London Wall (original) (raw)
London Wall was the defensive wall built by the Romans around Londinium, their strategically important port town on the river Thames in England.
The wall had a number of gates around the outside that led to important Roman roads, leading to other towns in the country. The original list of gates on the wall going clockwise from Ludgate in the east to Aldgate in the west were: Ludgate, Newgate, Aldersgate, Cripplegate, Bishopsgate and Aldgate. Some of the gates, though now long gone are remembered by the areas or roads where the gates stood being named after them. Due to Londinium, much later to be called London's, rapid growth, the number of gates was increased to cope with the extra traffic in the medieval period, and the walls were also strengthened and built upon.
Today all that remains of the wall are a few fragments, some of which can be seen in the grounds of the Museum of London. Amid the devastation of 1945, some of the tallest ruins were remnants of the Roman wall. Part of the route originally taken by the northern wall is commemorated by the road also named London Wall on which the museum is located. The modern road starts in the west with a roundabout with Aldersgate then passes east past Moorgate, and eventually becomes Wormwood Street before it reaches Bishopsgate.
See also: London, Walbrook, defensive wall, fortifications, London Stone, list of walls, Roman Britain, Roman invasion of Britain, Roman sites in the United Kingdom