Walking London's Walls

In December 2020, I walked the route of London’s old city walls using an app called Relive to trace and then map my walk. The stone walls, which surrounded London to the east, north and west were built early in the third century when Britain was under Roman rule. They were maintained and used throughout the Middle Ages, only becoming obsolete in the sixteenth century. The route runs for three miles and is an enjoyable and rewarding experience for anyone interested in the history of London. In this video, I discuss the history of the walls and gates which defined the Roman and medieval city.
If you are interested in the history of London, you might like my blog: ianstone.london/blog/
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www.ianstone.london

[@soapy3204]

I was born in the city and know all of the gates, a Sunday morning without people and traffic can give you a sense of timelessness along some sections of the walls.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Every day feels like a Sunday morning there at the moment. It certainly allows the visitor to notice things they don’t when the City is teeming with life though.

[@jasoncreighton5140]

I love walking around the City on a Sunday, its creep me out a bit at time

[@Beofware]

I wish I lived in an old city like London... I'd literally explore every single inch.

[@user-ge8yn4ql4i]

Next time I'm in the country again I should do the route as well.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Do it. It doesn’t take too long.

[@FiveLiver]

6:27 Fish St Hill, as it heads down to the river, hard by the tower of St Magnus The Martyr, is the old route to London Bridge.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Indeed. It would have been very grand with the Monument there in the 18th century too.

[@MW-nOttawa]

You mentioned Tyler Wat - and the draw bridge being lowered to let them into the city. It was my Great Great Great Great Great Great Uncle (then Lord Mayor of London) who killed Tyler Wat that day and saved the young King Richard II. 700 years later, I still have his last name and my son is named William.

[@SimonSozzi7258]

Fascinating. Thanks for sharing.

[@mikaelabowen5781]

This is absolutely fascinating! Thank you so much.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Thank you.

[@egonrhoodie2745]

Fascinating! Thanks! 😇🙏👀👍

[@joshhoffman1975]

Thanks, great narration!

[@Artorius009]

I am an American with a life long fascination with English history. I have never been to your fabled isle, but it is most certainly on my bucket list. Thank you for this most excellent video!

[@thehistoryoflondon]

You should come - especially with the current exchange rate!

[@astronomer77]

welcome

[@antonimartinez9961]

It's overrated honestly. There are better countries to visit.

[@danielleboyd3070]

Thank you for taking the time to make this excellent video.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@Blakpepa]

Can't wait to explore this the next time I'm in town. Never thought of this before!

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Give it a go and let me know.

[@annalieff-saxby568]

Just FYI, the City of Chester still retains about 80% of its old city walls. It's a terrific walk, a lovely city, and it's well worth trying to spot the "Chester Imp" when you visit the cathedral.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Chester, York and Londonderry are the cities in the UK with the best preserved walls I think?

[@dbedlow]

@@thehistoryoflondon And Southampton.

[@CGM_68]

@@thehistoryoflondon Despite the official name, the city is commonly known as Derry, which is an anglicisation of the Irish Daire or Doire, and translates as 'oak-grove/oak-wood'. Stick your "London" where the sun don't shine. Derry was inhabited long before Romans set foot in London, the deformation of its name is an unwelcome shibboleth. Get over your colonial racist past, briton. Derry is far and away less likely to offend. Calling it Londonderry is a political statement which appeals to a tiny minority of bigots..

[@seltonk5136]

If you ask me , nothing is more important to England than the Thames , it's a river they made to surround London. ARTHUR 2 ON THE ROCKS STARRING the best Dudley Moore is a treasure and a treat , don't get it twisted

[@barbaramorris5172]

Disagree. Only Chester has the one you can walk around completely. York has little bits of wall here & there. Can’t comment on Londonderry as never been.

[@Tongelong]

London doesn't feel like an old city when walking around, why? WWII? City fires? No policy for preserving old buildings in place? Unsentimental city developers?

[@thehistoryoflondon]

All of that! I suppose a city is a living organism isn’t it? It rebuilds itself, sometimes after cataclysms like the Fire or the Blitz, sometimes as more organic renewal. If it didn’t, it would fossilise.

[@davidhoins4588]

Conservative governments profits before All no exception

[@lmv1888]

It's called the mud flood have a look be warned if your mental state isn't easily handled

[@noeraldinkabam]

What you feel is not always what is. There’s enough ‘Old London’ but there’s more not so old London and even more new London. So, depending on where you are your feelings may be ‘right’ but id you are visiting the Tower and all you see is security camera’s and that makes your feel like it’s not old…. What can one say to that?

[@andyrbush]

Possibly the best presented and certainly most fascinating presentation about London I have seen. Thank you.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Thank you very much indeed.

[@fuyaowang3162]

I‘m planing to walking London's walls tomorrow! So excited! I am searching for some preparatory videos and I find this brilliant one!

[@thehistoryoflondon]

I'm glad it was helpful.

[@nikki7962]

I wish I could walk this walk, have a wonderful time

[@linnea9017]

Fabulous documentary. Thank you.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

That’s very kind. Thank you.

[@jonathanm9436]

How very interesting. So much intriguing information. Thank you.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@Larsanator]

Wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Thank you.

[@R08Tam]

Thanks for the upload. Very interesting

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Glad you liked it.

[@terrioestreich4007]

What a great episode!! So much interesting information

[@thehistoryoflondon]

That’s very kind. Thank you

That was brilliant, dude. Thank you.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Thank you.

[@nuinmarnuinmar5321]

Thank you, this was really interesting.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Thank you. It was good fun to make.

[@peterward3965]

How interesting , I've learnt a lot from this video thank you.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Great. Glad you liked it.

[@aquilarossa5191]

I grew up in London until I was 10 and then Milton Keynes until 15 when we moved to NZ. Roman ruins up there too -- close to where our concrete cows were. In those days I could sneak on the underground at Tooting Bec and go sightseeing in the city when I was bunking off. I never found the Roman walls though. It was the late 1970s. I never learned to sneak onto British Rail though, so in MK sightseeing was done on my BMX via the Redway etc (people take the piss out of MK, but it was a good place for a kid - loads to do and all that). P.S. Speaking of walls and castles, there was always the popular idea that England is unconquerable. Loads of people conquered us and then lorded over us with their turnip taxes etc. The Romans. The Anglo Saxons. The Danes like King Cnut. The Norman French. Then the Germans somehow managed to sit their arses on the throne and have ever since (the Windsors, i.e., the house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha).

[@thehistoryoflondon]

London has never been taken by siege either. But then, there was never any need. Whenever a very serious threat arrived outside the City, whether the Conqueror in 1066, the barons opposed to John in 1215, or revolting peasants in 1381, the Londoners let them in. Sometimes out of sympathy; sometimes just to avoid trouble.

[@MelonHead887]

Oh to go back to Tudor times with a 4k video camera for a tour of the city.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Apparently we’ll be able to do that in the Metaverse?! I’m not convinced myself though.

[@johnswift1736]

York is a fantastic walk around all its wall

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Yes. It’s a great city to visit. Not just its walls but it’s Minster, castle and railway museum.

[@georgerobartes2008]

London was refortified during the English Civil Wars with a much greater radius with many forts . From the Tower , star forts stood on the mound ( now a car park) at the crossroad next to the Royal London Hospital in the East , on the site of the British Museum in the North . Imperial War Museum site in the South at Lambeth all interconnected by raised banks . At Vauxhall with a bar across the River defending the South Bank . There is a map in the British Library and you may find one online . A much longer walk but easy to follow on existing roads . Oliver Cromwell allowed the Jewish community to thrive and gave land for a the Jewish Cemetery .

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Indeed. The ditches were dug by Londoners themselves. Maybe I should do this route soon?

[@edwindavis1818]

Great!! Love it.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Thank you.

[@RichWoods23]

Re. Bishopsgate and St Botolph (15:33). The road (now the A10) leading north through Norfolk to the Wash ends at King's Lynn, which was known as Bishop's Lynn until the 16th century. The road splits at Peterborough to go to the other port on the Wash, Boston (which gets its name from St Botolph), first following the old Roman road north and then heading east across the Lincolnshire Fens. The main church in Boston is St Botolph's, colloquially called Boston Stump due to its 270ft tower once used as a lighthouse to guide vessels home. Boston was the second wealthiest port in England in the later part of the High Medieval and the early Late Medieval periods, until eclipsed by Bristol as the East Indies and Atlantic trade opened up.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

London had well developed trade links with Lynn along this road and the German merchants, who were so prominent at Lynx, took responsibility for looking after the gatehouse.

[@frontloader0]

So interesting thank you

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Thank you. I’m glad you liked it.

[@skyblazeeterno]

Nice informative video. Anyone else really like the London Bridge around the 1600s with the shops and that on it? Could do without the heads on spikes though :)

[@raycooke312]

Yes lets definitely have the shops back. the spikes with heads of criminals, maybe it's not a terrible idea☺

[@whicker59]

There's a LOT of democrat-run cities n America that really need those spikes.

[@Neddoest]

@@whicker59 🤨

[@veramae4098]

I'm reading "The shorter Pepys" (pronounced peeps), the diary of Naval clerk Samuel Pepys in 1600's London who rose to power, because of his hard work, honesty, and knowledge of naval needs. Covers the restoration of the monarchy, the last great London plague, the war with Holland, and the great London fire. No electricity, which of course no one noticed! Eleven volumes in all, this is one thick book, praised for it's excellent editing of the original. This is the most of London he knew. Amazing.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Pepys is an amazing resource. So much detail, as well as honesty and cheerfulness. I might do Pepys for my next video.

[@kevinwagers9015]

Great video. I learned a lot from this short video.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Thank you.

[@dianespears6057]

Very interesting. Thank you.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Thank you.

[@stephenmudiecastles.2938]

I walked around them a few years ago, I think I did quite well finding most of them.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

There are some interpretation boards here and there but not enough material in my opinion.

[@stephenmudiecastles.2938]

@@thehistoryoflondon A free tourist map would be a good idea.

[@1coppertop]

This was great. I love learning new stuff. Hopefully they teach this in schools still. A knowledge full mind makes better decisions in life.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Thank you.

[@raysargent4055]

Hound was used as a Saxon name as in Houndslow .

[@Raad187KO]

I’m glad I’m an early subscriber!

[@brutus4013]

Well done .👍🏼

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Thank you.

[@brutus4013]

@@thehistoryoflondon Boudicca would never recognize the place .🤣

[@gailspencer4451]

I have done this walk, though without the app and an experience better done during a quiet lockdown London.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Walking in London is certainly easier without the crowds and you do see things you wouldn’t otherwise have seen. But what’s a city without its people?

[@gailspencer4451]

@@thehistoryoflondon I agree totally Ian. I really miss the bustle of the Southbank in particular. But I find the usual building noise in the City hard work to talk over, not to mention the dust in the eyes.....

[@andrewarthurmatthews6685]

Very fine video

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Thank you very much.

[@markc3258]

Very good 👍

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Thank you. It means a lot.

[@LuisLauranzon]

Where is a good place to find these old maps? Love looking at them.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Go to the Layers of London website. They have them all there and you can play around with them, layering them on top of one and another.

[@Knappa22]

The date of their demolition is interesting. Carmarthen’s town gates were all demolished between 1790-1800 too. 18th century not a good time for medieval town walls!

[@thehistoryoflondon]

No, I don’t suppose it was!

[@valmarsiglia]

There's a great fictional depiction of Newgate in Dickens's _Little Dorrit,_ where much of the story takes place.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

It certainly was a grim place.

[@johndaarteest]

The prison in Little Dorrit is the Marshalsea or the debtors prison in Borough High Street, of which part of the wall still remains next to the Southwark Local Studies Library.

[@annalieff-saxby568]

I think you'll find that the prison featured in "Little Dorrit" is Marshalsea Debtors Prison, *not* Newgate.

[@Fmoranable]

very nice video :) where can I find this map? at 24:28

[@thehistoryoflondon]

The map is one of Tudor London just before the Dissolution. You’ll find new and used copies online, E.g. here onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/a-map-of-tudor-london-the-city-and-southwark-in-1520/product/HD_301209778 It’s also available to explore online here www.layersoflondon.org/map/overlays/tudor-map-1520

[@arokh72]

As an Australian, I was good hear transportation mentioned, as those prisoners were the virtual slave labour that was the basis of the colonial days here, and some of the prisoners, on release, become prominent colonial figures.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Indeed

[@ExplorerGinge]

I would LOVE to explore the map shown at 20:45-ish, if anyone has a link to where it might be found please? 🥰

[@thehistoryoflondon]

You can explore it on the layers of London website - it’s the 1520 map of Tudor London. You can also buy paper copies for about £10. I put a link to an earlier comment. See above.

[@ExplorerGinge]

@@thehistoryoflondon thank you Dr Stone 😁

[@mazerguru3891]

Where was the walking? I don't see any walking?

[@nozrep]

total side note but I have always wondered how “aware” the peoples were of what I would assume would have been the terrible smell and stench of all the dead heads on spikes always displayed as they used to be? Wait oh also another side question I wonder what year or what person was the very last dead head displayed on a spike? Did the dead heads not ummmm…. leak until all the skin and brains rotted to only skull? yikes!

[@nozrep]

i guess birds would’ve chomped at the dead head bits though also

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Do you know, I’ve never even considered the smell. Did they not do something to prevent their decomposition? Boil them or dip them in something?

[@Mathemagical55]

They were boiled and dipped in tar. Perfectly hygienic. The authorities also turned a blind eye to the families bribing the bridge-keeper for the return of the heads after a suitable period.

[@arokh72]

@@thehistoryoflondon I'm led to believe, from various sources, that the heads were dipped in tar prior to mounting.

[@nozrep]

@@thehistoryoflondonh interesting! maybe they did? I do not know. Would be a fun, if not macabre, but still fun “side path” of history to go down and find the answers to such questions.

[@MrZcotty]

another hundred years, and it's gonna look like medieval times.. actually amazed how filthy and run down everything is..

[@thehistoryoflondon]

There are certainly parts of London that need a spruce up.

[@bobloblaw10001]

From the late middle ages onward, city walls were increasingly obsolete militarily due to gunpowder and especially artillery.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Of course, but in the Civil Wars and Thirty Years War, walls could still withstand artillery.

[@fredygump5578]

Isn't it extremely inaccurate to place the wall on the modern river bank? I'm not an expert, but I've watched enough Time Team to know the river was much wider back then, and also the banks were marshes. So the old wall line would be well away from the current river bank.

[@thehistoryoflondon]

That’s a good point. It would’ve been roughly where Thames Street is now. As a walk though, it’s much more pleasant along the river bank than it is along that dual carriageway.

[@AspenVonFluffer]

The names VonFluffer and I'm a fluffy pupper!

[@_--Reaper--_]

how can someone *_sell_* a stone bridge??? That sounds utterly ridiculous....

[@thehistoryoflondon]

It does doesn’t it? But it happened - stone after stone taken down, numbered, then shipped over and all put together again.

[@andrewbranch4075]

Anyone noticed that the economic centre is the old roman city? Evil resides at home

[@albertaowusu1790]

The walk that never was.

[@MarkKoekenbakker]

Thumb down for only being a compilation of photo's.

[@OttoChenault]

What ‘rebels’ do you speak of the kept attacking the city? People that opposed the oppression of the founders? They could build great walls but human waste was an after thought? Looks like survivors struggling upon the remains of an older, more advanced civilization. Then one family rises up from the ashes( Phoenix) and rules all of Europe, until ww1 and 2 when they destroy much of the old world, and began to re-educate us. Loved the video, thanks!

[@thehistoryoflondon]

One man’s rebel is another man’s freedom fighter! Thank you.

[@simongray9216]

I thought the wall was built to keep the South Londoners out?

[@thehistoryoflondon]

Ha! As a south Londoner myself, I quite like the idea of us as the barbarians at the gate!

[@simonrussell6884]

The British are not known for their history preservation.

[@TTaiiLs]

Very interesting, a shame they have been razed

[@thehistoryoflondon]

On the one hand, it’d be lovely if they were still there. On the other, how could they have remained in a city as dynamic and expanding as early modern London?

[@markpeters6829]

No walking to be seen !!!

[@Gill12283]

Shame London is no longer a British city☹️

[@kevingray5646]

All underwater in thirty years time…sorry

[@arthurballs9632]

The ice age is coming the sun's zooming in Meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin Engines stop running, but I have no fear 'Cause London is drowning I live by the river. The Clash, 'London Calling' (1979)

[@johndaarteest]

That was being said years ago and yet here we still are.

[@bevmc5061]

That’s what “they” said 30 years ago about our place in QLD Australia. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@phillysauto4724]

LAME at best ... try VIDEO the walk ..INSTEAD of PICTURES .. it will have CREDIBILITY

[@Lothnothus]

blimey. someone's a bit moody. you okay?