Google Street View of St
Botolph, Aldgate
View Larger Map
Location: St Botolph, Aldgate, City of London, London, England, United Kingdom. (51°30′50″N 00°04′34″W).
Website: www.stbotolphs.org.uk
Phone: +44 20 7283 1670
St Botolph, Aldgate
St Botolph's Church, Aldgate, St Botolph-without-Aldgate, or just Aldgate Church, is a Church of England liberal and inclusive parish church in the City of London, standing at the junction of Houndsditch and Aldgate High Street. The current 18th-century church is made of brick with stone quoins and window casings. The tower is square with an obelisk spire.
History of St Botolph, Aldgate:
The first written record of this church appears in 1115 when it was received by the Holy Trinity Priory (recently founded by Matilda of England) but the parochial foundations may very well be pre-1066.
The church was rebuilt in the 16th century and then again between 1741-1744 to designs by George Dance the Elder.
The interior "was redecorated by John Francis Bentley, the architect of Westminster Cathedral,[6] was severely bombed at intervals during the London Blitz of the Second World War and then, after its restoration by Rodney Tatchell, was much damaged by an inexplicable outbreak of fire in 1965, so that further restoration had to be carried out. St Botolph's was rehallowed on November 8, 1966 by the Bishop of London, in the presence of the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Sir Robert Bellinger, the Lord Mayor of London, who attended in state."
The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 4 January 1950.
The church is a short walk away from Mitre Square, the site of the murder of Catherine Eddowes by Jack the Ripper, as well as offering easy access to the other four murder sites of 1888. It was often referred to as the "Church of Prostitutes" in the late Victorian period. The church is sited on an island surrounded by roadways and it was usual in these times to be suspicious of women standing on street corners. They were easy targets for the police, and to escape apprehension the prostitutes would parade around the island, now occupied by the church and Aldgate tube station.
