Responsible Metal Detecting – Helping to uncover Archaeology Coinage Home coins roman 1&2 C roman 3&4 C emperors monarchs Kings and Queens of England (Many thanks to all those who have provided images for use on this page) The ruling house of Wessex, the line of Cerdic through to Alfred (the Great). Cerdic 519…
Every church in the City, and some in the outlying areas and in Westminster, is worth a visit. Some have such a colourful history, and/or have been touched with the hand of architectural genius, that they have merited articles of their own. The others may lack such colourful backgrounds, but are nonetheless worth seeking out…
The Knights Templar were an order of warrior monks who were founded in Jerusalem following the First Crusade, their headquarters on the site of Solomon’s Temple. They built smaller Temples in many of Europe’s capital cities, their original London site being at High Holborn. As the Order expanded, they moved to a new site between…
The Walbrook once divided the City of Londinium, flowing between the two hills upon which the City was constructed. Today, the river flows subterraneously, but the gradients leading down to its valley are still highly visible. At one time there were several churches upon its networks. St Mary Woolchurch Haw, now the site of the…
‘When will you pay me, say the Bells of Old Bailey’ The City of London’s largest parish church, this was dedicated to St Edmund the King at its earliest recorded mention in 1137, but later became the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or St Sepulchre-without-Newgate. This is because it sits just outside the City walls,…
Southwark began as a Roman settlement, situated at a junction of roads leading to the south bank of the Thames and the bridge into Londinium. Several London Bridges have now occupied this site, and plans are afoot to open a museum celebrating the earliest principal route into the City. The museum will be the latest…
In the 1630’s, the King’s Surveyor of Works was Inigo Jones, and he was commissioned by Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford, to build London’s first planned residential square on the site of what was once the ‘convent garden’ of the Abbey of St Paul’s. Jones, a follower of the neo-Classical architect Palladio, modelled the…
Behind the British Library, situated between the extensive works of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and a housing estate, lies St Pancras Gardens. This public patch of peace, still scattered with monuments of all shape and fashion, contains towering trees, stunted grass, a network of carelessly meandering paths and a curious air of melancholy. A…
When I visit London, and disembark at Fenchurch Street Station, so long as I’m not in a hurry I try to step round the corner to the nearest church, St Olaves which stands at the corner of Hart Street and Seething Lane. I’ve visited it many times, and hope to visit it many more. Despite…
St Michael’s is the only City church I’ve visited with a crowd, and this was a pleasant surprise as none of us were expecting it to be open on a Saturday. Our nervous but erudite guide, Talking History stalwart Keith, allowed a few minutes from the itinery so that the Time Team Forum Friends could…