LONDON WALL
It is not known precisely why London Wall came into being although there are theories. Obviously the purpose of the wall was defensive but the Roman layer was constructed some one hundred and fifty years after the Romans had established their presence in London or Londinium as it was then known. Roman Emperors were not altogether in favour of walled municipalities. Walls were symbolic of exclusion and separate power entities, of separate empires and in a world of intrigue, paranoia and power, the schemata was openness and an army that, with superior strength,guile and tactics should and would be able to overcome any assaults that it was faced with. After Boudicca's revengeful rout around 60AD the Romans exacted a bloody retaliation on Boudicca's army but this was not enough of a reason to build a defensive fortification.
One idea for the building of the wall may be because in the 180s the Scots overran Hadrian's Wall and perhaps with Londinium now established as the Roman capital as well as its importance for imports and exports it may have been too much of a risk to let the town be ransacked again. An alternative theory rests between two Roman generals, Septimius Severus and the governor of Britain Clodius Albinus. Around the 190s they were rivals to the succession as Emperor of Rome. Albinus may have ordered the construction of the wall in order to protect the capital from his opponent although ultimately Septimius was to triumph over his adversary in 197. Fortuitously for Londondinium the combination of the wall and Septimius' leadership stoked a new vigour in the capital's economy and still to this day the City defines itself as one of the most important financial centres in the world, although this status is now changing as the Canary Wharf development attracts the major finance companies away from the olde world.
The wall, perhaps after London Stone, is London's most important extant surviving relic for although there are many wonderful and treasured artifacts of the capital's history residing in museums, only London Wall, existing in its natural setting, gives us the shape of England's and latterly Britain's heartbeat.
The remains of London Wall are a silent witness to the acts that forged a national identity. The secrets of the past are locked within the mortar and stone and yet our sense of preservation at least allows the remaining body of this ancient relic to breathe aided by a strange sense of reverence, our modern day preoccupation with protecting historic sites and a utilititarian approach to tourism. On the one hand expedience caused us to demolish that which was in the way of progress : namely travelling and trade. But also, the continuous decline of a war situation meant that the wall, over time, no longer served its intended purpose.
The Romans allowed for an original six gateways to their roads north, east and west from Londinium. We now know these by their later placenames : Ludgate, Newgate, Aldersgate, Cripplegate, Bishopsgate and Aldgate. Aldersgate was at the western end and Aldgate at the eastern side. Moorgate was added during the medieval period and provides testament to an expanding population as well as commerce and traffic. The gates no longer exist but the thoroughfares do, linking us inextricably to the historical past. On the other hand, what remains exists by virtue of an expedient role call whose name was not called out. For that we can give thanks.
The Saxons superceeded the Romans and archeological evidence argues that the Saxons chose not to live within the City and as a consequence it fell to a ruinous state. They preferred the nearby outer areas such as Aldwych, Charing Cross and even Croydon until Alfred the Great, recognising its strategic importance, reinstigated the City as capital after succesful battles against Viking settlers. Modifications, strengthening and extension to the wall took place in succeeding eras from the later Saxon period, through the Norman presence - where the famous White Tower was added to the eastern end of the wall, and so on to the medival period where crennelations and archery portholes were added. In places post holes still survive within the wall as evidence that wooden platforms were used by sentry patrols always on the look out for dubious visitors. Although once King Alfred had retaken London from the Vikings in 886 it was never to succumb to foreign invaders again.
Roman walls can still be found in other cities in England, and in better condition, but London Wall's importance rests in its historical centrality to the rest of England and its historical centrality to the City of Westminster : power and throne.
It is not known precisely why London Wall came into being although there are theories. Obviously the purpose of the wall was defensive but the Roman layer was constructed some one hundred and fifty years after the Romans had established their presence in London or Londinium as it was then known. Roman Emperors were not altogether in favour of walled municipalities. Walls were symbolic of exclusion and separate power entities, of separate empires and in a world of intrigue, paranoia and power, the schemata was openness and an army that, with superior strength,guile and tactics should and would be able to overcome any assaults that it was faced with. After Boudicca's revengeful rout around 60AD the Romans exacted a bloody retaliation on Boudicca's army but this was not enough of a reason to build a defensive fortification.
One idea for the building of the wall may be because in the 180s the Scots overran Hadrian's Wall and perhaps with Londinium now established as the Roman capital as well as its importance for imports and exports it may have been too much of a risk to let the town be ransacked again. An alternative theory rests between two Roman generals, Septimius Severus and the governor of Britain Clodius Albinus. Around the 190s they were rivals to the succession as Emperor of Rome. Albinus may have ordered the construction of the wall in order to protect the capital from his opponent although ultimately Septimius was to triumph over his adversary in 197. Fortuitously for Londondinium the combination of the wall and Septimius' leadership stoked a new vigour in the capital's economy and still to this day the City defines itself as one of the most important financial centres in the world, although this status is now changing as the Canary Wharf development attracts the major finance companies away from the olde world.
The wall, perhaps after London Stone, is London's most important extant surviving relic for although there are many wonderful and treasured artifacts of the capital's history residing in museums, only London Wall, existing in its natural setting, gives us the shape of England's and latterly Britain's heartbeat.
The remains of London Wall are a silent witness to the acts that forged a national identity. The secrets of the past are locked within the mortar and stone and yet our sense of preservation at least allows the remaining body of this ancient relic to breathe aided by a strange sense of reverence, our modern day preoccupation with protecting historic sites and a utilititarian approach to tourism. On the one hand expedience caused us to demolish that which was in the way of progress : namely travelling and trade. But also, the continuous decline of a war situation meant that the wall, over time, no longer served its intended purpose.
The Romans allowed for an original six gateways to their roads north, east and west from Londinium. We now know these by their later placenames : Ludgate, Newgate, Aldersgate, Cripplegate, Bishopsgate and Aldgate. Aldersgate was at the western end and Aldgate at the eastern side. Moorgate was added during the medieval period and provides testament to an expanding population as well as commerce and traffic. The gates no longer exist but the thoroughfares do, linking us inextricably to the historical past. On the other hand, what remains exists by virtue of an expedient role call whose name was not called out. For that we can give thanks.
The Saxons superceeded the Romans and archeological evidence argues that the Saxons chose not to live within the City and as a consequence it fell to a ruinous state. They preferred the nearby outer areas such as Aldwych, Charing Cross and even Croydon until Alfred the Great, recognising its strategic importance, reinstigated the City as capital after succesful battles against Viking settlers. Modifications, strengthening and extension to the wall took place in succeeding eras from the later Saxon period, through the Norman presence - where the famous White Tower was added to the eastern end of the wall, and so on to the medival period where crennelations and archery portholes were added. In places post holes still survive within the wall as evidence that wooden platforms were used by sentry patrols always on the look out for dubious visitors. Although once King Alfred had retaken London from the Vikings in 886 it was never to succumb to foreign invaders again.
Roman walls can still be found in other cities in England, and in better condition, but London Wall's importance rests in its historical centrality to the rest of England and its historical centrality to the City of Westminster : power and throne.
posted by Chris D'Santos at 1:57 PM
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