Roman London

I was at the Guildhall in the City of London tonight for a talk on 'Buildings,  the Law and the City of London'. This was organised as part of the programme of events being held this year to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Technology and Construction Court. One of the speakers was Lady Justice Sue Carr who has recently been appointed as the next Lord Chief Justice, the first woman to hold the highest judicial office in the land. She takes up post in October. The appointment of judges in the UK is entirely independent of government and long may that last -  an independent judiciary is a cornerstone of a free society. The photo is of the Roman amphitheatre that was discovered when excavations were taking place for the Guildhall Art Gallery. It dates from AD70 and was originally a wooden structure but later part-tebuilt in stone, and it the stone structures that are exposed today. It is estimated that the amphitheatre could hold between 7,500 and 10,000 people, which would have been getting on for a third of the population of Londinium. A major venue therefore.