Aldgate is an area in central London, within the City of London. Historically, it was the eastern-most gateway through the London Wall, and it joined the City to the East End. Geoffrey Chaucer lived in apartments above the gate when he was a customs official from 1374–1386 and wrote some of his poems while living there. Notable buildings in the area include John Cass’s Foundation School, founded in the churchyard of St. Botolph’s Aldgate in 1709, and London’s oldest synagogue at Bevis Marks, which was founded around the turn of the eighteenth century. Today, the area is dominated by the insurance industry.