ALDGATE , CIRCA 2OOAD

From the ' London Wall Walk Guide' ,Copyright the Board of Governors of the London Museum 1985

BOOTHAM BAR , YORK

MICKLEGATE , YORK

MICKLEGATE , YORK

ALDGATE

Aldgate today is merely a prosaic traffic junction and so to continue the wall's momentum, a latin term for force or strength, we deviate to an alternative location and in so doing add an exotic ingredient albeit from the lesser city of York, known in Roman times as Eboracum.

See : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York

Although much of the Roman wall fell into disrepair and what remains dates from later periods we can still get a flavour of Shakespeare's period. City walls were a part and parcel of everday life for those seeking entry to a city and those living and working within them.

York was in a sense a microcosm of London. It was founded in the year 71AD when the Ninth Legion overcame the inhabiting tribe who controlled what we now know as Yorkshire and a large part of the Midlands. Britain before the arrival of the Romans was divided up between Celtic tribes. The Celts as we know them would not have recognised themselves as such. There is no written record of their self definition. What we know of these people has been handed down from archeological artifact and Roman record but here the area was controlled by a confederation known as the Brigantes. Originally they were in alliance with the Romans but fell into discord. The consequence resulted in the formation of the city. After conquering the Brigantes a large fort comprising some 6,000 soldiers and covering an area of 50 acres was built.

The Emperors Hadrian, Septimius Severus and Constantius I all held court in York during their various campaigns. During his stay, the Emperor Severus proclaimed York capital of the province of Britannia Inferior, and it is likely that it was he who granted York the privileges of a colonia or city. Constantius I died during his stay in York, and his son Constantine the Great was proclaimed Emperor by the troops based in the fortress.

From:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York

Britannia Inferior was a subdivision of the Roman province of Britannia established c.214 by the emperor Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus. Located in modern northern England, the region was governed from the city of Eburacum (modern York) by a praetorian legate in command of a single legion stationed in the city.[1] This subdivision of Britannia lasted throughout the Severan dynasty until the reorganization of the empire under Diocletian in 296.

Note: the name Britannia Inferior is something of a misnomer, as its literal translation is Lower Britain, though it is located in Northern England. This coming from a fact that Romans named locations according to their proximity to the town of Rome itself. Therefore, Britannia that was further from Rome was called Inferior.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia_Inferior

The important thing to digest here is that history flows in a mediated way - contrived by us or at least by historians. There is cause and effect. The proximity and location of Londinium defined its strategic importance and we can make sense of this in hindsight but Shakespeare cultivated the known history of his time and made it tell a story that we have all bought into. He was'nt a spin doctor as such but a humble conduit - a copywriter...

The idea is all encompassing and it is the idea, made concrete, that serves to remind us, constantly, of our impermanence and of our belief in continuity, of eternal continuity.

York was never going to be London but what we get from these images is a sense of the period, of its flow. The traffic situatation in York has so far not led to any demolishments as the gates are now preseved by a grade 1 listing. In return for this preservation we are presented with references that are no longer visible in the City of London.

London Wall in its final incarnation encompassed an area of some 330 acres. In considering real estate : 1 acre is 43560 square feet. An acre itself is defined as an area 1 furlong long by 4 rods wide. A furlong is 201 metres and a rod is 1/40th of a furlong which is 5 metres. An acre is equal to an area of 4840 square yards. There are 4 roods to the acre and 1 rood is equal to an area 1 furlong long by 1 rod wide which is 1210 square yards. A rope is an obscure unit of length and was equal to 20 feet.

Confused? So are we Brits...

We used rope to hang criminals and it is this kind of mystification that is used by estate agents and governments to bolster British house prices which is a criminal act...allegedly. And criminals were not unknown to have been incarcerated for periods in gate houses. Unfortunately we live in a liberal society where criminal acts are no longer penalised , or so it seems....allegedly.

To get an idea of just how big an acre is see : http://www.cockeyed.com/inside/acre/acre.html

Real estate has always been a precious commodity in the London environs and in a symbolic way the wall is partly the cause of this. The very fact that the wall presented a definable boundary, separate from Royalty, yet distinct as a defensive unit allowed for strict regulation that meant building beyond the wall was an impossibility.This was because Royal land in Westminster wanted to remain as such : without loss of power and encroachment from the hoi polloi. Royalty without the walls had a bigger say than within the walls.

But the economic strength that the city accummulated over time acted as a magnet for those in the counties beyond, mainly men and young men seeking apprenticeships. Historical factors come into play as to why this happened but the heavy population burden that arose by Elizabeth 1's era did no favours for health. Poor sanitation created regular plagues and other nasties. The wall was both a defence and a prison.

Although the shear weight of population increase created additional forms of dwelling outside the city limits it was not until James 1 ascended to the throne that official building beyond the walls really started to take place. This as ever was due to Royal financial expedience, since only a few could build, rather than a practical approach to design. All of the land outside the City and subsequently what we know as London today lay in the hands of nobles and aristocrats, apart from Soho. Hence the number of squares in Central London. This is how modern London came into existence.

Villages existed outside the city locale and provided produce that was then brought in to the various market places inside the walls. This included livestock. So it's not hard to imagine the hubbub and noise around the gates in the early hours of the morning rush hour. And Oh Yes, there was traffic congestion even then. In fact
traffic congestion from the middle ages right up to the present day has been an ever present feature of
' progress '. Its what we might call a very English muddle. Ok , so there are traffic problems all over the world but the English mentality ever since the dissolution has always been to protect trade as trade became the replacement religion for Catholicism and trade had to be unhindered from the tethers of restriction. Its a fallacy of course but it is this sense of competitive fair play that in the end brought about the disapearance of the gatehouses marking the routes in and out of Londinium's earliest roads. Traffic grew, the world got smaller, in with the new out with the old.

9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.

10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
"See, this is new"?
It has already been,
in the ages before us.

Ecclesiastes 1

But lets not get hyper-literate.....

Although this is not Aldgate one thing important to bear in mind is this. From 1374 a customs official lived in rooms over the Aldgate and his name was Geoffrey Chaucer - the father of English vernacular language. It was Chaucer who legitimised the English language...

CAMOMILE STREET

BEVIS MARKS

DUKE'S PLACE

LONDON WALL WALK , EASTERN SECTION OF WALL

It can be seen from this map section, ( taken from the London Wall Walk Guide - which should be available from the Museum of London ) , the wall's direction north and west from the Tower. Although in Shakespeare's time London was becoming a rampant city with a burgeoning population there was still enough undeveloped land outside the city wall for it to be countryside and if exercise was desired a walk in the country was never far away. The first major Roman gate built on the eastern side of the wall can be seen which is Aldgate. To the north can be seen Bishopsgate. The wall travels north past Crosswall, between Jewry St and Vine St, left at Aldgate toward's Duke's Place, onto Bevis Marks then towards Camomile St and Wormwood Street and finally onto London Wall.

The derivation of the name Bevis Marks can be seen via : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bevis_Marks

Camomile Street was so named, it seems, from the herb that grew adjacent to the wall which must have been a welcome nasal relief from the otherwise punjent aromas of human waste and detritus that occupied the local environment. Legend has it that a traveller could smell London from many miles away. Although the Great Fire in 1666 decimated the city the main thorougfares remain today as they were then. In part this is because of the huge amount of legalities involved in redefining a new shape and look to the city. Then as now traders and businessmen were less interested in aesthetics. They were pragmatic moneymen and merchants for whom the speed of enterprise held sway over a classically remodelled world. Christopher Wren's attempt at a revisioning of the old world was blocked by financial expedience.

COURTYARD , GRANGE CITY HOTEL , COOPER'S ROW

Close up of Wall showing Roman ground level....looking south towards Tower Hill...

COURTYARD , GRANGE CITY HOTEL , COOPER'S ROW

COURTYARD, GRANGE CITY HOTEL , COOPER'S ROW

This impressive remnant stands as a testament to the importance for the defence of the Tower and follows on from the previous Tower Hill wall. It is unlike any other part of the remains of the wall and provides a flavour of the middle ages and a foothold into Shakespeare's world ; it can be touched - a literal touchstone to the past.

Touchstone was actually a character in Shakespeare's As You Like It and was described as a "wise fool". In As You Like It Touchstone was a jester but a jester with a difference. He was a smart fool. Shakespeare used Touchstone as a reference point or guide throughout the play and the significance lies in the metaphor - Alchemy.

Turning base metals into gold was a medieval preoccupation. Alchemy was art. And it was this preoccupation that led to the modern world of chemistry. A touchstone is :

a small tablet of dark stone such as fieldstone, slate or lydite, used for assaying precious metal alloys. It has a finely grained surface on which soft metals leave a visible trace.

from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchstone#_note-0

Or in other words a practical way of measuring the authenticity of a valuble commodity. The use of a touchstone was to revolutionise the concept of money....

But more importantly, as a metaphor it had a deeper significance for the new psychological age.

The search for personal truth - the birth of individuality and identity :

We had to find the light against the darkness of our interpretations or expectations of life. We had to look within ourselves for truth and in so doing make sense of the new world.

How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is!
O brave new world,
That has such people in it!

The Tempest Act 5 sc1

This is what Shakespeare has handed down to us....

The dimensions are as Tower Hill. But what marks this section out are the medieval openings that were designed for patrolling sentry archers to fire their arrows upon an attacking foe.

Archery in Elizabethan England was both a sport and a skill to be used in battle and was practiced then as we practice football now. It was expensive to kit out the soldiery with armour and swords and consequently since the most numerous men in battle were commoners it was they who were the predominant users of the bow. Since bows were made of wood with a small amount of iron at the head they were cheap to produce and regular practice was encouraged. The importance of the English archer was exemplified by Shakespeare in Henry V. It was at Agincourt on 25 October 1415 ( St Crispins Day ) that the English army outnumbered by some three to one overcame the French. Around 5000 longbowmen and 200 archers were used.

See : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Agincourt

Socket holes for a wooden sentry platform can be seen as well as a v shape in the wall which is a double access staircase to the timber walkway.

TOWER HILL

This section of the wall was originally conjoined to a postern gate. A postern gate is a small exit and entrance to a castle or fort although this gate was not directly connected to the tower. It was not one of the original six gates and would have been built probably later than the 1270s since it was then that a moat was dug around the tower. It was intended for the use of pedestrians and light traffic. Unfortunately the proximity of the gate to the water filled moat presented a constant threat to the foundations and in 1440 the gate partially collapsed. The gate was repositioned but it was poorly constructed from wood and the negligence resulted in " persons of lewde life " inhabiting the area, a reminder that areas, historically, that are poorly maintained will attract dregs and undesirables - a factor that was recognised in New York and helped to drive down their crime rate, but that's another story. The gate eventually became derelict and dissapeared altogether by the 18th century.




The surviving wall reaches a height of 35 feet (10.5m). The Roman part of the wall can still be seen and rises to a height of 14.5 feet (4.4m). The area above this dates from the medieval period and the parts of wall that jut out are medieval refacings. Originally it would have reached a height around 20 feet (6.3m) but medieval repairs took it to its present elevation. The Romans were master builders and didn't afford any loss in technique in the construction of such an important defensive wall. The foundation was made of flint and rammed clay. The wall interior comprised rubble and mortar. At regular intervals a layer of red flat tile was laid for extra strength and durability - these can be seen exposed in the lower portion of the image. Sandwiching the core were brick like blocks of coursed Kentish ragstone - coursed meaning laid out horizontally. Outside the wall a V shaped ditch was dug for extra security.