The church and street both take their name from the 'Bishop's Gate' in London's defensive wall which stood approximately 30 metres to the south.

Stow, writing in 1598 describes the church of his time as standing "in a fair churchyard, adjoining to the town ditch, upon the very bank thereof".

The Priors held the land of the Portsoken, outside the wall, and are thought to have built and dedicated the church, St Botolph without Aldgate, that served it.

In around 1307, the Knights Templar were examined here by an inquisition on charges of corruption,[7] and in 1413 a female hermit was recorded as living here, supported by a pension of forty shillings a year paid by the Sheriff.

[7] It narrowly escaped the Great Fire of London, the sexton's house having been partly demolished to stop the spread of the flames.

By this time the Gothic church had been altered with the addition of Tuscan columns supporting the roof, and Ionic ones the galleries.

To provide a striking frontage towards Bishopsgate, the architect placed the tower at the east end, its ground floor, with a pediment on the exterior, forming the chancel.

[12] The church was designated a Grade II* listed building on 4 January 1950[14] and contains memorials to the war dead of 5th and 8th Battalions London Regiment.

The infant son of the playwright Ben Jonson is buried in the churchyard, and baptisms in this church include Edward Alleyn in 1566, Emilia Lanier (née Bassano; widely considered to be the first Englishwoman to become a professional poet) on 27 January 1569, and John Keats (in the present font) in 1795.

It is a single-storied classical red brick and Portland stone building, with niches containing figures of charity children.