Discover Top Posts Tagged with #medieval london

Old London Bridge

Old London Bridge, completed in 1209, was a remarkable feat of engineering and architecture.

For over 600 years, it stood as the longest inhabited bridge in Europe, serving as both a vital transportation link and a bustling hub of activity.

The bridge was not only a crossing point over the River Thames but also a thriving community, with 138 shops, houses, churches, and gatehouses built along its length.

This unique combination of infrastructure and urban life made it one of the most iconic and well-known landmarks in medieval London.

The bridge’s design featured a series of arches, and it was fortified with massive stone piers that allowed for the construction of the buildings that lined both sides.

These buildings, which included homes, businesses, and even chapels, created a vibrant, albeit crowded, space where people lived and worked above the river.

The bridge was also home to the famous "London Bridge" gatehouses, which served as both an entryway into the city and a defensive structure.

Its high walls and imposing towers gave the bridge an air of grandeur and strength, solidifying its place in London’s medieval skyline.

Despite its importance, the Old London Bridge faced many challenges over the centuries, from natural wear and tear to the pressures of urbanization.

By the 18th century, the bridge had become overcrowded and unsafe, with its wooden structures and buildings deteriorating.

In 1831, the bridge was finally replaced by a new, more modern structure, and the iconic Old London Bridge was dismantled.

Today, only the legacy of this once-great landmark remains, but its role in London’s history is still remembered as a symbol of the city’s resilience and creativity during the medieval era.

#Old London Bridge #bridge #1200s #13th century #engineering #architecture #infrastructure #urban life #river thames #medieval #medieval london #london #landmark #medieval era #iconic landmark

The original medieval London bridge spanned the River Thames from the 13th to 19th century. 'Old London Bridge' as it is now known was adorned with medieval dwellings such as houses, shops and chapels.

The assortment of buildings spanning the length of the bridge created a bottleneck; leading to the Lord Mayor of London having to implement a "keep left" rule to ease congestion on the bridge in 1722.

The houses on the bridge were eventually removed in the 1760s to make more room for traffic. But the bridge itself would only remain until 1824; when demolition of the bridge began. Most of the stones were dumped into the River Thames itself; while other parts of the bridge were reused elsewhere.

The pedestrian alcoves that spanned the bridge from the Georgian era onwards were removed intact. Two of these alcoves can be found Victoria Park; while another inhabited the courtyard of Guy's Hospital.

A set of King's arms that were displayed on the southern gateway of the bridge from 1730 are now displayed above the doorway of an appropriately names pub: The King's Arms.

#london bridge #old london bridge #original london bridge #medieval london bridge #medieval #medieval history #medieval london #london #london history #historyblr #history student #historian #history article #blog #blog post #medievalist

Check out Medievalists.net’s products on Patreon

#maps #London #medieval maps #medieval London #14th century #history maps

London Wall Walk

Modern London is a sprawling metropolis, but back when the Romans constructed their city of Londinium, it was much smaller (around a square mile). After it was sacked by Boudicca in 60 CE, the Romans wisely decided to fortify the city, should any of the upstart locals try to rebel again. They built a five-metre high wall, with ditches two metres deep in front of it. These lasted nearly intact for about a thousand years, after which the medieval Londoners used the Roman construction as the base for their walls. By the 18th Century though, the walls around the City of London had fallen into a state of disrepair, and large sections were demolished to make way for newer roads and buildings.

However, some sections were preserved, either deliberately or by chance. In the 1980s, the Museum of London created a series of plaques to guide people along the route of the walls to see these remnants, although some of these have since vanished, mostly due to new building developments. With a bit of research beforehand though, it is still possible to follow most of this route today.

The walk begins at Tower Hill, with the remains medieval gatehouse associated with the Tower of London, and heads north past one of the largest, and highest sections of Roman wall still visible, complete with a more modern statue of the Emperor Trajan. Another section is then found in a car park at the back of a hotel, before the remnants disappear for a while. However, there are still a few reminders of the old walls, as it’s at this point that blue tiles begin to appear, marking the sites of the old city gates, the first being Aldgate.

The route soon reaches the aptly named road of London Wall, where the ruins begin to show themselves again – a section by a church, another by a modern livery hall – along with further plaques to the old gates. Surprisingly, some of the best-preserved pieces are in the Barbican estate, surrounded on all sides by the brutalist architecture, in a mash of old and modern London that just works.

There’s another remnant by the Museum of London, and then a huge section next to the Plaisterers’s Hall on what is sometimes described as London’s last remaining undeveloped bomb site – the wall was only discovered when the buildings above were hit during WWII. It’s now home to several bee hives. The Museum of London’s original walk ended around the corner at the site of Aldersgate, but to complete the course, one has to walk southwards towards the Old Bailey for the site of Newgate, and then to Ludgate Circus for, well, the site of Ludgate!

The conventional story is that "Black Britain" came about after World War II, but London has been a multicultural capital for centuries.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/29544749

#united kingdom #jstor #Sukhdev Sandhu #medievalpoc #England #medieval london #early modern #medieval #London

What were the kinds of jobs that medieval people did in a city government? A book from 14th-century London offers details about the positions and roles of civic officials in that city, ranging from the Mayor to Scavengers.

#london #medieval london #civic jobs #mayor of london

How long was London a ‘medieval’ city?

#great fire of london #medieval London #history of london

Material goods are a rich and fascinating source for finding out more about the ordinary lives of the people of the Middle Ages. This week, Danièle speaks with Katherine French about what Londoners’ homes were like both before and after the Black Death, what they filled them with, and how we know.

#medieval london #medieval daily life #podcasst

#medieval london

Trending Tags

Recently Viewed Tags

#medieval london