This feature first appeared in August 2023 on Londonist: Time Machine, our much-praised history newsletter. To be the first to read new history features like this, sign up for free here.
Follow our walk around the old Roman walls of the City of London.
The city of Londinium was founded in the year 47. About 150 years later, the Romans got around to building a proper wall. Incredibly, some 1825 years later, large chunks of that wall still survive. And we’re about to visit every one of them*.
The following walk is written in such a way that you should be able to enjoy the historical insights even if you can’t physically make it to the City of London. If you can, then the walk begins inside Tower Hill station and covers about 3km (or 5km if you add on the largely uneventful last section to the west). All areas are fully open during daylight hours, though you’ll need to book ahead if you want to visit City Wall at Vine Street.
Almost all of the route is wheelchair/buggy friendly (including Tower Hill station), though you won’t be able to pass through the arch in the hotel courtyard, and you’ll need to stay at ground level when we get to the Barbican (but there’s still much to see).
*Well, every section that’s publicly accessible. Some fragments remain locked away in private basements, including at the Old Bailey.
The map below shows the course of the Roman wall (in black) and an earlier Roman fort (the square to the middle-top). My suggested walking route is in red. The Romans also, for a time, had a less impressive riverside wall. No visible fragment remains, so it’s not included. Click/tap through for a zoomable version on Google maps.
1. Tower Hill: Tube and Trajan
Begin inside Tower Hill underground station.
Thousands of people use Tower Hill underground station each day. Only a tiny fraction notice what you’re about to see. It’s a fragment of Roman Wall hiding in plain sight. Walk to the rear of the westbound platform – where few people congregate – and there, up behind the tracks, you’ll see this:
OK, it’s not the most impressive chunk of masonry, but the fact that it’s here at all is quite remarkable. Let’s go track down a much more imposing, and famous bit of wall.
Head out of the station, walk down the steps, and there before you is a major stretch of wall.
This is undoubtedly the most photographed section of Roman wall in London, standing, as it does, outside the underground exit for the Tower of London. It’s an impressive stretch, made all the more eye-catching by the statue of Emperor Trajan who stands before it. He's an odd choice, given that Trajan never set foot in Londinium, but there we go. Take the time to do a circuit of this stretch of wall, including the bit at the top of the hill, where it tracks the back wall of the Citizen M hotel.
You can’t follow the wall directly here, but head west to Trinity Square then immediately right up Cooper’s Row. After a few paces, walk under the black arch of the Leonardo Royal Hotel on the right.
2. A hole in the wall
It feels a little like you shouldn’t be walking through here as it’s part of the hotel complex, but you’re quite welcome. It leads through to my favourite section of wall. It’s utterly hidden away and I doubt many people know about it unless, like you, they’ve done a Roman wall walk. The information panel here is excellent, and explains the different stages of masonry. Once you’re done, there’s the unique adventure of walking through an arch in the wall, to your left.
Once through the arch, head forward and then turn left along the cobbled road under the railway bridge. Follow this, and then its continuation of Vine Street until you reach a modern office block with a very obvious chunk of wall lurking inside.
3. A “new” bit of wall
This peculiar arrangement is called “City Wall at Vine Street”. It’s the most recent section of Roman wall to be revealed to the public (Aug 2023), having languished in a private basement for decades. I’d strongly encourage you to pop in and visit, although for some reason they insist that you prebook (if it’s quiet, you can probably do it there and then on your phone). It’s worth the faff, as this section is superbly interpreted on the information boards, and includes an impressive archaeological display, the paw print of one of London’s first cats, and a very nice coffee shop! (Read my full review of the place here.)
Once you’re done, continue north via either Jewry Street (left) or Minories (right), but not Vine Street which ends in a cul-de-sac. Either way, you’ll reach Aldgate Square.
4. Aldgate, Bishopsgate, Moorgate
Until very recently, this landscaped square with dancing fountains was a vicious gyratory where pedestrians feared to tread. Now we can take a leisurely stroll around, revelling in the local history. And what a history. Aldgate gets its name from the old Roman gate that once punctured the wall at this junction. Its name is mysterious: it might be the “old gate”, or perhaps the “ale gate”, or maybe some other derivation entirely. Whatever, the information board has an excellent map showing you exactly where the gate and wall once ran. Look out too for the flagstones which show the precise route of the now-vanished wall.
Head north-west along Dukes Place and Bevis Marks for about five minutes until you reach the busy junction of Bishopsgate and Wormwood Street.
Already, you’ve reached the site of the next Roman gateway, Bishopsgate. Like all the gates, the name is medieval – we don’t know what the Romans would have called it. Look out for the bishop’s mitre across the road, on the Boots Opticians. Sadly, nothing remains of either gate or wall along this stretch.
Walk along Wormwood Street. It soon becomes London Wall, whose etymology needs no explanation. Continue to the junction with Moorgate.
Another Roman gateway? Not so fast. The Moor Gate was a medieval addition (or subtraction?) to the walls. A small Roman gate or postern may have been positioned around here, but nothing so grand as a roadway.
Carry on heading west along London Wall. A series of recent office developments has created a new barrier along the northern side of the street, though of a scale that would have boggled the Romans. Before long, the footpath veers off at a diagonal, underneath the offices.
5. Your new word: “Diapering”
You should now see ahead the flint-and-rubble remnants of a medieval church tower dedicated to St Alphege. The remains are the centrepiece of a spectacular modern development, which includes overhead pedways, an adjacent garden and an anatomically risqué statue of a minotaur. It’s one of the best spots, anywhere in London, for appreciating the accumulated architecture of millennia. All of this is worthy of inspection, but it’s decidedly not Roman. But walk a little beyond the church ruins and you’ll see another substantial stretch of wall.
It’s a beaut. This is the only surviving section that retains brickwork, built on the Roman foundations, from the Wars of the Roses (15th century). The distinctive criss-cross pattern, which rises to the battlements, is known as “diapering”.
When you’re done ogling the ridiculously diverse surroundings, carry on down the backstreet called St Alphage Gardens to its junction with Wood Street. Here, on Roman House (see what they did there?) there’s a somewhat dated plaque, which reveals that you’re standing beside the old Cripplegate — the main entrance into the Roman fort. Nothing to see here, mind.
6. Into the Barbican
This section gets a tiny bit complicated. We’re heading into the Barbican, which has a fiendish reputation as a three-dimensional maze (which partly explains the minotaur). Don’t worry if you get a bit lost; it’s all part of the fun.
The Barbican (named after a defensive structure on the walls), was built in the aftermath of the second world war, during which almost everything north of London Wall had been levelled by enemy action. Through the tumult, significant sections of Roman wall survived, while other bits came to light for the first time in centuries. Keep in mind the directionality of the stretch we’ve just seen on St Alphage Gardens. We’re now going to seek out its continuation.
Turn right along Wood Street and follow it to the end (you’ll see the Wood Street Bar), then turn left into the pedestrianised area leading in to an old church.
This is St Giles’s, one of the very few buildings to survive the Blitz in this area. It offers another remarkable contrast with the 20th century buildings all around it. But we’re here to see Roman stuff. Track around the back of the church and look across the water (roughly where the Roman outer ditch would have been). Here, you’ll see a significant continuation of wall, with a couple of rounded medieval towers also on show. We’re looking at the north-western corner of the Roman fort, which slightly predated the city walls and was later incorporated into them. Most of what you see here, though, is later medieval fortifications built on top of the Roman foundations.
Track back to Wood Street and take the stairs up to the Barbican highwalk (if you can… you can follow at ground level if not). Turn right to follow Wood Street back to London Wall. The first turning on your right (just above the blue line on the image above) gives you an alternative view of the wall, but don’t go too far down there as it eventually leads the wrong way. Instead, go back to the original highwalk and proceed until you’re almost on top of the main road (London Wall). Turn right.
7. Into a car park, and a secret garden
This section of highwalk runs between London Wall and the London wall. Confusing, huh? Eventually, you’ll clear the buildings and come out into the open. You’ll now have a great view of the wall running roughly north-south, with the road and highwalk bisecting it. The northern section is fascinating to explore. Head down the nearest steps and then follow the curving access road down beneath road level. This brings you to a green space containing various fragments of wall and bastion. There is no other space quite like this anywhere in the City. It’s like you’ve stumbled on a secret garden, littered with the remnants of long-lost ages. It’s a quiet, contemplative place for a picnic.
Once you’re done, we have a bit of a side mission… should you choose to accept it. Return to the curving access road and, instead of heading back up, march boldly into the subterranean car park at the bottom. No one will stop you. But skip to the next step if you’d rather not hang out in underground parking lots.
This bleak space is very quiet between rush hours and can feel quite intimidating if you’re on your own. But if you persevere, seek out bay 52. Here you’ll find an original section of the Roman fort – indeed, part of its western gatehouse – preserved for very few to see in a parking bay. It’s one of the best sections to see the telltale red tiles that the Romans often incorporated into their lower courses.
Once you’re done with the car park, return to the curving entrance ramp and head up to London Wall. Carefully cross over, and then head immediately south along Noble Street.
We’re on the home strait now. Noble Street is the last place on the walk along which we shall see the wall. And what a way to finish. The ruined stonework tracks almost the entire length of the street, with modern signage to help you learn more. The point where the wall ends marks the south-west corner of the old fort. From here, the wall shot out vaguely westward, before turning south towards the Thames.
8. Extended mission: walk the western stretch
You might want to end the walk at this point — you’ve seen all the highlights — but if you’re a completer-finisher, then here, briefly, are the remaining sites of interest along the now-vanished western course of the wall.
Wander a little west to Aldersgate Street, where a plaque marks the site of Aldersgate – one of the ancient Roman gates that now waves off the nascent A1 on its long journey to Edinburgh. Track through Postman’s Park (taking some time to examine its famous wall of tragic heroes) and then take King Edward Street to Newgate. Behind the Viaduct Tavern, you’ll find a narrow alley which contains a plaque, informing us that the wall runs beneath. Another section of wall still exists inside the basement of the Old Bailey (opposite the tavern on the junction). You can’t go in, but I’ve been lucky enough to get a glimpse.
The name “Old Bailey” is suggestive. A bailey is a type of fortification found on defensive walls. The street of that name perfectly follows the wall route, to emerge on Ludgate Hill. This was the site of the Roman Ludgate (there’s a plaque), another entry point to the city whose name has mysterious origins.
The wall then carried on south through the back streets right up to the river (which would have washed much further inland in Roman times). There’s nothing whatsoever to see of its route from this point onwards, so pick your own way down to Blackfriars and perhaps finish in the impossibly charming Blackfriar pub. You’ve earned a drink.
