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Battlefields & Engagements· 70 battlefields within 40 km

Literature & Sources

Historical documents, charters, and records mentioning this location

Domesday Book — Wikipedia

SourceSaxon & Domesday records
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"Space was left in Great Domesday for a record of the City of London and Winchester, but they were never written up. Other areas of modern London were then in Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, and Essex and have their place in Domesday Book's treatment of those counties."

The City of London is one of the most conspicuous absences in the Domesday Book: space was reserved for its entry in Great Domesday but was never completed, meaning no formal royal survey record of the City's landholdings, population, or assets survives from 1086. Surrounding areas of what is now Greater London - in Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, and Essex - were surveyed and recorded, making the City's omission all the more deliberate and historically significant.

London Wall: section of Roman wall within the London Wall underground car park, 25m north of Austral House and 55m north west of Coleman Street, Non Civil Parish - 1018885 | Historic England

SourceMonument: London Wall: section of Roman wall within the London Wall underground car park
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"The monument is situated within an underground car park beneath the road known as London Wall, to the north of Austral House and north west of Coleman Street. It includes the standing and buried remains of part of London Wall, the Roman and medieval defences of London. London Wall was constructed t…

This section of Roman wall represents a rare surviving example of upstanding Roman masonry from the original London Wall circuit, built around AD 190-225 as part of a planned defensive programme. The preservation of its construction details - including the Kentish ragstone facing, tile courses, and sandstone plinth - provides crucial evidence of Roman engineering techniques and the wall's subsequent medieval repairs and modifications. Its survival within the car park is particularly valuable because it is the only upstanding Roman section along the northern side of the wall's circuit.

Religion – Medieval Londoners (Fordham University)

SourceMedieval church records
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"In the mid fifteenth century the cathedral body included the Bishop, Dean, four Archdeacons, Treasurer, Precentor, and the Chancellor, along with thirty greater canons (prebendaries), twelve lesser canons, thirty Vicars, and a considerable number of chaplains, as well as other officials such as the…

Abstracts of Inquisitiones Post Mortem Relating to the City of London: Part I, 1 Henry VII to 3 Elizabeth (1485–1561)

BookMedieval manorial records
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[The following is drawn from the printed text of this public-domain volume as scanned on archive.org. The introduction and early entries read:]

This volume abstracts the official royal inquisitions taken after the deaths of tenants-in-chief holding land within the City of London between 1485 and 1561. It reveals that the City of London maintained its own independent escheator throughout the medieval and early Tudor period, separate from Middlesex, and that City land was held by burgage and socage tenure across the individual wards. The records document the descent of messuages, shops, and tenements ward by ward, providing a direct chain of manorial and property ownership within the historic City.

Survey of London (Vol. 22)

BookVictorian county histories
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"Edward III granted the town of Southwark to the City of London for the accustomed farm, in order that such malefactors might more readily be brought to justice. In practice this meant little more than allowing the City to appoint the bailiff instead of the king doing so. It is clear from confirmati…

This passage from the *Survey of London* - a scholarly topographical history series originating in the late Victorian/Edwardian period - reveals the City of London's long-standing but legally constrained jurisdiction over the Borough of Southwark, including its appointment of aldermen for Bridge Ward Without and operation of the Compter (debtor's prison). It shows how, despite receiving grants of Southwark's manors as early as the 14th century, the City of London's authority there remained incomplete, overlapping with Surrey county governance well into the 19th century. The detailed account of the Sessions House and Compter illustrates the physical and institutional footprint of the City of London's administration beyond its own walls.

Roman amphitheatre, Guildhall Yard, Non Civil Parish - 1013411

SourceRoman & prehistoric evidence
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"This example is of particular importance because of its association with the Roman provincial capital of Londinium, a factor reflected in its size. The site would have provided the main focus of entertainment within the capital, the provision of which was seen as one of the marks of Roman civilised…

The Roman amphitheatre at Guildhall Yard in the City of London is an exceptionally important monument dating to AD 70, demonstrating the civic significance of Londinium as the Roman provincial capital. The site's location within the Roman defensive walls and its military associations, combined with excellent preservation of structural remains including waterlogged timber elements, make it one of Britain's most archaeologically significant Roman structures.

10 Gresham Street, London, EC2. City of London, An Archaeological Post-Excavation Assessment

Grey LitArchaeological reports
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[The source page does not provide a full-text excerpt of sufficient length (100+ words). The record shows the title and bibliographic information (Casson, L. and Francis, A. (2002). 10 Gresham Street, London, EC2. City of London, An Archaeological Post-Excavation Assessment. MOLA) but the full conte…

This is a post-excavation assessment report documenting archaeological work at a specific address within the City of London, indicating systematic investigation of stratified urban deposits in this location during the early 2000s.

← Swipe to explore the timeline →
Pre-Roman
pre-43 AD
Roman
43–410 AD
Early Med.
410–1066
Medieval
1066–1540
Post-Med.
1540–1900
Modern
1900+

0 of 1000 finds are plotted — 1000 locations are kept private to protect the sites.

1000
Local artefacts
9174 within 5km
Monuments
Roman
Earliest activity
7
Places of interest
31within 5km
Battlefields
The Story of

City of London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom

The City of London stands on ground where three of the most consequential violent episodes in British history unfolded, and it is the earliest of them that shaped everything which followed. Around AD 60, Boudica, queen of the Iceni, led a Celtic British uprising against Roman rule and burned Londinium to the ground, an act of destruction so complete that archaeologists still encounter a distinctive red burning layer beneath the modern streets. That catastrophe paradoxically confirmed Londinium's importance: the Romans rebuilt it as the administrative and commercial capital of the province, driving great roads outward in every direction, raising an amphitheatre beneath what is now Guildhall Yard, and encircling the city with a wall whose Roman courses survive alongside their medieval additions at Noble Street, St Alphage Garden, and Aldermanbury. Before all of this, the Catuvellauni had dominated the territory, and Bronze Age communities had already made the Thames at this crossing point a sacred place, casting metalwork offerings into its waters in rituals whose meaning we can only guess. Cnut's Danish forces besieged the city in 1016, and the Gordon rioters threatened the Bank of England in 1780, each episode a reminder that London's centrality to English power has made it, in every age, both a prize and a target.

Archival Sources & Repositories Consulted for City of London

This report cross-references every historical record against national heritage registers, government agencies and university archives.

Monuments92 sources

Battlefields1 source

  • British battle records (Historic England, Wikipedia & published sources)every recorded British battle2,548 battles searched, 70 within 40km of this location

Roman Britain2 sources

Civil War2 sources

Geology2 sources

LIDAR1 source

Local Names1 source

  • Ordnance Surveyplace & field namesnames cross-referencedNational mapping agency

Historical Maps1 source

Literature53 sources

  • Internet ArchiveSaxon & Domesday recordssearched, no records for this locationDigital library
  • British History OnlineSaxon & Domesday recordssearched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • British History OnlineMedieval church recordssearched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • Internet ArchiveMedieval church recordssearched, no records for this locationDigital library
  • Medieval church recordsMedieval church recordsdocument found: Religion – Medieval Londoners (Fordham University)
  • British History OnlineMedieval manorial recordssearched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • Medieval manorial recordsMedieval manorial recordsdocument found: Abstracts of Inquisitiones Post Mortem Relating to the City of London: Part I
  • Internet ArchiveVictorian county historiesdocument found: Survey of London (Vol. 22)Digital library
  • Google BooksVictorian county historiessearched, no records for this locationDigital library
  • British History OnlineVictoria County Historysearched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • JSTORVictoria County Historysearched, no records for this locationAcademic journals
  • Archaeology Data ServiceGeorgian & early modern recordssearched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • Internet ArchiveGeorgian & early modern recordssearched, no records for this locationDigital library
  • Heritage GatewayRoman & prehistoric evidencesearched, no records for this locationHistoric environment records
  • Archaeology Data ServiceRoman & prehistoric evidencesearched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • Roman & prehistoric evidenceRoman & prehistoric evidencedocument found: Roman amphitheatre
  • Archaeology Data ServiceArchaeological grey literaturedocument found: 10 Gresham StreetUniversity archive
  • GENUKIGENUKI parish historysearched, no records for this locationGenealogical reference
  • Internet ArchiveInternet Archive digitised bookssearched, no records for this locationDigital library
  • Heritage GatewayMonument: Roman amphitheatresearched, no records for this locationHistoric environment records
  • Archaeology Data ServiceMonument: Roman amphitheatresearched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • JSTORMonument: Roman amphitheatresearched, no records for this locationAcademic journals
  • Heritage GatewayMonument: London Wall: remains of Roman fort wall and east gate under Aldermanburysearched, no records for this locationHistoric environment records
  • Archaeology Data ServiceMonument: London Wall: remains of Roman fort wall and east gate under Aldermanburysearched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • JSTORMonument: London Wall: remains of Roman fort wall and east gate under Aldermanburysearched, no records for this locationAcademic journals
  • Heritage GatewayMonument: London Wall: section of Roman wall within the London Wall underground car parksearched, no records for this locationHistoric environment records
  • Archaeology Data ServiceMonument: London Wall: section of Roman wall within the London Wall underground car parksearched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • JSTORMonument: London Wall: section of Roman wall within the London Wall underground car parksearched, no records for this locationAcademic journals
  • Monument: London Wall: section of Roman wall within the London Wall underground car parkMonument: London Wall: section of Roman wall within the London Wall underground car parkdocument found: London Wall: section of Roman wall within the London Wall underground car park
  • WikipediaBattle: Cnut's Siege of London (1016)searched, no records for this locationOpen knowledge base
  • The Battlefields TrustBattle: Cnut's Siege of London (1016)searched, no records for this locationLearned society
  • British History OnlineBattle: Cnut's Siege of London (1016)searched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • Historic EnglandBattle: Cnut's Siege of London (1016)searched, no records for this locationNational heritage body
  • Internet ArchiveBattle: Cnut's Siege of London (1016)searched, no records for this locationDigital library
  • WikipediaBattle: Gordon Riots attack on Bank of England 1780searched, no records for this locationOpen knowledge base
  • The Battlefields TrustBattle: Gordon Riots attack on Bank of England 1780searched, no records for this locationLearned society
  • British History OnlineBattle: Gordon Riots attack on Bank of England 1780searched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • Historic EnglandBattle: Gordon Riots attack on Bank of England 1780searched, no records for this locationNational heritage body
  • Internet ArchiveBattle: Gordon Riots attack on Bank of England 1780searched, no records for this locationDigital library
  • WikipediaBattle: Battle of Londiniumsearched, no records for this locationOpen knowledge base
  • The Battlefields TrustBattle: Battle of Londiniumsearched, no records for this locationLearned society
  • British History OnlineBattle: Battle of Londiniumsearched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • Historic EnglandBattle: Battle of Londiniumsearched, no records for this locationNational heritage body
  • Internet ArchiveBattle: Battle of Londiniumsearched, no records for this locationDigital library
  • Archaeology Data ServiceRoman site: Roman amphitheater at Guildhallsearched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • JSTORRoman site: Roman amphitheater at Guildhallsearched, no records for this locationAcademic journals
  • Heritage GatewayRoman site: Roman amphitheater at Guildhallsearched, no records for this locationHistoric environment records
  • Archaeology Data ServiceRoman site: London Wall: section of Roman wall within the London Wall underground car parksearched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • JSTORRoman site: London Wall: section of Roman wall within the London Wall underground car parksearched, no records for this locationAcademic journals
  • Heritage GatewayRoman site: London Wall: section of Roman wall within the London Wall underground car parksearched, no records for this locationHistoric environment records
  • Archaeology Data ServiceRoman site: Londinium/Augustasearched, no records for this locationUniversity archive
  • JSTORRoman site: Londinium/Augustasearched, no records for this locationAcademic journals
  • Heritage GatewayRoman site: Londinium/Augustasearched, no records for this locationHistoric environment records

Legal2 sources