1.121-22). The editor notes that
the prisoners would(Congreve 55).fishfor alms with a mitten let down on a line from upper windows to passers-by in the street
Since he owes a thousand pound,
To Ludgate in a Citizen(Massinger 1.3.22-8). Ludgate also features prominently in
The clock at Ludgate(Middleton and Dekker 2.2.109).ne’er goes true
to relieve us with your charitable benevolence, and to put into this Bearers Boxe, the same being sealed with the house seale as it is figured on this Petition(Hindley 67). One of the
alms-basket at his back, and a sealed money-box in his hand(Wheatley 446).
A
Alle you att large pray God ffor us that be here in Ludgate(MS Harley 7526, fol. 35). The scene did not seem to change since much later; in
Passing under Ludgate the other Day, I heard a Voice bawling for Charity, which I thought I had somewhere heard before. Coming near to the Grate, the Prisoner called me by my Name, and desired I would throw something into the Box: I was out of Countenance for him, and did as he bid me, by putting in half a Crown.
Maybe it was a friend of that I / to Ludgate nothing geue
(White).
In a unique description of London, The ſecond Gate Is Patience; which is not vnlike to Ludgate
(Adams 43).
The Wals of Peace,patience is expressed through Ludgate
for that is a Schoole of patience; the poore ſoules there learne to ſuffer(Adams 43).
Of all the ancient gates in London, Ludgate would have been the most majestic, embellished with several sovereign
statues. by setting new heads on old bodies
(Stow 1:38). By same gate
being sore decayed, was clean taken down
(Stow 1:39). the sceptre in one hand, and the
orb in the other
wears the side panniers and farthingale and stiff collar
(Kent 519).
In his essay on Ludgate’s influence on contemporary Elizabethan drama, Harris argues that
Elizabeth ’s statue above Ludgate’s entrance modelled her as the most recent incarnation of a line of monarchs that, in predating the Conquest, laid claim to a natively British vision of England and London in particular. Admittedly,Elizabeth ’s statue also involved something of the logic of Christian supersession. Situated on the gate’s west side, the statue was visible to anyone entering the City through Ludgate; with the spires of St. Paul’s Cathedral looming behind the arch,Elizabeth , defender of the faith, was framed by the church, whereas the paganLud was visible only when one turned one’s back on St. Paul’s and prepared to leave the sanctuary of the City.
would have had a powerful temporal as well as spatial symbolism, with the statue of
(Harris 19).
To Ludgate then I ran my race: when I was past I did backward look ther I spyed Queen Elizabeth s graceHer picture guilt, for all gould I took.
finelie
trimmed
Ludgate during her own passage through London in
receiued with a noyse of instruments
(
her coronation procession was unchanged in manner and general context from previous royal entries(Wilson 5). Richard Dutton’s study of the civic pageants of the Jacobean period argues that
last phase of such processions which led down Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street, and out through the boundary at Temple Bar(Manley 223).
Although Temple Bar had already been designated the official boundary of London by the time of
for townspeople living behind high walls there was an important difference between countryside and the sacred space of their city. The city walls and gates were powerful symbols of order in a world of disorder and lawlessness(Warkentin 20). One explanation why Ludgate’s entry in
Ludgate was not just a gate but also a vital component in the symbolic topography of London. Ludgate’s signifying power as a nodal point, connecting not only the City’s inside and outside but also its past, present, and future, was deployed in civic ritual, including coronation processions and entertainments. Ludgate was the threshold between St. Paul’s and Westminster, between spiritual and earthly power. Conventionally, the new monarch would spend the night in the Tower, and then move from the east to the west of the City, pausing at the cathedral; he or she would then head west through Ludgate to Westminster for the coronation.
Unlike each of the other eleven locations on war
and royal pomp
(Hayes 756). The musical greeting at Ludgate would have been loud
enough to be heard over the gathered crowds, and able to drown out the begging shouts of the prisoners’ attempting to capitalise on the increased charity and wealth as
a consequence of the procession. It is also probable that cannons may have been fired as artillery, drums, fifes, trumpets and other kinds of joyful instruments [accompanied] her Majesty and her court
(qtd. in Warkentin 103).
Moreover, it was not only the gate itself that had been splendidly decorated for the occasion; the surrounding area had certainly undergone one of the most expensive
renovations of any location along the route, and its transformation for the pageant was so dramatic that met to assign pageants and displays
to various groups of guildsmen, to be set up at the traditional stations
(Warkentin 37). Ludgate
was allocated to
ther I spyed(Puiſnes 24-25).Queen Elizabeth s grace / Her picture guilt, for all gould I took
From thence by the way as she went down toward Fletebridgewhere
one aboute her grace noted the cities charge, that there was no coast spared. Her grace answered that she did well consider thesame, and that it should be remembred(
The houses on the way were all decorated; there being on both sides of the street, from Blackfriars to St. Paulʼs [which encompassed Ludgate], wooden barricades on which the merchants and artisans of every trade leant in long black gowns lined with hoods of red and black cloth,with all their ensigns, banners, and standards, which were innumerable, and made very fine show.
It was a remarkable scene, comparable to the modern practice of lining The Mall with crowd barriers during royal celebrations to hold back the thousands of people waving
British flags, homemade banners, and souvenir memorabilia. Furthermore, Owing to the deep mud caused by the foul weather and by the multitude of people and of horses, everyone had made preparation, by placing sand
and gravel in front of their houses
(Bergeron 14). Again, one is reminded of the umbrellas and tents that are used
today as people prepare themselves against the cold and the rain waiting, sometimes for days, to be in the best spot to catch a glimpse of the royal family. What is of most
interest in
of Ludgate, where the prisoners of the Mayor of London are held. There were certain verses in Latin in praise of her Majesty above a little table, hanging at the front of the said gate, which was entirely painted with the arms of the City. I hear that she pardoned all those prisoners who were merely debtors.
It is a surprising omission by the pamphlet, since such a pardon would have caused a considerable reaction from both those inside and outside Ludgate.
Another, even more remarkable omission is highlighted in
Also being humbly requested at the petition of the Mayor of London, who presented unto her Majesty in a purse one thousand marks in gold, that she would continue their good lady, she gave her answer that if need should be, she would willingly in their defence spend blood.
In The gates at Ludgate and portcullis
were shutt and downe
remaining so from 3am until the Mayor received a token besyde promise
(Manningham 147) from the Lord Treasurer that
Almost fifty years earlier and after a week of fighting his way through London, followed by a rapidly dwindling number of rebels,
whome the Quéene had graunted to haue thier requestes
(Stow 1086). Auant Traytor, thou shalt not come in hére
(Stow 1086).
During the First Baron’s War of
being in armes against the king, entered this Citie, and spoyled the Jewes houses, which being done,applied all diligence to repayre the gates and wals of this Citie, with the stones of the Jewes broken houses, especially (as it seemeth) they then repayred or rather new builded Ludgate.
founde couched within the wall thereof, a stone taken from one of the Jewes houses, wherein was grauen in Hebrew caracters
(Stow 1:38) the name and sign of the house belonging to
Despite being gutted, Ludgate itself continued with but little detriment
(Evelyn 15)
during the Great Fire. However, while it survived the fire, Ludgate was demolished in 1760 to widen the street.
Its materials were sold for the sum of £148 and it was arranged that the statue of
(Kent 402).