The Buildings, Walls and the Fort of Londinium

The map of the City of London seems to take an unusual shape with an inward angular step at it’s Northwest corner. The reason for this is due to the fact that the Fortress was built before the walls were planned, and it was basically a square structure.  The City walls were added at a much later date, leaving the fort in place to form a part of them. This is the reason for the sharp angle at the North West part of today’s City boundaries.
The fort was constructed in the early second century around the year AD 120. The material used to build the walls was Kentish rag-stone, 85,000 tons of it, possibly transported down the river Medway and round the coast into the Thames. It’s generally believed now that the fort was built as a barracks rather than for defensive purposes from outsiders, but if this was the case why use stone when there was plenty of wood available? Although I suppose the threat of fire could have been a factor in this decision. The other buildings shown on my rough map (right) were completed before the fort and walls.

After the Iceni uprising led by Boudica destroyed the beginnings of the City in 60-61 AD, work begun to rebuild it. The smaller buildings would have sprung up everywhere for the occupying forces to live and they would have been built in the style of continental villas. most of the occupying forces would not have been true Romans, but Roman citizens recruited from the continent, especially Gaul. They would have also made deals with existing tribal leaders in Britain. The appointed civil governor or procurator, wished that no reprisals be made against the population after Boudica was killed, and so the building continued.
A basilica and forum were built around 70 AD followed by a second thirty years later. This stood roughly underneath the site that Leadenhall Market now occupies. This was demolished around 300 AD. The basilica comprised of a great hall with knave and aisle, a raised platform for judges and a double row of offices. This was the town hall and law courts. The forum was an enclosed area at the South end of the basilica with shops, offices and market square.

The fort was built circa 120 AD as a garrison. By now the Roman forces had become a large part of the population of Londinium and it’s estimated that it housed around a 1,000 men. It was situated at the North West of the settlement and today’s Wood Street, the North side of Gresham Street, would be roughly running through the centre. The walls of the fort were about four feet thick and fifteen feet tall. It was a square structure with rounded bastions on it’s corners.
The Northern entrance to the fort was later to become Cripplegate, and the Western gate would eventually be bricked up and replaced by Aldersgate.

The building of the City walls began circa 190 AD and the fort was incorporated into them. The new walls were about 9 feet thick, twice the thickness of the fort walls, and around twenty feet high. The Kentish rag stone was tied with a layer of terra-cotta tiles every three feet or so to bond the wall. A ditch was dug around the wall and the removed earth used to shore up on the inside. This wall stretched for two miles around the settlement with six gates giving access. The seventh gate (Moorgate) wasn’t added until the medieval period.
In the third century the river wall was added for some reason, and in the fourth century twenty bastions were added along the Eastern wall. The reason why is not clear but they seem to have been done in a hurry, as tombstones and other items were included in the building materials.

There are, believe it or not, no roads within the City of London. There are thousands of roads all over Greater London, but you will not find a single road within the actual square mile. There are streets, alleys and lanes, yards, courts and gates, but not a single road. Tell this to some individuals, and their immediate reply will be "what about City Road then"? Yes there is a City Road, but it leads to the city, it doesn't go through it, or even enter it.

The Roman Amphitheatre was known to exist for years, but nobody knew where to look for it.
Then, during excavation work preparing for the construction of the new Guildhall Art Gallery it was discovered deep down under Guildhall Yard. It held up the work for a few years, delaying the opening of the gallery. While most remains buried, part of it has been made into an exhibition in the basement of the gallery. A slate circle laid in the tiles of Guildhall yard shows the position of the amphitheatre.