City Gates of London Facts:
- London's first defensive wall was built by the Romans ~ 200 AD.
- This was ~ 150 years after Londinium was first founded.
- There were 7 main entrances through this defensive wall.
- 7 city gates in total.
- 5 of the gates were built by the Romans.
- All regularly rebuilt & renovated over the centuries.
- Following the restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 all of the City gates were unhinged & their portcullises were wedged open, ending their effectiveness for defence.
- They were retained as a visble sign of the prestige of the city of London.
- Eventually they were demolished in the 1760s because of traffic congestion.
- Weren't gates in the modern sense of the word.
- They were multi-story buildings that had one or two archways through the middle for traffic.
- The archways were protected by gates & portcullises.
- They were also often used as prisons.
- Other functions included the display of dead bodies, or parts of dead bodies, to passers-by.
- Beheaded traitors, were known at one time to often have their head stuck on a spike on London Bridge, their body was quartered & spread among the London city gates.
- Aldersgate [pictured]
- Aldgate
- Bishopsgate
- Cripplegate
- Ludgate
- Moorgate
- Newgate
Image from Dick Schmitt (cc)
Posted by ALCHEssMIST.
Alchemipedia | Home | Index | AZ | Numbers | Years | Animals | Architecture | Art | Business | Fashion | Films | Food & Drink | Games | Health | History | Literature | Media | Music | People |Politics | Science | Sport | Technology | World |
No comments:
Post a Comment