Londinium, Architecture and the CraftsLethaby, W. R. (William Richard)
History
Londinium, Architecture and the Crafts
Lethaby, W. R. (William Richard)
England -- Antiquities, Roman; London (England) -- Antiquities, Roman; Romans -- England -- London
The foundations discovered on the site of Leadenhall Market represented
some very large and exceptional structures. The following account is
condensed from Mr. Lambert’s description in _Archæologia_: “The plans
show at the eastern end a quarter-circle of 27 ft. 7 in. radius, which
seems to represent the eastern apse mentioned by Brock; and in
continuation of its southern line, a wall about 150 ft. long, having the
extraordinary breadth of 12 ft. 7 in., runs to the line of and
apparently underneath Gracechurch Street.... From the south side at the
east end, spring at right angles three walls, which doubtless enclosed
the ‘two chambers like transepts’ mentioned by Brock.... It is probable
that work of different periods is included in this plan.... The northern
half of the great wall appears to be brick, the rest stone or rubble, as
though one wall had been built along the face of another.... It is clear
from the drawings that the bulk of the eastern portions of the remains
is homogeneous in structure. The extra thickness of the great wall and
the fragments of solid brick walls at either end of the site represent
perhaps later additions.... These remains form the most extensive
fragment of a Roman building recorded within the Walls of London.” From
the thick mortar joints of the brick walls, Mr. Lambert concludes that
they were probably built in the third or fourth century. The more or
less alternating use of red and buff bricks, as I have already
suggested, is also evidence that this part of the work should be
assigned to the fourth century. Concrete, tessellated and herring-bone
floors were found, also flue tiles (Price, _Athen._, 1881).
Some of the bricks used were of larger size than the ordinary, being 20
in. by 12½ in., and the drawings show that they were carefully laid with
alternate headers and stretchers (Fig. 17). They were 1¾ in. thick, and
four courses made 10-12 in.; the joints were thus about 1¼ in. thick. At
the Guildhall is a fragment of brickwork from Leadenhall Market, with
bricks and joints both 1½ in. thick. The stone walling was of concreted
rubble, with facings on each side in small, roughly wrought but
carefully-coursed stones; the layers of bonding tiles passed through the
thickness of these walls (Fig. 20). A large drain ran parallel to the
outer south wall about 4 ft. wide, including its brick sides.
The general plan shows a total length from the apse at the east to the
broken wall at the west against Gracechurch Street of about 210 ft.
About 44 ft. to the north of the Great Wall a parallel wall is shown on
the plan, but no details are given, and it may not have been Roman.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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