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Bishopsgate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bishopsgate is a road and ward in the east part of the City of London, extending north from Gracechurch Street to Norton Folgate. It is named after one of the original seven gates in London Wall. The site of this gate is marked by a stone Bishop's Mitre, fixed high on a building, at the junction of Wormwood Street and Camomile Street with Bishopsgate. Originally Roman, the gate was rebuilt by the Hansa merchants in 1471. Its final form was built in 1735 by the City authorities and demolished in 1760. This gate often displayed the heads of criminals on spikes. The Wall (which is no longer extant in this sector) divided the the ward into an intramural portion called Bishopsgate Within and an extramural portion called Bishopsgate Without. The Bishopsgate thoroughfare forms part of the A10 and the section to north of the site of the original Gate is the start of Roman Ermine Street, also known as the 'Old North Road'.
The parish church for the area of Bishopsgate Without is St Botolph's. This is situated just to the north of the original Gate on the west side of the road.
Bishopsgate was originally the location of many coaching inns which accommodated passengers setting out on the Old North Road. These, though they survived the Great Fire of London, have now all been demolished. Also demolished (but then re-erected in Chelsea) was the old Crosby Hall, at one time the residence of King Richard III and Thomas More. The 17th century facade of Peter Pindar's House, on Bishopsgate was also preserved and can now be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Bishopsgate is the site of Liverpool Street station, the notable public house Dirty Dick's, the Bishopsgate Institute, St Ethelburga's church, and many offices.
On the 24 April 1993 it was the site of a Provisional IRA truck bomb, which killed journalist Ed Henty, injured over 40 people and caused £350,000,000 worth of damage, including the destruction of St Ethelburga's church, and serious damage to Liverpool St. Tube Station. Police had received a coded warning, but were still evacuating the area at the time of the explosion. The insurance payments required were so enormous, that Lloyds of London almost went bankrupt under the strain, and there was a crisis in the London insurance market. The area had already suffered damage from the Baltic Exchange bombing the year before.
The street is home to the main London offices of several major banks including the Royal Bank of Scotland, ABN AMRO and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
In June 2005, plans were unveiled for the Bishopsgate Tower, a huge skyscraper to be built at the northern end of the road.
Aldersgate • Aldgate • Bassishaw • Billingsgate • Bishopsgate • Bread Street • Bridge • Broad Street • Candlewick • Castle Baynard • Cheap • Cordwainer • Cornhill • Cripplegate • Dowgate • Farringdon Within • Farringdon Without • Langbourn • Lime Street • Portsoken • Queenhithe • Tower • Vintry • Walbrook