More London Wall

Remnants of the ancient London Wall are still visible above ground. This section forms the "garden wall", so to speak, of St Alphage Gardens, an open space which includes the ruins of St Elsyng Spital, or St Alphages, which we have already seen in my last post. The first piece of ancient wall I showed you was underground, in the London Wall underground car park.

St Alphage Garden is an urban garden in the City of London, off London Wall. It was converted from the former churchyard of St Alphage London Wall in 1872. The north edge of the garden is defined by a section of the ancient London Wall, which was built below the current street level between 190 and 225 AD and was crenellated in 1477 during the Wars of the Roses. Wikipedia

The striking recent building behind the wall is Salter's Hall's new extension. The original building was designed by Sir Basil Spence and this addition was designed by dMFK architects. It has won an award from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

First licensed in 1394, The Salters’ Company has its origins in the salt trade of medieval London. Ranked number nine in the order of precedence, it is one of the Great 12 Livery Companies and today The Salters’ Company is a diverse organisation responsible for several charitable foundations, important philanthropic work in science education and the fostering of fellowship among its members. Salters.co.uk

The layout of the Roman and medieval walls have had a profound effect on the development of London, even down to the present day. The walls constrained the growth of the city, and the location of the limited number of gates and the route of the roads through them shaped development within the walls, and in a much more fundamental way, beyond them. With a few exceptions, the parts of the modern road network heading into the former walled area are the same as those which passed through the former medieval gates.

This section of wall sits by the Cripplegate on this map, and shows The Barbican just outside the city wall.

Part of the route originally taken by the northern wall is commemorated, although now only loosely followed, by the road also named London Wall. Wikipedia

This section of the wall is the only one with the surviving later brick decoration. This decorative brickwork of 1477 faced the inside of the city. The decoration is called diapering and is made with glazed bricks of contrasting colours.

The weathered memorial is from 1872 when the garden was laid out. During the Blitz of the Second World War most of the surrounding Victorian buildings were destroyed but this wall section survived intact. As a consequence everything surrounding this wall and garden is late twentieth century.

This wall is a calendar of the history of London. The wide base was built by the Romans, the middle section in the medieval period and the top section during the reign of Edward IV. The Salter's Hall behind brings us up to date.

Adjoining the site is the edge of the massive Barbican Complex. I cover the Barbican in detail here. It is no accident that it is called The Barbican and is right on this spot.

The Barbican's name originates from the Low Latin word "Barbecana," meaning a fortified outpost or gateway, often a tower situated over a gate or bridge. This term historically referred to a defensive structure outside city walls. The name was later applied to the area of London now known as the Barbican Estate.

In his Survey of London published in 1598, John Stow writes: “On the west side of the Red Cross is a street called the Barbican, because sometime there stood on the north side thereof a burgh-kenning, or watch tower of the City, called in some languages a barbican.” The Barbican still has an imposing castle like appearance to this day. What the Romans would have thought of it we can only guess.