Here we go, my first post about accessing the Roman London Wall, from the perspective of a well known London railway station on the C2C line from Southend and other areas. Fenchurch street is a London terminus where trains stop and return in the opposite ditection.
Many people use it as a means to get into London, and being near to Tower Hill, on the Circle line or District line, a good point to change onto the underground lines for further travel into central London.
There is also the Tower Gateway station on the DLR line a short distane from Fenchurch street. Tower Gateway is highly accessible for anyone from street to platform. This station is two stations away from Limehouse on the DLR, with lifts on this line everwhere. Limehouse is the last sop on the c2c before Fenchurch street.
In brief, if you have any accessibility issues, the front entrance of Fenchurch street is the only way of exiting the station; and even my visit in May 2021 found the escalator broken. The lift was apparently working.
This guide will now take you via the other (Coopers row) exit, which has an incredible number of steps to the platforms, and elevator, and steps at the exit.
Fenchurch street – the Tower hill / Coopers row exit, which is highly inaccessible – in May 2019
Once out of the station, turn left down the hill and towards Tower Hill. There are people here who will ask you to change a banknote, just tell them to try at the station, they soon go away.
This was the Coopers Row in 1864, not disimilar to today.
I had walked past this Hotel entrance many hundreds of times, and never realised what was hidden at the back, and clearly visible from the street. You can also access the wall by walking down towards Tower Hill station and keep turning left.
The Wall is not only very accessable, you can also walk through it, and round it.
Actually, I was looking at some very early maps and struggling to work out exactly where this was, until I looked at an 1893-96 map, as is here:
You will then be able to walk alongside it, through it, round it, and almost climb it! I do not think you can climb it.
If you follow the wall underneath Fenchurch station (in your mind), you will discover that in 1881 a section of the wall was demolished in the building of the new railway station. Obviously you cannot walk underneath the station, and this is all hypothetical; but this is what it would have looked like!
In the course of demolitions for the Blackwall Railway in 1841, a portion of the Roman wall was uncovered 7 1/2 feet thick and standing to a height of 6 or 7 feet. This was in or near this area.
I am working through my excavations of the Roman London Wall as listed on my londonwiki here
If we head southwards again, down Coopers row. we head for Trinity place. I need a map, and another post for this.
Just south of Coopers row, as it is now called was Trinity square, which is the square around the top of the Tower itself. As you can see from the maps in 1896 and earlier in 1720, slightly to the east is Trinity place.
Trinity place is at where the modern underground line now exists, and Tower Hill station.
The London wiki refers to two separate sections of the wall at Trinity place. The northern section was a length of 73 feet of the Roman wall, immediately adjoining the southern section was destroyed for the construction of the Inner Circle Railway in 1882, i.e. the Underground Circle and District lines at Tower Hill.
The southern section was a length of about 50 feet of the town-wall is still standing here to a height of about 15 feet.
Between this point and Tower Hill a considerable stretch of the wall is incorporated in a warehouse and other buildings. The external face is visible in places and appears to be of mediaeval date. Projecting on to Tower Hill is a narrow tenement which, no doubt, stands on the Roman wall.
I will not delve closer inside the Tower of London at present, although this may be a separate subject altogether.
Just a quickie in side the Tower of London and the Wardrobe Tower, thanks to David Fletcher:
OK, the London wall is really confusing at first unless you look at it from space, e.g. from google earth. It is how I discovered it in the first instance.
What is even more confusing is the depth of some of the streets from the actual wall. If you just walk along Coopers row, and then try to make a straight line to America square, it does not make sense. Then if you look at the following it does make sense:
Notice Coopers row on the left, near the bottom, but it is in fact quite a distance away from the actual line of the Wall. This wall then disappears underneath Fenchurch station,and reappears in America square, underneath a conference building.
A mapping of the area is always good, modern day compared to pre-1900 maps from the NLS site
The original references from my London wiki site follow.
In 1908 the demolition of Nos 15 and 16 America Square, revealed a stretch of about 65 feet of the wall.
If you peer into the floor level sky-lights down into the conference centre, you an just make out a section of the wall. this near to the corner of the building. Here is a far better description, than I could ever envisage, with lots of pictures inside the building, too. Although, this is a picture taken in 1905 of the original walled section inside Roman Wall House
The line of the Roman wall then continues northwards and is partially found in the school originally called James Cass, but renamed to some extent after the Black Lives Matter highlighted John Cass, as a prolific slaver. It is now the David Game college, in Jewry street.
The paperblog managed to photograph inside this building in the past when it was part of the London Met.
Just a little further north, and along Jewry street, very close to Aldgate was a section of the wall which is actually in the cellar of the original Three Tuns, 36 jewry street. This pub backs onto Vine street (previously called Little George street),.
At Aldgate, as was, the Roman wall turns north east along Duke street. In 1887 a section of wall was seen here in the widening of this street, most of which is now completely gone, although as you walk along the same steps on the map, you will be in Dukes place, which is the northern section before joining Bevis Marks.
Just to clarify, and keep you in a straight line, the wall follows in parallel within Houndsditch which still exists today as a highway rather than a ditch!
Bevis Marks, East end. The south-eastern extension called of Bevis Marks is called Dukes place, and was originally called Duke street. In 1880 a stretch of about 70 feet of the wall was exposed and removed in the rebuilding at the back of No. 31 Houndsditch. This address was the Red Lion, at 17 Bevis Marks, latterly at 31 Houndsditch as the entry altered. It is latterly called the White Horse but is now closed. The address of 17 Bevis Marks is at or near the Creechurch lane, and is still recognisable today. Bevis Marks House was at 24 Bevs Marks, and is still at this address today.
The NLS maps show clearly the line of the old London wall alogside a more modern ordnance survey mapping.
Further along Bevis Marks, but still east of Goring street was another section of the original London wall. In 1923 a stretch of the wall about 120 feet long and 8 1/2 feet thick immediately South East of Goring Street was uncovered and destroyed.
And again another section west of Goring street (formerly called Castle street) was sketched in 1884 by a H Hodge.
I will add some modern images to this section as I find them.
The Wall then crosses St Mary Axe, and extends along Camomile street.
In 1905 a stretch of the wall was uncovered at the back of Nos. 58 and 60 Houndsditch and also adjoining the churchyard belonging to the parish of St. Martin Outwich. In 1926 a further portion of this same section of the wall was revealed and destroyed.
In 1876 a stretch of the wall 70 feet long was uncovered in the middle section of Camomile street. It was 8 feet thick and was destroyed above the plinth [J. E. Price, On a Bastion of London Wall, 1880].
The London Wall is next along the appropriately named London Wall – hooray.
London Wall as it exists today was appropriately named from the Roman London Wall which ran along it, and being the northern section of this Roman wall fortification.
The Scottish maps site is rather excellent for the use of old Ordnance survey maps alongside each other, and these I link to are good at showing detail of the wall in the 1890s (not the 1990s). Also the brilliant Layers of London offers a different perspective of very localised plans and maps from 1270 onwards.
The most eastern section, and also east of All Hallows Church. In 1905 a small portion of the wall was uncovered at a distance of 45 foot East of All Hallows Church
The churchyard itself is an amazing place to see a living section of the wall discovered in 1905, and here in 2019.
Moving west, is Blomfield street (earler called Little Moorfields), and on its west corner an excavation for sewers in 1837 found. It was on the eastern corner of Bethlem Hospital in 1799.
Several descriptions of the archaelogical digs which followed are described here. The places mentioned in the reports include Carpenters Hall on the south side of the wall, Finsbury chambers on the north side, and also there is a public house at the corner of London Wall and Great Winchester street which appears to be the Crown and Cushion later addressed as 28 Great winchester street until about 1956.
The next section mentioned is between Throgmorton avenue (south side of London Wall) and Moorgate street. The northern section of Moorgate street was earlier called Finsbury pavement (for information); and earlier this was called Fore street, Cripplegate. Here you will find the Globe public house which has had a variety of addresses through the years it existed, and was once next to the Castle, and many other pubs as can be seen in the 1832 street listing of Fore street.
The greater part of this long stretch of wall was standing until 1817, when it formed the back-enclosure of Bethlehem Hospital. It was destroyed at this time, and road widening occurred. The hospital then moved to St Georges fields, Southwark in 1815 having been along the northern side of the London Wall since about 1675.
Moving along the south side of the wall from Throgmorton avenue, is Copthall avenue (earlier called Little Bell alley). It was at this point adjoining the Swan’s Nest Tavern . . . which yet stands, that in the year 1835 an interesting discovery of remains was made. A pit or well was disclosed which had been carefully planked with boards, and which was found to contain a store of earthenware vessels of divers patterns and capacities,. A branch of the Walbrook (the now underground river or sewerage system) passed under the wall a little West of Little Bell Alley (now Copthall Avenue).
The London Wall, immediately West of Moorgate Street. In 1882 a stretch of about 43 feet of the wall was uncovered on the site of a house said wrongly, by Loftus Brock, to be No. 55, and was found to underly the street-frontage
Moving along some way along the London Wall, we reach Aldermanbury. The Aldermanbury postern was at about 132 London Wall. This seems to have disappeared as regards the northen section of Aldermanbury and is today, a mass of new and high rise office buildings.
This at about 140 London Wall, which I think should be Adermanbury
We arrive at St Alphage churchyard, although this is not deemed to be part of the Roman London wall.
Looking at a modern map showing the London Wall ‘street’ it looks like the original ‘street’ was slightly further north at this point, and is now superseded by a more recent fly over which veer slightly south south west.
Monkwell square (northern part) is the newer name for Hart street along which the Roman wall travelled along just to the north; and as far as St Giles church where the Roman Wall turnes directlry southwards.
Next we arrive at Aldersgate.
Monkwell square (northern part) is the newer name for Hart street along which the Roman wall travelled along just to the north; and as far as St Giles church where the Roman Wall turnes directlry southwards.
[repeated from walk the wall 4]
The wall travelled roughly westwards and then roughly southwards around what is now Monkwell square. The City Wall and Tower is marked on the google earth image below. It puts it into context, with St Giles church and its churchyard just above this mapping.
It then runs down the western side of St Olaves church to Falcon square; followed by being to the left of Noble street southwards; and then turning sharp left and westwards between what was the Castle and Falcon Hotel, and St Ann And St Agnes church. And so to Aldersgate street.
Not many people know this, well maybe they do. The Museum of London at the Barbican is inside of the Aldersgate street rotunda, the address is actually 150 London Wall. London is quite confusing, as it is vast, and changes drastically through time.
The NLS ordnance survey maps side by side are brilliant.
East of Aldersgate Street. In 1922, during excavations on the site of the Castle and Falcon Hotel and its yard in Aldersgate Street, a piece of the wall was found running East and West.
Early maps tend to show the line of the London Wall, and along with google earth, you can often map the comparisons. It’s all there, just not always in the expected places. Some of it is also now hidden inside newer buildings, behind office blocks or just demolished.
The last section of thei post takes us to the junction of Aldersgate street (the southern end), and St Martins le Grand. It includes the site of the Mourning Bush Tavern, latterly called the Raglan Hotel, and more latterly the Lord Raglan. In Elizabethan times, it had been known as the Fountain. It was still in existence in 2007, and appears to be a Greene King pub now, although I know Greene King have been selling off all of their pubs.
If you want a decent read about the Mourning Bush history, its on my Londontaverns site, and the pub is latterly listed on my pubwiki with even more great detail.
The wall then turns west and passes the other very old inn, the Bull and Mouth, latterly the Queens Hotel from 1831 to 1888. This became the exact site of the new General Post Office ; and what appears to remain of this is now the Postmans Park.
St. Botolph, Aldersgate churchyard, South side.
In 1887, in clearing a site for post-office buildings, a stretch of 131 feet of the wall was exposed. The inner face of the wall now forms the North side of the basement area. A total height of 14 feet 4 inches of Roman work was seen.
I am not certain what has happened to the section of wall – more to follow on that subject..
Next section is the Christ’s Hospital site – sections 32 to 35
I need to add some modern pictures for this page, althouggh it is an area I don’t yet know very well.
Immediately to the west of St. Botolph, Aldersgate churchyard is Christs Hospital. This is a little south of St Bartholomews Hospital, and latterly also a General Post Office. It ran along the northern and western section of Newgate street.
There were a number of ecavations which took place, tthe latter being the most interesting. At the North West corner of the wall, a fragment of the Roman structure adjoining the angle-bastion. It was built on the curve, and the base of the plinth was 12 feet below the surface. The substructure was upwards of 6 feet deep. See picture below.
There is nothing left of this grand hospital now. It became the General Post Office, another building to that which is in St Martins le Grand. It appears to now be modern business buildings including Bank of America which houses a section of the wall, and following tips from OnLondon by Vic Keegan, you can walk down the side of the Viaduct Tavern, in Giltspur street (also 126 Newhgate street) as far as the Cafe Nero and then peer into the building. This would certainly match with the western end of the Hospital that once was.
On the southern side of Newgate street, and along the northern section of Old Bailey was Newgate prison, or gaol, and latterly this is the site of the Central Criminal courst, better known as the Old Bailey.
The Roman London wall passed along the rear of Newgate prison, and apparently there is still a section inside Old Bailey, but you need to be on a guided tour to see it.
Newgate Prison site. On clearing the site for the New Sessions House in 1903, a considerable stretch of the wall, 76 feet in length, was uncovered together with an isolated fragment farther South.
Further south at what is now the Old Bailey. At Numbers 7-10, Old Bailey. In 1900 a fragment of the wall was uncovered at the rear of No. 8 Old Bailey. It was 8 1/4 feet thick above the foundation and was standing 8 feet high.
And south of Ludgate :
The line of the Roman wall from Ludgate to the Thames is badly recorded, including a section under the “Times” Office. The position of a fragment is indicated on a sketch-plan in the Builder, 1855, 221 and 269, showing the line of the wall South of Ludgate in its relationship to the Times building. This has been destroyed.
The wall subsquently revisits the Thames, and follows back along Upper Thames street and Lower Thames street, to the Tower.
This section of the Roman London wall is all along the river Thames. It is not an easy section to describe, but if you walk along the embankment and Upper Thames street then Lower Thames street, you are pretty much on track. It will bring us back to the Tower, and completes the circuit of the Roman London wall as was.
The river Thames was a lot different in early days, with London being built on slightly raised ground, whereas the southern banks of the Thames were largely non-existent, and it was more of a lake with islands.
When sewer excavations were taking place nearly fifteen hundred years later, there appears to have been some attempts at recording the London wall, and the fragments which were found.
Upper Thames Street.
In Upper Thames street, excavations of a sewer in 1841 stated that once Lambeth Hill was reached, there was a considerable length of wall found which stretched to Queenhithe, thus is just south of St Michael Queenhithe church.
This same stretch was also noted in 1924 when a sewer under Brooks yard was being constructed.
Horwood 1799 map showing the section of Upper Thames street between Lambeth hill and Queenhithe, plus Brooks whard
Copied from one of the amazing Layers of London maps, of many.
Further smaller sections of the London wall were noted. J T smith records that “In June, 1839, the labourers engaged in deepening a sewer in Thames street, opposite Vintners Hall, in the middle of the street, at a depth of 10 feet from the surface, discovered the perfect remains of an old Roman wall, running parallel with the line of the river.
Vintners Hall is just south of St James Garlickhithe church; at its eastern end. You can again compare modern and old maps on the NLS site which lists many early ordnance survey maps.
A similar section was spotted in Upper Thames street, when crossing Queen street.
Under Cannon Street Station a wall 200 feet long was discovered in 1868. It may have formed part of the city-wall, but the position and direction are not definitely recorded.
Lower Thames street.
Lower Thames Street (A). Under the frontage-line of No. 125 Lower Thames Street and the adjoining pavement, a portion of the wall was exposed in 1911. The wall rested on the ballast at a depth of 24 feet below the present surface.
Lower Thames Street (B) . Under the roadway immediately South of the Coal Exchange a wall about 7 feet thick, which may have been part of the city wall, was encountered in 1859.
The Coal Exchange is latterly the Blue Anchor Tavern, at 26 St Mary at Hill; and exists until at least 1940.
Trying to avoid privacy and cookie settings overwriting content