In our previous Ancient World in London video, history enthusiast Ian Smith showed adventurer Nicole Favish round the Thames and London Wall on the first leg of their Londinium tour. This stop sees them dive right into the heart of the ancient city, to the church of St. Peter-upon-Cornhill.
“This is the original site of Christianity in Britain,” says Ian outside the 17th century church, which is allegedly the spot where Romans paid their respects from the 2nd century AD. But there’s much more to the area than religion: this is also the site of the Roman Basilica and Forum. The nerve centre for Londinium, this spot would have housed the marketplace, food halls, law courts and much more.
Today St. Peter-upon-Cornhill finds itself smack bang in the middle of the City of London – and as Ian points out, not much has changed in 2,000 years: “This is the global heart of the global economy. Just like in those days the Roman Empire covered a huge area, so too today the City of London extends out to all parts of the world.”
Nicole’s next stop is another church, this time St. Stephen Walbrook, named after the ancient river which flowed into the Thames. “The Walbrook is still flowing beneath our feet,” says Ian, “and that topography really defined how people settled London.” The church, rebuilt by Saxons and Sir Christopher Wren, has been a focal point for many of London’s famous ancient tales, including that of the bloody Boudiccan Revolt – and St Stephen itself has recently given up some macabre secrets: “They found a bunch of skulls underneath here in the riverbank of the Walbrook,” says Ian, “which were probably the people that Boudicca butchered in AD60.”
Ian’s plan is to next visit the Temple of Mithras, London’s own homage to the mysterious ancient cult that people still argue over today. Yet the temple itself is currently under wraps, hemmed inside a giant green fence while it waits to be moved across the street.
Unpeturbed, Ian takes Nicole across the road to 1 Poultry, an admittedly ugly modern building which is where the oldest-ever Roman artefact was found (Share with us which London site you think is the most important). Just along from the Basilica and Forum, this spot really is the epicentre for London’s past: “The Roman city was developed here, the temple (of Mithras) developed here, the Saxons built a church in the 7th century,” says Ian. “We now have the modern religion of finance,commerce and the Bank of England: we’re standing on 2,000 years of history right beneath our feet.”
It’s getting on, and time for Ian and Nicole’s last stop of the day. London Guildhall, the administrate heart of the City of London for centuries, is a sight in itself. Yet there’s much more to this elegant courtyard than its commercial past. “This is where the Roman amphitheatre was,” says Ian. “This is where people used to come for their Saturday football match.”
But while you might see the odd shocking tackle on a Saturday afternoon, you’re unlikely to see anything quite as bloodthirsty as you would back in Roman times. “You’d see gladiators killing each other,” says Ian, “you’d see gladiators killing wild animals. But they’d also put on theatre and entertainment…you could get a couple of thousand people in there.” Not all gore, then!
The sun’s going down and it’s time to end our tour of Roman London for the day. It’s been a great trip – but it’s not quite over: catch up with us in a few weeks, when Ian will be showing us round the modern West End of the city, and a lost history which remained hidden for over 1,500 years…
HD Video: Londinium Tour (Part 2)
(Click here to read a transcript of this video)
You can participate in Ancient World in London through our contests – check out our latest blogger’s challenge on London’s most important site, and you can join in the fun with our virtual quest as well as have a look back at our recent lecture with astronomy author Paul Murdin. Take a look through our soon – with your help – to be complete directory of The Ancient World in London and suggest any that we may have missed. Just as well, do not hesitate to contact us if you have any suggestions for our webseries! Keep up-to-date with everything in the Ancient World in London by subscribing to our RSS feeds, or by following us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and iTunes. Heritage Key – Unlock the Wonders.