This neighbourhood runs along London Wall on the southern edge of the Barbican Estate. The area includes the Museum of London (soon to be relocated), and passes several Roman ruins, including Barber-Surgeons’ Hall Tower, a Roman Fort Gate and Roman Fort Ruins. The London Wall road then goes under 125 London Wall, a building which was built over the road, with a tunnel underneath to allow traffic to flow.

Of all the gates on the London Wall, Moorgate is the only one without a name of Roman origin. Instead, it derives from the medieval word moor meant ‘of marshy ground’, as the area north of the city wall used to be marshland. The area was one of the last open spaces of the city, and people would skate on the frozen marsh during winter. Moorgate was one of the last gates to be constructed on the London Wall, and was considered one of the most beautiful and spacious, compared to the other slightly inconvenient gates. It was finally removed in 1761 to ease traffic into the City.

Long before the Barbican saw the Brutalist skyscrapers rise, the German Luftwaffe above or the industrial era dawn, the Barbican was known as the Base Court. The estate was owned for a long period of time by the Willoughbys after Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk, married Catherine Willoughby de Eresby. He lived in the place until his death in 1545, when it was passed to his wife. He was one of the few people who managed to retain King Henry VIII’s affection throughout his life. Having lived a long life and service alongside the King, his funeral was planned and paid for by King Henry himself, who outlived his friend by only 18 months.

Moor House was the first building to be designed for the Crossrail project, with a purpose-built ventilation shaft to the station beneath, also specifically designed to withstand further tunnelling below it. This is even more surprising given that Moor House was completed more than a decade ago in 2004. The Crossrail project has unearthed tens of thousands of artefacts over 40 construction sites across London. In fact, the line from Liverpool Street to Moorgate had so many finds that the artefacts had to be split between Roman and post- Roman. Amongst the finds were animal-bone ice skates from the medieval era, which were supposedly used by young men to skate on the frozen Moorfields marsh. Many people live in the neighbouring Barbican, which is a surprisingly quiet place in the City of London. The London Wall area in which this neighbourhood finds itself in is slightly noisier, however, it is just far removed enough from the centres of Liverpool Street and the Bank Junction that it is relatively isolated from the business of the City, and closer to the entertainment and culture venues of the Barbican, which is the area’s main appeal.

The Museum of London is scheduled to move to the old Smithfield’s Market in order to accommodate more of its collection. While there were plans to build a new state-of-the-art concert hall in its place, these were scrapped due to spending cuts during the Covid-19 pandemic. Current plans invisage mixed use retail and commercial development interwoven with public greenspace which should help pay for the relocation of the museum. At the Eastern end of London Wall a new entrance to Moorgate Station has just opened, connecting passengers to the long Elizabeth Line concourse which is officially part of Liverpool Street Station. Above this entrance will sit another mixed-use commercial development, complete with roof terraces, gardens and cycle parking.