9 - London City Wall, London (AD 200s, 500s, 800s and later)

Naturally, major cities are some the easiest places to find medieval structures and sites. This is important also for people who can’t afford to spend too much time, or might be mobility-challenged. Sure, certain countries in Europe – such as England, for example – have some of the finest and best preserved specimens of medieval architecture in small towns and rural areas. Those monuments can be viewed as extra-special, especially compared with the damaged monuments found elsewhere. But medieval sites in big cities also hold the extra wonder of having survived throughout the ravages of the ages that urban areas might specially have presented in wars, fires, intentional tear-downs to make room for other structures, and so forth. 

When you see a beautiful building from, maybe the 1600s, might you wonder what stood on that same spot 400 years earlier?

What makes the few original medieval structures remaining in London so special is that they managed to survive planned demolitions, the Great Fire of 1666, and, of course, the Blitz of sustained bombing by German Forces in 1940-1941. Over the ages, these and other events devastated the stock of medieval London architecture.

Fortunately, at least some of the structures were either spared disaster, or had enough remains that they could be salvaged or restored as beautiful, historic monuments.  I have a few examples to share. 

First, one of my life-long faves: the Wall of London.  This one was recorded as built by the Romans in c. 200 AD, and then repaired, added-to, and improved over the centuries later and into the 13^th Century. Only a few significant remnants remain today; my research shows that most of the wall was removed piecemeal throughout the ages – a chunk here, an area there, all in the name of “progress”. 

The photos I show here are of the portion of the city wall that has been incorporated into the modern (1960s/1970s) postwar development complex known as the “Barbican”.  The Barbican is, by the accounts of many including me, a depressing and ugly complex made of cement and brick, and containing residential apartments, offices and other improvements. (I know this is a stale debate and some people have loved the Barbican complex, but I just had to say that.)

The same Wall pieces at night, for comparison: 

Here is a photo of a piece of the Wall still standing near the London Tower (a monument about which I plan to post some other time).

As for the London bombings in WWII, here are some great photos online.  Here are some color photos: 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2016667/Colour-pictures-revealed-London-blitz-Nazi-bombers-World-War-II.html

As for the Great Fire, here is a great website listing the buildings that survived.

http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Survivors-of-the-Great-Fire-of-London/

And here is a great animation that some students, using old maps and sources, prepared showing what London City looked like before the Great Fire:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/london/10404898/3D-animation-see-London-as-it-looked-before-the-Great-Fire.html