This neighbourhood area is made up of the western side of Finsbury Circus Gardens and Moorgate railway and tube stations. In the southern part closer to London Wall, an ornate neo-classical building accommodates the London Metropolitan University’s Guildhall School of Business and Law. This used to be the London Polytechnic, after serving initially as the headquarters for Cable and Wireless telegraph company at the turn of the previous century. Opposite from here, though not directly within this neighbourhood area, stands Moor House by Foster and Partners. An example of brutalist architecture here can be seen at 110-128 Moorgate which houses a number of shops and businesses. Finally, Britannic House acts as the eastern entrance to Moorgate station. It was built in 1924 by Lutyens for the Anglo-Persian Oil Company – later to become British Petroleum.

The name Moorgate is a nod to the locale’s origin: in the marshy fields that once characterised this area stood a gate to the Roman city of Londinium. In actual fact, the gate arrived only much later in the mediaeval period while a postern (side entrance) held its place for centuries before. These ‘Moor Fields’ were drained in 1527 and walks were laid out for the private residents of the area. The notorious Bethlem psychiatric hospital (or Bedlam) once stood here, after being located at Bishopsgate (Shoreditch) – where it had been since the thirteenth century. Bedlam – which has become synonymous with ‘insanity’ – is considered Europe’s earliest mental asylums.

The romantic poet John Keats is said to have been born at the Swan and Hoop Inn, where The Globe pub currently stands. The Inn was managed well by Keats’ father, who, despite humble origins, provided well for his family. Together with his two brothers, the young Keats was sent to Enfield Academy to be educated. Not long after being admitted here, the boys’ father died in a tragic accident. Despite this, Keats excelled at the academy both academically and socially, growing close to the headmaster and his son, who would later introduce the aspiring poet to his first publisher. Although Keats left the academy early to study medicine – owing probably to the family’s troubled finances – his literary output began to grow. By the time of his death, aged just twenty-five, Keats produced fifty-four poems, though he was largely criticised by the notable figures of the time. Today, he is one of the most loved English poets of the Romantic period.

Homemade ice-skates, made using animal bones, were used here on Moorfields when the marshland froze over. Much later the Moorlands were transformed into the elegant Finsbury Circus Gardens. The capital’s only Chinese pagoda tree stands here. Its white flowers bloom in late summer, long after most other trees have done so.

With the developments around Moorgate and Finsbury Circus Gardens rapidly underway, the area can suffer from increased noise and congestion. The Circus was forced to close while the Elizabeth Line was under construction but re-opened earlier in 2022 when the line eventually opened. Train journeys from nearby Liverpool Street to Canary Wharf now take only six minutes where they once took twelve. Plans are also underway for a huge £1.5bn redevelopment of the grade II-listed terminal building at Liverpool Street Station. Designed by the Sellar design collective, this project will revamp the whole station, providing new retail, leisure and dining destinations, as well as a 16-storey tower block built by Herzon & de Meuron on top of the station.