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Newgate was a gate in the west of London Wall round the City of London. It was between Ludgate and Aldersgate and served as a prison. The Old Bailey currently stands on the site of Newgate prison, which was just south of the gate.[citation needed]
The exact year when Newgate was built is not easy to pin down. Excavations through the years (in 1875, 1903 and 1909) have revealed a Roman-Type gateway on the site.[citation needed] However, it was built on approximately four feet of rubbish that had accumulated on top of the original Roman wall. An estimate of 875 has been suggested, although other sources claim that it was built "about the reign of Henry I or King Stephen" (1100-1154).[cite this quote]
It has been suggested that the new gate was built because the church of St Paul's burned down in 1087. The rebuilding took up a lot more land, causing traffic problems for people wanting to travel out through Ludgate.[citation needed] The new gate avoided having to travel past the new St Paul's. This theory fits with the date of the 12th century, but it cannot be confirmed.
The gate was always used as a prison for debtors and felons, serving not only Middlesex and London but often other neighbouring areas.[citation needed] The date that it became more than a simple prison gatehouse and became the large prison that it was when it was demolished for good is unknown.[citation needed]
Newgate Street is just north of St Paul's Cathedral. To the west it leads into the Holborn Viaduct, and to the east it becomes Cheapside.
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(Source: Wikipedia) |