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Sometimes Written Aldergate, Always The Same Street
Locksmith Aldersgate Street: A Wall That Once Spoke With A Human Voice
A teenage girl hidden inside the City wall once convinced crowds she carried something supernatural, and a king genuinely walked through the gate that gave this street its name. Ring 020 8534 4949 for a locksmith who actually knows this street.
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Covering Aldersgate Street, north from the old gate's site. Open in Google Maps
Why Aldersgate Street Is Different
A hoax inside the wall, and genuine royalty passing through it
In 1554, a teenage girl named Elizabeth Crofts was hidden inside the City wall itself, near the gate. She was used as a kind of human loudspeaker. Crowds heard anti-Catholic propaganda through the stone, and genuinely believed it was a supernatural voice speaking to them. The hoax eventually unravelled. Even so, it left a vivid mark on the gate's own reputation for years afterward. Royalty passed through more conventionally decades later. King James I entered London directly through Aldersgate in 1603. That entrance was significant enough that his own royal arms were later mounted above the gate in commemoration.
The medieval gate itself didn't survive unchanged. It was rebuilt in 1617 and 1618. Gerard Christmas designed it, funded by a bequest from merchant tailor William Parker. The result carried statues of the biblical figures Jeremiah and Samuel, alongside the king's own arms. The gate took damage during the Great Fire of 1666. It was repaired rather than lost, standing until 1761. It was finally demolished simply to improve the flow of traffic through this part of the City.
A Name That Used To Mean Something Rather Different
Aldersgate Street hasn't always carried one single name throughout its length. Its northern stretch was once known locally as Pickax Street. Some historians trace that name to Pickt Hatch, an Elizabethan-era reference to a notorious local red-light district. That older name faded from use by the late 18th century, fully absorbed into the Aldersgate Street name we'd recognise today. The street held a genuinely personal moment for one historical figure too. John Wesley described a significant religious experience happening at the approximate site of 28 Aldersgate Street, a different and earlier episode from his later, more public break with the Fetter Lane Society, covered in full on our own dedicated page for that street. We're concerned with something considerably less dramatic. A lock on Aldersgate Street gets fixed properly, whatever hoax or conversion once happened nearby.
Pressed for time? sort out a lockout, line up a repair when it suits, or ring past midnight if that's when it strikes.
What Aldersgate Street Businesses & Residents Call About
What this street brings us
Offices Near The Old Gate Site
Ground that once held an actual City gate now carries modern commercial buildings instead. We judge security on current use, not on a history long since gone.
Book aheadPeriod Buildings Toward The Barbican
At points along this stretch, older architecture survives with genuine character. We handle that properly, without rushing to standard parts.
Book aheadShops Catching Steady Footfall
People moving toward the Barbican and beyond pass directly along this stretch most days. A quick lock replacement keeps a jammed unit from losing that passing trade.
Same-day priorityFlats Tucked Among The Offices
This street's commercial buildings still hold a handful of genuine residential entrances. Each gets its own individual look, distinct from the units surrounding it.
Book aheadBroken Or Snapped Keys
The older locks here don't always give up a broken key easily. Our guide explains the careful method we use.
Call nowEvening Lockouts
This street settles quickly once the working day ends. Our response speed holds steady regardless.
Call nowFor clarity: duplicate keys and card or intercom setup both fall outside what we cover. Both go to the managing agent's own contacts.
Locked Out On Aldersgate Street
Busy by day, genuinely still by night
This stretch stays busy through office hours, driven largely by the commercial activity it now supports.
Once evening settles in, things quieten down sharply, leaving a noticeably calmer street behind.
We don't change our method for either. Gentle approaches always get a genuine try before anything more forceful enters the picture.
What's happened to your own key matters here. Our broken keys and lost keys pages set out how we handle each one differently.
Around Aldersgate Street
What this street connects to
North, where this street leads.
North, where this street becomes another.
Further north of here.
Wesley's own later schism, in full.
The wider district this street sits within.
South of this stretch.
What We Do
Services across Aldersgate Street
What A Gate Leaves Behind Once It's Gone
A hoax, a king, and a lane that quietly changed its own name
Few City gates can claim quite this mix of genuine royalty and genuine fraud happening within living memory of each other. Aldersgate somehow managed both.
The Elizabeth Crofts hoax and the gate's own wider story are explored by this account of Aldersgate itself. The gate's rebuilding and eventual demolition are covered further by this record of its history.
Our own standards stay plainer than that history. Whether a lock works is the only thing that actually concerns us.
Something not right with your lock? Tell us the symptoms. We'll say plainly what's going on.
The Process
Booking a locksmith Aldersgate Street callout
- Contact usLet us know the address, unit, and the issue itself.
- Clearance sorted firstWe handle building access requirements before arriving.
- Looked at properlyNo quote until the engineer has examined the door.
- Confirmed workingNothing's assumed. Lock and door both get tested.
Access & Traffic
Getting to you along Aldersgate Street
This street carries steady traffic as part of the wider route north. Loading restrictions apply throughout.
Barbican and St Paul's stations both lie within easy reach, often the quicker option when surface roads are congested.
Weekday daytime hours bring the street's main activity. Evenings settle into real quiet. We plan each visit around whichever applies.
Why People Call Us
What Aldersgate Street tenants and residents rely on us for
- Current condition decides everything. What a building used to be called makes no difference to us.
- We avoid damage wherever possible. A drill appears only when genuinely nothing else will do.
- Bustling or quiet, it's all routine. Steady footfall from nearby landmarks doesn't change our pace.
- Flats aren't treated as lesser work. A residential callout gets the same care as any commercial one.
- Our boundaries are clearly drawn. Duplicate keys and access-system wiring go elsewhere.
- Hour of day doesn't limit us. Rush-hour chaos or a silent 3am street, both get the same answer.
Nearby
Areas around Aldersgate Street
Common Questions
A Voice From Inside The Wall Itself
Did something genuinely strange happen near this gate in the Tudor period?
It did, a teenage girl was hidden inside the wall and used to fake a supernatural voice.
What was that voice actually being used for?
Spreading anti-Catholic propaganda to anyone passing by.
Did any genuine royalty pass through this gate historically?
A king entered London directly through it in the early 1600s.
A Street That Used To Go By A Different Name
Did this street's northern stretch always carry its current name?
No, it was once known locally by something quite different.
What's the likely origin of that earlier name?
A reference many trace back to a notorious local red-light district.
Did anyone famous have a genuinely personal experience on this street?
A religious figure described a significant personal moment happening here.
Booking On Aldersgate Street
Which stretch does this page actually cover?
Aldersgate Street itself, running north from the old gate's site.
Do you work on period buildings as well as modern offices here?
We do. This street has a genuine mix, and each building gets assessed on its own terms.
Can you reach a lockout during a busy weekday?
We can, though finishing on foot often works out faster once this stretch gets congested.
Is weekend cover realistic in a mostly commercial area?
It is, every day, regardless of how quiet the street is.
Do you handle residential premises as well as offices here?
We do, though commercial work accounts for most of what we're called out for on this street.
What if my building has its own security procedures?
Let us know what they involve beforehand and we'll plan the visit around them.
A wall here once fooled an entire crowd into hearing a voice that wasn't real. We'd rather your own lock never needed that kind of trickery.
Office, shop or flat on Aldersgate Street — get in touch, and we'll send the right engineer.