Coopers Row
The next part of the wall to see is found nearby in the street called Cooper’s Row. The site is now the location of the huge Grange City Hotel, whose bar customers have the privilege of drinking at outside tables in the shadow of the Roman wall. Fortunately, a right of way exists, so members of the general public can pass freely around the drinkers and view both sides of the wall.
Features of the wall at this site are again the clear difference between the medieval and Roman facing stonework, and the outline of a set of stairs which the soldiers would have used to climb to the walkway to guard the city. There are further examples of the use of tiling to provide a stable base for the rubble filling in the wall, and, passing through the wall on the left, we can see a remaining piece of the external plinth.
On this site, the difference in floor level between Roman and modern times is very apparent. The steady accumulation of rubble and other refuse over the centuries, on which succeeding generations have rebuilt the city, has led to a modern ground level some 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 metres) higher than it was in Roman times. The greatest difference being in the level around the Walbrook stream, which was completely covered by the mid 1500s.
The landside wall was not built until around 200AD, with the riverside stretch not completed until 275AD. It was a massive engineering feat and probably had a number of functions. No doubt the wall here served as a protective barrier, against possible enemies from the east. Building it, however, was also an effective way of maintaining discipline and morale for the thousand soldiers stationed in Roman Londinium. Perhaps a provincial capital such as Londinium needed the prestige of a wall to enhance its reputation as a “colonia” as it had few great public buildings – apart from its forum and basilica, which, by 140AD, were the largest north west of the Alps.
