St. Botolph's, Aldersgate, has one of the largest churchyards in the City, but it really consists of four pieces of land thrown into one in 1892, by a scheme under the London Parochial Charities, which contributed part of the purchase-money of some of the land, and gives �150 a year for the upkeep-�100 being paid to them by the General Post Office, which has the right of light over the whole space. One-half of the churchyard is St. Botolph's, and the rest is made up of the burial-grounds of St. Leonard, Foster Lane, and Christ Church, Newgate Street, and a strip of land which might have been built on, but which, under the revised scheme in 1900, became permanently part of this open space. The garden is carefully laid out; there are nice plane trees and a little fountain, regular paths and numerous seats. A sheltered gallery runs along one side, and in it are tablets to commemorate deeds of heroism in humble life-Londoners who lost their lives in saving the lives of others. The church of St. Botolph was one which escaped the Fire, but had fallen into such disrepair that it was rebuilt, by Act of Parliament, in 1754. The Act specially stipulates that none of the gravestones were to be removed, but where some of them are, now that it is a trim garden, it would be hard to say. Being not far from the General Post Office, this garden is so much used by its officials during the middle of the day, it has earned the name of the "Postman's Park."
[St Botolph Aldersgate is a Church of England church on Aldersgate in the City of London, dedicated to St Botolph. The first church was built c.1000. The present church was built 1788-91. Its churchyard was combined with those of St Leonard, Foster Lane and Christchurch Newgate Street into Postmans Park, and this now contains the 1900 Watts memorial to civilian Londoners who died heroic deaths. Wikipedia, 2007]
