City walls

This might look like some old bits of brownfield that need clearing but it’s actually a part of London’s old Roman walls.

Most of the walls date from after AD100 and surround what was then the much smaller city of Londinium. In those days the walls would have been formidable and intersected by towers. Although they failed to stop Boudicca. Today that area is known as the square mile.

The walls can count two historical events for preserving part of them. The walls were mostly spared in the great fire of 1666 but were then partially knocked down or incorporated into new buildings. The original parts were then lost to view until the blitz in 1940 exposed them once again. Today they are a nice reminder of London’s past. The green underneath is a well maintained wild flower and herb garden.