Ludgate

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A historic gateway that once pierced the old Roman and medieval walls surrounding the City of London, on the western side near Fleet Street
2. An ancient city gate in the walls of London, standing at the top of the hill that later took its name from the gateway
3. The medieval western entrance through the wall of the City of London, once a well-known landmark on the route toward Fleet Street

Etymology: Ludgate was one of the medieval gates in the City of London's wall, standing on the western side near where Ludgate Hill runs down toward the River Fleet. The name is usually explained as "Lud's gate," after a legendary King Lud, said by medieval chroniclers such as Geoffrey of Monmouth to have founded the city and built its gates. That king is almost certainly a legend rather than a historical figure, and the name's real origin is uncertain. Some scholars have linked the gate instead to a Celtic personal name or to an earlier Roman-era name for the city, but none of these is securely established. The gate is recorded in documents from the early medieval period, and the name appears in English records by the 1100s. The gate itself was rebuilt several times and was finally demolished in 1760, after which the street names kept the old name alive. Ludgate Hill still carries it today, and the gate's name is also attached to Ludgate Circus, a junction near St Paul's Cathedral.