Shaftesbury House, Aldersgate
Aldersgate Street, in the City of London along the ancient London Wall, was named after the northern gate of the city.
From the commercial guide of 1818, its clear to see it was a busy street full of a variety of merchants. It was also the home to several coaching inns for routes to the north.
By no means a fashionable street, it was no doubt a useful street for getting any number of errands accomplished. It was also very near (as shown in the map) any number of significant landmarks like the General Post Office, St. Bart’s Hospital and St. Paul’s Cathedral so doubtless a place with enough address to at least appeal to the middle class Cits who frequented the City of London.
Johnstone’s London Commercial Guide, and Street Directory, 1818
Thomas Hosmer Shepherd, The Bell Inn (Aldersgate Street)
