Londinium, Architecture and the Crafts — John Shaqi
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 interior curve of the _upper wall_ of the apse had a radius of about
22 ft., and the width of a central “nave” agreeing with this can hardly
have been less than 50 ft.; the total internal width, supposing there
were “aisles” in line with the “chambers” at the end, would have been
about 110 ft. There were thick transverse walls across the front of the
apse, and again about 20 ft. to the west. I give (Fig. 22) a plan
adapted from _Archæologia_; the walls shown black were not necessarily
all above the floor level, although they are thinner than the lowest
foundations. (Note that in the plan in _Archæologia_ the scale is given
in divisions of 12 ft., and not of 10 ft. as usual.)
[Illustration:
FIG. 22.
]
My plan is restored as a possible reading of the evidence; the most
certain parts are those in black (A); the foundations (B) may be of a
different age; at the left (C) is the brick pier or wall against
Gracechurch Street.
A structure perhaps 110 ft. wide with a central avenue of 50 ft. would
have been exceptional; on the other hand, a Basilica 220 ft. to 250 ft.
long including the apse would have been rather short. One of the walls
found to the west of Gracechurch Street was bent in its line as if it
might have been against a stream. The nature of the site might have
dictated a rather short and very wide building. It should be noticed
that the line of Gracechurch Street is nearly or exactly at right angles
to the great building. Hodge’s drawings show that the walls of
Leadenhall Market were built directly on the Roman foundations, and
hence square with them.
The Basilica would have had ranges of Corinthian columns and perhaps a
transverse row on the foundation in front of the apse, as at the
Basilica Ulpia in Rome and at Pompeii: compare also the transverse walls
at the Basilicas of Cirencester and Caerwent. The roof would probably
have had trusses of low pitch exposed to the interior, like those of the
early Christian churches.
In 1908 a Roman wall, 3½ ft. wide, _parallel_ to Gracechurch Street, was
found at No. 85. In 1912 a fine Roman wall, 4½ ft. wide, running north
and south, was found just south of Corbet’s Court; turning at right
angles it passed under Gracechurch Street. It was of ragstone with
double courses of tiles; the base was 27 ft. below the present level; a
piece of thinner wall ran close and _parallel_ with the roadway
(_Archæologia_, lxiii.). Kelsey noted that in 1834 massive walls were
found in Gracechurch Street from Corbet’s Court to the head of the
street (_Archæologia_, lx.).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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