Leman Street lies in the Aldgate area, just east of Tower Hill, sandwiched between The City and The East End. The area blends into the more residential Wapping and Whitechapel to the south and the east, as well as the commercial Bishopsgate area to the north. The neighbourhood itself is divided into its residential portion (south of the C2C and DLR railway lines, which cut through the area horizontally) and commercial (north of the railway). The residential area is in between Cable Street and the Highway, and is primarily council housing typical of this area, although some modern residences do exist as well. The commercial north is centred on English Martyrs Roman Catholic Primary School, and has a combination of shop houses, serviced and student residences and some tall office buildings, in contrast to the more modest buildings of the rest of the neighbourhood. The area is very well-connected, with Aldgate and Aldgate East underground stations close by, and Tower Gateway DLR also just a few minutes away.

Aldgate is named after a city gate, back when London was walled; it was the East Gate, or ‘Æstgate’ of the city. The gate led to Colchester and Essex, and was believed to have been first built even before the wall. Aldgate was also the gate where the rebels entered and forced King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. Once the abode of Jack the Ripper as well as some of the most deprived areas of London, today it has been reinvigorated as a bustling business district and amongst London’s pioneers in the arts and tech scene.

Emanuel Swedenborg lived here in the 18th century, a scientist, theologian, mystic as well as founder of Swedenborgianism (a religious movement following his writings). Migrating from his native Sweden, he had designed a submarine, aeroplane, steam engine, and many other creations, as well as dabbling in astronomy, mineralogy, chemistry, watchmaking and other disciplines. However, it was not until his spiritual phase, when he would claim to begin experiencing dreams and visions, when his popularity exploded. Today there is a Swedenborg Gardens in the east of the neighbourhood.

Wilton’s Music Hall is situated to the east of the area, and has been said to be ‘the most important surviving early music hall to be seen anywhere’ by the Theatres Trust. It opened in 1853, growing from the concert room it was previously. Later on in the century it would be bought by the East London Methodist Mission, which used it as a base to help the squalid neighbourhood. The building survived an attempt at its destruction following the Mission’s closure in 1956 and subsequent use as a rag sorting warehouse, but remained abandoned apart from use in a few films. It was only in 1999 that the Broomhill Opera opened Wilton’s more regularly to the public; today it is home to a thriving theatre scene.

Just to the south of the area is the Royal Mint Court, which was home to the Royal Mint for 150 years. It is currently under redevelopment and will soon house the new Chinese embassy. Planned to be one of the largest foreign diplomatic bases in the UK, the project has been controversial among local residents worried about China’s persecution of Uyghur Muslim’s.