Brewer's: Cripplegate

St. Giles is the patron saint of cripples and beggars, and was himself a cripple. Churches dedicated to this saint are, therefore, in the suburbs of large towns, as St. Giles of London, Norwich, Cambridge, Salisbury, etc. Cripplegate, London, was so called before the Conquest from the number of cripples who resorted thither to beg. (Stowe.)

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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