Aldgate Pump

As a well, it was mentioned during the reign of King John in the early 13th century. A structure is shown on Braun and Hogenburg's map of 1574, and shown as St Michael’s Well on the Agas map of 1633. John Stow recalled the execution of the Bailiff of Romford on a gibbet 'near the well within Aldgate'. This execution seems to have been carried out on the dubious basis that he was involved in Kett's Rebellion of 1549. Served by one of London's many underground streams, the water was praised for being "bright, sparkling, and cool, and of an agreeable taste". These qualities were later found to be derived from decaying organic matter from adjoining graveyards, On its relocation in 1876, the New…

Aldgate Pump is a Grade II listed structure. The metal wolf head on the pump's spout is supposed to signify the last wolf shot in the City of London. Historic photographs show that the pump was surmounted by an ornate wrought iron lantern. During the 20th century this was removed, but was recreated by the Bottega Prata workshop in Bologna, Italy, during its restoration by the Heritage of London Trust, unveiled in September 2019. The pump is no longer operational, though its drainage grating is still in place.