London

We are often told that London was founded by the Romans and perhaps it was, but Geoffrey of Monmouth, writing in the 11th Century, would have us believe that it was founded by Brutus of Troy between 1000 and 1100 B.C., after he defeated the giant Gogmagog, which should obviously be taken with a grain of salt. There has been evidence through excavations however and the remains of a Bronze Age Bridge were found near Vauxhall Bridge. Timbers from the bridge discovered were dated to between 1750 B.C. and 1285 B.C. The lack of pre-Roman and Iron Age artefacts would lead us to believe that the area may have been abandoned for some time after the Bronze Age.

It is generally thought that the Romans founded London as Londinium in 43 A.D. Soon afterwards in 61 A.D., Queen Boudicca rebelled against the Romans and attacked London, burning the city. Her rebellion however was crushed and the city rebuilt. Boudicca is remembered today by her statue in Westminster and the Romans continued to occupy London until they departed Britain in the 5th Century.  During Roman occupation Londinium had a population of 50,000, it was the capital city and a major port. 

In the 8th Century, London became the capital of the Kingdom of Essex and in the 9th Century, Viking raiders attacked it numerous times.  They occupied the northern and eastern parts of England, including London. In 878, King Alfred repelled the Danish forces and a truce was agreed where the Danes took eastern England, including London, while Alfred took the South and West.   In 886, King Alfred took London but the Vikings returned and in 961 and St. Paul’s Cathedral was burnt to the ground. Despite this, Danish settlers established themselves in the area and opened businesses in London. 

Edward the Confessor ruled England from 1042-1066.  He began the building of the first Westminster Palace and Abbey, although these are not the buildings we see today. Harold Godwinson attempted to succeed him but his reign was cut short when he was defeated at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, which would forever change the shape of England.

In 1066, England was forever changed when William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings.  William moved into the Confessors Palace at Westminster and set about building a wooden tower to stand guard over London, this was soon replaced by a stone tower.  At this time the population of London was around 18,000.

In the 12th Century, St. Bartholomew’s, the oldest Hospital in London, was founded by an Augustian monk who has fallen ill while on pilgrimage and vowed to build a hospital on his safe return. By the end of the 12th Century, London Bridge was being built of stone, having replaced an earlier wooden bridge. 

In 1180 a contemporary document described London as: 

‘Happy in its clean air, in the Christian religion, in the strength of its fortifications, in its natural situation, in the honour of its citizens.  The Cathedral is St Pauls but there is also in London and its suburbs 13 large monasteries, beside 126 parish churches.  On the east side lies the tower, very large and strong with four gates and turrets at intervals and runs around the northern side of the city.  To the north lie fields and meadows with small rivers flowing through them, by these water mills are driven with a pleasant murmur.  To this city come merchants from every nation under heaven rejoicing to bring merchandise in their ships.’

In the 13th Century, the Friars came to London. Friars were monks who chose to live amongst the people in order to preach to them. There were different coloured habits for different orders.  Blackfriars were Dominican who wore black, Greyfriars were Franciscans and would wear grey. 

In the 14th Century, London took centre stage during the Peasants Revolt, in 1381, lead by Wat Tyler.  The peasant’s army made its way to London and managed to enter the city.  King Richard II took refuge in the Tower, while the rebels opened the prison gates, looted the house of John of Gaunt and wreaked havoc on the city. The King agreed to meet the leaders at Smithfield, Tyler was killed and Richard II managed to defuse the situation long enough for the city’s army to disperse the rebel forces.  Once the threat was over, the king rescinded the various grants he had agree to with the rebels.  

By the 15th Century, London had over a dozen public toilets. These would often be placed on bridges, so that the waste could just fall into the waterways.  It was not just London that provided this, almost every late medieval city or town has records noting the building and maintenance of public toilets.  Medieval people became more concerned about hygiene in the later Middle Ages, as populations in cities grew.  The idea that it was acceptable to empty chamber pots out of windows is a fallacy promoted by Hollywood and a persistent myth. There were fines for dumping chamber pots into streets by the end of the 13th Century, which increased to a fine of two shillings by the end of the 14th Century. 

Having the population of London throwing their waste into rivers did become a problem.  In 1357, a proclamation was issued forbidding anyone to throw any sort of waste into the Thames or any other waterway, under the penalty of imprisonment. This was intended to force the citizens of London to put their waste into the carts and dung-boats meant to carry it outside the city.  Cesspits came into use more for private homes and tenements, with laws in place as to where they could be situated and they had to be over 2 feet from the boundary wall, however these also caused issues.  What the city wanted, was for its citizens to place solid waste outside their doors on days when the carts were scheduled to remove it. It would then be collected and sold as fertiliser. 

In 1666, the Great Fire of London occurred. It is though to have started in a baker’s house.  The winds caused the flames to spread rapidly and citizens formed chains with buckets but were soon overwhelmed. The Mayor was advised to use gunpowder to create fire breaks, to stop the fire from spreading but he was reluctant to do so. King Charles II eventually stepped in and ordered sailors to create firebreaks. By this time, over 13,000 houses had been destroyed, leaving many homeless.  St. Pauls Cathedral was also lost in the fire.  The navy was ordered to make tents from their stores, to help those who had lost their homes.  To prevent such a fire ever occurring again, the King ordered that all new buildings be built of brick or stone.  

In 1761, an Act of Parliament set up the Board of Commissions, who were in charge of paving and cleaning the streets of London. Somerset House was built in the late 18th Century by Sir William Chambers.