Editing Cripplegate

{{Short description|Ward of the City of London}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2014}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2012}}
{{infobox UK place
| official_name            = Ward of Cripplegate
| map_type                 = Greater London
| country                  = England
| region                   = London
| london_borough           = City of London
| coordinates              = {{coord|51.518087|-0.0931473|display=inline,title}}
| os_grid_reference        = TQ327811
|static_image_name=The Ward of Cripplegate Without.jpg
| population               = 2,782
| population_ref           = (2011 Census. Ward)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13688522&c=Cripplegate&d=14&e=62&g=6317308&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1476628931522&enc=1|title=City of London Ward population 2011|access-date=16 October 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics|archive-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021060331/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13688522&c=Cripplegate&d=14&e=62&g=6317308&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1476628931522&enc=1|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| post_town                = LONDON
| postcode_area            = EC
| postcode_district        = EC2
| dial_code                = 020
| constituency_westminster = [[Cities of London and Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)|Cities of London and Westminster]]
}}
'''Cripplegate''' was a [[city gate|gate]] in the [[London Wall]] which once enclosed the [[City of London]], England.

The Cripplegate gate lent its name to the Cripplegate [[Wards of the City of London|ward]] of the City, which encompasses the area where the gate and the former city wall once stood. The ward is divided into two parts: Cripplegate Within and Cripplegate Without,<ref>[http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/committees/ward_newsletters/15.pdf Cripplegate Ward News] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612211407/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/committees/ward_newsletters/15.pdf |date=12 June 2011 }} - note use of "Within" and "Without" on page 4</ref> a division that originated from the gate and wall. Each part has a designated  [[beadle]] and a deputy ([[alderman]]). Following boundary changes in 1994 (City) and 2003 (ward), the majority of the ward now falls within Cripplegate Without, as the ward of [[Bassishaw]] has expanded significantly into the Cripplegate Within area.

Until [[World War II]], the area approximating to ''Cripplegate Without'' was commonly known as simply ''Cripplegate''.  The area was almost entirely destroyed in [[the Blitz]] of [[World War II]], causing the term to fall out of colloquial speech. Cripplegate Without is the site of the [[Barbican Estate]] and [[Barbican Centre]], with a small part of these lying in neighbouring [[Aldersgate|Aldersgate Without]].

==The gate==
[[File:Cripplegate Hollar.PNG|150px|thumb|left|An illustration of the gate, c. 1650.]]
[[File:Cripplegate plaque.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Cripplegate plaque]]
The origins of the gate's name are unclear.<ref>{{cite book|last=Harben|first=Henry|title=A Dictionary of London|year=1918|location=London|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63093}}</ref> One theory, bolstered by a mentioning of the gate in the fourth law code of [[Æthelred the Unready]] and a charter of [[William the Conqueror]] from 1068 under the name "Crepelgate",<ref>'Saxon London', by [[Alan Vince]], 1990, p43</ref> is that it takes its name from the Anglo-Saxon word ''crepel'', meaning a covered or underground passageway.

Another unsubstantiated theory suggests it is named after the [[cripple]]s who used to beg there.<ref>'Cripplegate, one of the 26 Wards of the City of London' [[Sir John Baddeley, 1st Baronet|Baddesley, J.J]] p91: London; Blades, East & Blades; 1921</ref>  The name of the nearby medieval church of [[St Giles-without-Cripplegate]] lends credence to this suggestion as [[Saint Giles]] is the patron saint of cripples and lepers.

===History of the gate===
It was initially the northern gate to the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[London Wall|city walls]], built around AD 120 or 150, <ref>{{cite web |title=London Wall: the west gate of Cripplegate fort and a section of Roman wall in London Wall underground car park, adjacent to Noble Street |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1018889 |access-date=4 March 2021 |website=historicengland.org.uk}}</ref> eighty years before the rest of the wall was completed. It appeared to have been used as part of the Roman city walls until at least the 10th-11th centuries. Cripplegate was rebuilt during the 1490s and was unhinged and fortified with a [[portcullis]] after [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] became king in 1660. It was eventually demolished in 1760; much of Cripplegate was gone by the 19th century and only small fragments of it survive today.

==The ward==
[[File:City of London, Ward of Cripplegate.svg|thumb|Location within the City, after the 21st century boundary changes]]
[[File:City of London Ward Map, 1870.svg|thumb|Ancient boundaries of the City Wards, prior to 2003]]
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 [[Freedom of the City|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.<ref name=woc>{{Citation
|publisher = Cripplegate Ward Club
|location = London
|author = Caroline Fiona Gordon
|title = The Ward of Cripplegate in the City of London
|date = 1985
|ol = 14531369M
}}</ref> The early records are unreliable as regards who the Aldermen were, but from 1286 there is a more reliable list of Aldermen available.<ref name=woc />
	
The modern City of London spreads across a square mile of land and remains divided into 25 geographic areas, or 'wards'. Four of these wards (Aldersgate, Portsoken, Queenhithe and Cripplegate), are described as 'residential' as they contain the vast majority of all City residents.

===Geography===
The Ward of Cripplegate provides part of the Northern edge of the City and stretches from just below [[Old Street]], down to London Wall at its southern tip, where it meets the Ward of Bassishaw. To the west is the Ward of [[Aldersgate]] and on the Eastern edge is [[Coleman Street Ward|Coleman Street]].

The 2003 Ward Boundary Review recommended some significant changes for a number of wards and these were eventually implemented in 2013.<ref name=woc />

The Cripplegate Ward boundary used to extend a great deal further south, all the way down to [[Cheapside]] in fact. The ward was home to the halls of six livery companies and now only one remains (the Barber-Surgeons in Monkwell Square).<ref name=woc />

Each ward is represented by an assembly called the 'Court of Common Council'. This consists of 100 common councilmen and 25 alderman (one for each Ward). The number of councilmen allocated to each particular ward is based on the size of the electorate and where Cripplegate used to warrant twelve members of council it is now reduced to nine.<ref name=woc />

The ward is promoted by the [[Cripplegate Ward Club]]. Founded in 1878, The Cripplegate Ward Club is a social organisation, encouraging its members to take an interest in the civic affairs of the City, while also supporting appeals and charitable activities. Cripplegate is among the busiest of the 20-plus ward clubs in the City of London, with a varied programme of events throughout the year.
[[File:Jewin Crescent.jpg|thumb|Jewin Crescent painting at the [[Imperial War Museum]]]]

The gate's name is preserved in the church of [[St Giles-without-Cripplegate]] which is sited immediately outside the site of the former gate.
 
A small road named Cripplegate Street lies slightly to the north of the site of the gate between [[Viscount Street]] and [[Bridgewater Street]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A-Z London|year=2001|publisher=Geographer's A-Z Map Co Ltd|isbn=0-85039-753-7|page=162}}</ref>

===History of the ward===
The wards of London appear to have taken shape in the 11th century, before the [[Norman Conquest]]. Their administrative, judicial and military purpose made them equivalent to [[Hundred (county division)|Hundreds]] in the countryside. The primary purpose of wards like Cripplegate, which included a gate, appears to have been the defence of the gate,<ref>London 800-1216: The Shaping of a City, Brook and Keir Ch 7</ref> as gates were the weakest points in any fortification.

''Cripplegate Without'' was, in the 11th, 12th and possibly later centuries, part of an area outside the northern wall called the [[Finsbury#Soke of Cripplegate|Soke of Cripplegate]], held by the church of [[St. Martin's Le Grand]].<ref>Archaeological Excavations at Moor House, Jeremy Haslam p48</ref>

In 1068, a burial site, where [[Jewin Street]] now stands, was the only place in England where Jews were permitted to be buried. Those living elsewhere in the country were forced, at great expense and inconvenience, to bring their dead there.<ref>Light for the last days (1888), H. Grattan Guinness D.D., FRAS></ref>

The philosopher [[Thomas More]], writer of [[Utopia]], was born on [[Milk Street, London|Milk Street]] in 1478.
 
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'.<ref>[[William Herbert (antiquarian)|Herbert, William]], ''The History of the Twelve Great Livery Companies of London'' (London, Wm Herbert, 1836) [{{GBurl|BgHAAAAQAAJ|page=80}} pp. 80-81] at books.google.co.uk</ref>

During the Second World War, the Cripplegate area, a centre of the rag trade,<ref name=Guardian62415>{{cite news|author1=Tom Bolton|title=From Cripplegate to Agar Town: inside London's vanished neighbourhoods |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jun/24/london-vanished-neighbourhoods-cripplegate-agar-town-limehouse-chinatown |access-date=24 June 2015|work=The Guardian|date=24 June 2015|quote=by the second world war, Cripplegate had become "Fire Island", the highest-insurance-risk area in London, occupied by rag trade warehouses packed with tinder-box stock.}}</ref> 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.

[[Tranter's Hotel]] was located at 6–9 [[Bridgewater Square]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://alondoninheritance.com/|title=A London Inheritance|website=A London Inheritance}}</ref> in a Georgian building with 60 rooms available,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/blacksguidetoed00firgoog/blacksguidetoed00firgoog_djvu.txt|title = Black's Guide to Edinburgh|year = 1903|publisher = A. and C. Black}}</ref> not far from today's [[Beech Street (London)|Beech Street]], before being destroyed by the [[World War II]] bombs.

It was advertised in a number of [[periodical literature|periodicals]] and magazines between 1887 and 1919 as a very centrally located, family and commercial, [[Temperance movement in the United Kingdom|temperance]]-friendly hotel, convenient for [[St Paul's Cathedral]] and [[Barbican station|Aldersgate station]], for business and pleasure.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TUMsAAAAMAAJ&q=tranter%27s+hotel+an+almanack+for+the+year+of+our+lord&pg=PA779 | title=An Almanack for the Year of Our Lord| year=1848| last1=Whitaker| first1=Joseph}}</ref>

===Politics===
Current elected representatives in Cripplegate are [[David Graves (Alderman)]], Mark Bostock, David Bradshaw, Mary Durcan, [[Vivienne Littlechild]], Susan Pearson, [[William Pimlott]], [[Stephen Quilter]] and John Tomlinson.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://democracy.cityoflondon.gov.uk/mgFindMember.aspx?XXR=0&AC=WARD&WID=12979&sPC=Enter+postcode|title=Find Member|date=6 March 2022|website=democracy.cityoflondon.gov.uk}}</ref>

In the 2017 City-wide Common Council elections, the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] won two seats in Cripplegate ward with local residents Mary Durcan and William Pimlott making Labour gains.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-the-city/voting-elections/Documents/notice-of-persons-elected-2017.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=7 January 2019 |archive-date=9 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109022948/https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-the-city/voting-elections/Documents/notice-of-persons-elected-2017.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Labour Party won a record total of five seats on the Common Council in March 2017 winning two seats in [[Portsoken]], two seats in Cripplegate ward and one seat in [[Aldersgate]] ward.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-city-of-london-election-vote-independence-jeremy-corbyn-a7649221.html|title=Labour wins record five seats in historic City of London election victory|date=24 March 2017|website=The Independent}}</ref>

Following a boundary change in 1994, the [[Golden Lane Estate]] was transferred from [[London Borough of Islington|Islington]] to the City, and so Cripplegate is today the most populous of the four residential wards of the City, with a population of 2,782 (2011).

==Other uses==
===Cripplegate Foundation===
[https://cripplegate.org/ Cripplegate Foundation] is a registered charity and local grant-making foundation supporting residents in the London borough of Islington and a small area of the City of London. The Foundation's vision is of a society where everyone can live a rewarding and fulfilled life, free from poverty and inequality.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introducing Cripplegate Foundation |url=https://cripplegate.org/about-us/introducing-cripplegate-foundation/ |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=Cripplegate Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref> 

Cripplegate Foundation works to improve access to opportunities for everyone and to make lasting change. They do this by:

* listening to, and learning from, local people and communities,
* raising funds and making grants, and
* working in partnership with local people and organisations.

As a place-based funder, Cripplegate Foundation's [https://cripplegate.org/grants-and-programmes/ grants and programmes] are available to Islington groups and residents based on their respective criteria. These include [https://cripplegate.org/funding-programme/islington-councils-community-chest/ Islington Council's Community Chest], [https://cripplegate.org/funding-programme/islingtons-resident-support-scheme/ Islington’s Resident Support Scheme (RSS)], the [https://cripplegate.org/funding-programme/catalyst/ Catalyst Programme], and [https://cripplegate.org/funding-programme/islington-giving-funds/ Islington Giving funds].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grants & Programmes |url=https://cripplegate.org/grants-and-programmes/ |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=Cripplegate Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref> 

As well as awarding grants, Cripplegate Foundation offers a range of resources to Islington’s residents and voluntary organisations. These include innovative and practical [https://cripplegate.org/category/research-and-articles/ research], [https://cripplegate.org/information-and-resources/advice-services-in-islington/ advice and support], [https://www.hownotwhat.org/ How Not What],<ref>{{Cite web |title=HOW NOT WHAT |url=https://www.hownotwhat.org/ |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=HOW NOT WHAT |language=en-US}}</ref> a key outcome of the Development Partner programme,<ref>{{Cite web |title=More than just grant-making |url=https://cripplegate.org/information-and-resources/more-than-just-grant-making/ |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=Cripplegate Foundation |language=en-US }}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and [https://cripplegate.org/contact-us/book-office-space/ office space] available for booking by Islington voluntary groups.

=== History of Cripplegate Foundation ===
The Foundation dates its origins to the donation of £40 "to provide trousers for local people" on 2 April 1500.<ref name="CF History">{{cite web|title=History|url=https://www.cripplegate.org/about-us/history|website=www.cripplegate.org|publisher=Cripplegate Foundation Limited|access-date=8 December 2017|language=en|archive-date=9 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209044410/https://www.cripplegate.org/about-us/history|url-status=dead}}</ref> However it was only in 1891 that various local trusts were consolidated into the Cripplegate Foundation by the [[Trust for London|London Parochial Charities Act]].<ref name="CF History" /> Between 1896 and 1973 the foundation ran the Cripplegate Institute at the southern end of Golden Lane, a handsome 'peoples palace' designed by architect Sidney Smith which contained a theatre and concert hall, a library free to residents and offices for social workers and from which grants to groups and individuals were given.<ref name="CF History" /> The building was listed in 1987 but was sold by the Foundation and subsequently completely gutted by Swiss Bank [[UBS]] for its own offices.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1262632|title=CRIPPLEGATE INSTITUTE, Non Civil Parish - 1262632 &#124; Historic England|website=historicengland.org.uk}}</ref>
From 1 April 2008 the area of benefit was expanded to include [[Islington]]. John Gilbert is the chair of the foundation, having been on the board of governors since 2005.<ref name="CF History" />

===Cripplegate Bank===
The Cripplegate Savings Bank was established in 1819 as a joint stock bank, then re-registered as Cripplegate Bank Ltd in 1879, and finally renamed London, Commercial & Cripplegate Bank Ltd in 1900.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rbs.com/heritage/companies/london-commercial-and-cripplegate-bank-ltd.html | title=London, Commercial & Cripplegate Bank Ltd | publisher=RBS Heritage Hub | access-date=5 June 2019 }}</ref>
In between 1876-1906 the Cripplegate Bank was located at 31 and then 1 [[Whitecross Street]], before been incorporated into the [[Union Bank of London]], and finally been liquidated.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F189019|title = The Discovery Service}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The second wedding in the film ''[[Four Weddings and a Funeral]]'' takes place in the fictional church of St. Mary of the Fields, Cripplegate, EC2.<ref>''Sic'' : Cripplegate is in the [[EC postcode area|EC3 postcode area]].</ref> It was filmed in the chapel of the [[Royal Naval College, Greenwich]].<ref>[http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/f/4wandf.html Four Weddings and a Funeral] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418094912/http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/f/4wandf.html |date=18 April 2008 }} at movie-locations.com</ref>

Cripplegate makes an appearance in the 2020 video game, ''[[Assassin's Creed Valhalla|Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' as one of the restricted areas in London.

==See also==
*[[Fortifications of London]]
*[[London]]
*''[[Morning Exercises]]''
* [[Grub Street]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
*[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45093 Old and New London] and [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46762 A New History of London] — two historical sources on the ward from British History Online
*[http://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/CRIP2.htm Map of Early Modern London:  Cripplegate Ward] - Historical Map and Encyclopedia of Shakespeare's London(Scholarly)

==External links==
*[http://www.cripplegatewardclub.org Cripplegate Ward Club] - The Social Club and Ward website for the Cripplegate Ward based in the City of London
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110704191557/http://217.154.230.195/NR/rdonlyres/7E05C915-CC61-4FAB-8DAA-E1D8F9360CCE/0/cripplegate.jpg City of London Corporation] Map of Cripplegate ward (2003 —)
*[https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Pages/default.aspx The City of London Corporation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311075251/https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Pages/default.aspx |date=11 March 2018 }} - The Official government website for the City of London. This encompasses all 25 Wards including the Cripplegate Ward
{{commons category|Ward of Cripplegate}}
{{City of London wards}}
{{City of London gates}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1760]]
[[Category:London Wall and its gates]]
[[Category:Wards of the City of London]]
[[Category:Streets in the City of London]]
[[Category:Barbican Estate]]
[[Category:Former gates]]