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.

THE TOWER OF LONDON

Twelve years after William the Conqueror laid claim to the throne of England the White Tower was founded. The City has always been suspicious of Royal interference and William would have been aware that it would not have been in the best interest of his new regime to upset the applecart since by the time of his arrival the City's importance to the wealth of the nation, and indeed his, required jaw-jaw and not war-war. Nevertheless, the completion of the tower in 1078 was a neat and powerful rounding off of royal power. At the western end of Westminster his kingdom was assured. But at the easternmost end a new palace had been built thus assuring a royal presence at beginning and end of the two cities. This policy had a dual purpose. One : to protect the Normans from Londoners. Two : to protect the Londoners from invaders. Gandolph, Bishop of Rochester was assigned as the architect and the stone was brought from Caen in Normandy. It may be worth mentioning that in the medieval period large scale architecture was carried out by men-of-the-cloth since architecture as a profession was not known at this time. The building was performed by guildsmen under the direction of religious authority.



The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the Tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat.


The Tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning "imprisoned"). It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom....



Ravens



It had been thought that there have been at least six ravens in residence at the Tower for centuries. It was said that Charles II ordered their removal following complaints from John Flamsteed, the Royal Astronomer.[5] However, they were not removed because Charles was then told of the legend that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the White Tower, the Monarchy, and the entire Kingdom would fall. Charles, following the time of the English Civil War, superstition or not, was not prepared to take the chance, and instead had the observatory moved to Greenwich.



Though recent research by Geoff Parnell, the official historian for the Tower, has found that the earliest record of ravens at the Tower was in 1895, nobody knows when the ravens were first resident in the Tower or when the legend began. Wild ravens, which were once abundant in London, and often seen around meat markets (such as nearby Eastcheap) feasting for scraps, could have roosted at the Tower in earlier times.



No one can remember the Tower without Ravens, though during the Second World War most of them perished through shock during bombing raids - the sole survivor being a bird called 'Grip'. However, before the Tower reopened to the public on 1 January 1946, care was taken to ensure that a new set of ravens was in place.


There are eight ravens, whose wings are now clipped to prevent them from flying away, and they are cared for by the Ravenmaster, a duty given to one of the Yeomen Warders.


The ravens' names/gender/age are (as of November 2006):



* Gwylum (M/18 yrs)
* Thor (M/15)
* Hugin (F/11)
* Munin (F/11)
* Branwen (F/3 yrs)
* Bran (M/3)
* Gundulf (M/1)
* Baldrick (M/1).



The oldest raven ever to serve at the Tower of London was called Jim Crow, who died at the age of 44.



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

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.

IRELAND YARD

APOTHECARIES HALL

IRELAND YARD, ST. ANNE'S CHURCHYARD

This is the last known piece of stonework connected to the Dominican Priory that the eye can see above ground. This is the last architectural construction, left, linked,definitively, in time, to Shakespere's Blackfriars plays and the theatre of the age....Like a theatrical blarneystone..there's not exactly a rush....but the future never knows...!!!

IRELAND YARD, ST. ANNE'S CHURCHYARD

IRELAND YARD, ST. ANNE'S CHURCHYARD

" On this plot of land stood in the middle ages part of the Provincial's Hall of the Dominican Priory of Blackfriars with the Dorter over.

When the Priory was dissolved in 1538 the parish church of St Ann Blackfriars was built on this site. This church was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and not rebuilt. The parish was united with St. Andrew By-The-Wardrobe. The site thereafter was used as a churchyard alternately with the one in church entry.

It was closed in 1849. By arrangement with the Rector and Churchwardens the site has been maintained since 1964 by the Corporation of London. "

The Dorter was a bedroom. Ireland Yard, after the dissolution came into the hands of one William Ireland. It was his deed of conveyance that is recorded as having been transferred into the hands of an actor - William Shakespeare for the sum of £140....Although most certainly he never lived in the location, Ben Jonson is also known to have had a property here around 1607...

The Provincial's Hall would have been seen from Shakespeare's gatehouse property. Jonson's Every Man in his Humour is known to have been performed in the Blackfriars Theatre as was other writers' work. Shakespeare left the gatehouse to his daughter, Susannah in his will.

BURGON ST LOOKING NORTH TOWARDS CREED LANE

CARTER LANE FROM CREED LANE BURGON ST TO RIGHT

LOOKING ALONG CARTER LANE FROM JUNCTION OF LUDGATE BROADWAY AND BLACKFRIARS LANE

ST PAUL'S AREA COPPER PLATE MAP 1550s

This detail from the third discovered part of the Copper Plate London map gives a better idea of the closeness of the buildings at the time. This section, containing valuable information of the area around St Paul's Cathedral, was discovered in the 1990s in Germany and it is thought that there are fifteen sections in all, making up the first map of London. The map predates 1561 since it was then that lightning struck and demolished the spire and masonry below and was not rebuilt until after the Great Fire. Its proximity to Blackfriars can be seen clearly from the winding lanes between. Carter Lane, just below St Paul's, still exists and was a notorious parking place of horses and coaches on performance nights at the Blackfriars Theatre. It is hard not to imagine how chaotic it must have been when looking at the width of the street today. Now some fifteen years since the dissolution the fragmentation and rebuilding of the monastic buildings can be seen as depicted from the actual time. The blue fill is the area covered in this chapter.

BLACKFRIARS PRE 1530s WILLIAM NEWTON 1855

This section of a larger map, based on maps of the time, gives a Victorian eyed view to the layout of the Blackfriars area prior to the dissolution. To the right, at the water's edge Baynard Castle; then to the left the monastic land of the Blackfriars; again to the left the stinking sewer that was the Fleet River. This river was incorporated into Joseph Bazelgette's sewerage system during the mid Victorian period and is now no longer visible except under the streets. To the left of the Fleet River : Bridewell Palace, now infamously connected as a term for detention centres it originally started life as one of Henry VIII's residences. He lived here from 1515 - 1523. Upon his departure Bridewell then went on a slippery slope downwards before finally becoming a school which then moved to a site in Milford near Witley, ( Surrey ), and was renamed King Edward's School. See Wikipedia for more.

At the right hand edge of the Fleet River can be seen the westernmost edge of the old London Wall and identifies the western edge of what we know as the old City of London. The actual city limit if entering from Westminster began at Temple Bar - hence the name. Tradition has it that the monarch needs to get permission at this point to enter the city. The wall will be covered in a separate section.

It is also worth pointing out that the thoroughfares St Andrews Hill, Creed Lane and Ludgate Hill still exist as streets and in name as all the major city routes still do. The map gives the illusion of space. In fact the city by Shakespeare's time was heaving under the weight of population numbers and housing.

BAYNARD CASTLE PUB

Baynard Castle relates to an actual castle dating back to the time of William the Conqueror and was built by a follower by the name of Baynard and predated the setting of Blackfriars Monastery. It had a chequered history full of Royal and noble incident for which the internet will provide much in detail. In 1275 the site was presented to the Archbishop of Canterbury by Robert Fitzwalter for the foundation of the London House of Dominican Friars and a new Baynard Castle was built on the river's edge in an adjacent location slightly south east of the monastery. The castle had been destroyed and rebuilt many times but finally succumbed in the Great Fire of 1666 by which time it had gone from being a castle to a palace and finally a mansion but always known as Baynard Castle.....The pub is no longer known as Baynard Castle.