The London Wall Walk - 14

The London Wall Walk - 14. . The London Wall Walk follows the line of the City Wall from the Tower of London to the Museum of London. The Walk is 1 3/4 miles (2.8km) long and is marked by twenty-one panels which can be followed in either direction. The City Wall was built by the Romans c AD 200. During the Saxon period it fell into decay. From the 12th to 17th centuries large sections of the Roman Wall and gates were repaired or rebuilt. From the 17th century, as London expanded rapidly in size, the Wall was no longer necessary for defence. During the 18th century demolition of parts of the Wall began, and by the 19th century most of the Wall had disappeared. Only recently have several sections again become visible.

City Wall and Towers

This section of the Wall originally formed the northern side of the Roman fort, built c AD 120. The defences were completely rebuilt in the early medieval period and most of the surviving stonework dates to this time. The modern lake indicates the approximate position of the medieval ditch, which then contained a 'great store of verie good fish, of diverse sorts.' In the 13th century a series of towers was added to the outside of the Wall and the remains of two such towers survive here. The battlements in this section were rebuilt in brick probably in the late 15th century as at St Alphege. From the early medieval period there grew up a suburb outside the Wall around the church of St Giles founded c 1090. After the ditch was filled in during the 17th century the City Wall became the southern boundary of the churchyard. This ensured the survival of the Wall until 1803 when, 'by reason of the frequent nuisances committed by some of the louest class of people, who had been suffered to inhabit the adjoining premises', it was demolished.