The bells of Aldgate do not refer to principally to a church but to the Aldgate Bell foundry. A Master Founder, called Robert Chamberlain, can be traced back through records dated 1420. In 1588 another Master Founder called Robert Mott, who worked for the Aldgate Foundry from 1574 to1606, recast one of the bells of the Church of St. Botolph's in Aldgate. The Church of St. Botolph's is mentioned in records dating back to 1125. St. Botolph was a pious Saxon Abbot who had built a monastery in Lincolnshire in 654AD. Saint Botolph is the Patron Saint of Boston, Massachusetts. The name was taken as a derivative of "Botolph's town" which became known "Boston". The current church was erected between 1725 and 1740 and dedicated to the Patron Saint of Travellers and Itinerants. The Church of St. Botolph's was known as the 'Prostitutes' church' because the ladies would solicit their trade in this area. Catherine Eddowes, a victim of the notorious Jack the Ripper was seen drunk in the vicinity of the church on the night of her murder on 30th September 1888. The reference to "Old Father Bald Pate" relates to Saint Botolph. A bald pate was a colloquialism used to describe a bald-headed person. |
