Mediaeval London

After the Roman armies left Britain in the 5th century, invaders came from Scandinavia and northern Europe. Much of what the Romans had built fell into ruin. Even the great walled city of Londinium. People moved away from the city and life in Britain took place in the countryside. But over the centuries, trade with continental Europe grew and London became alive again. The Saxon King Alfred repaired the Roman walls. Wooden docks were built for the ships which brought goods up the Thames from abroad. A new bridge was built across the river.

In 1066, a Norman army from France invaded England and defeated the Saxon King Harold at Hastings. The Normans moved into London as conquerors. By the 11th century over 10,000 people lived in London. They were traders and craftsmen, labourers and priests. All the great Roman buildings had gone. In their place, wooden Saxon houses stood. The rivers of London, the Thames, the Fleet, the Tyburn and the Walbrook were polluted from workshops and by sewage from the houses. The roads were narrow and the upper stories of the houses on each side of the road nearly touched each other.

Fires happened often. The great Saxon church of St. Paul's burned down in 1087 and it was rebuilt in the style of the Normans. The Normans also built a great Tower on the eastern side of the city. London Bridge was rebuilt in stone. The centre of the fine new bridge could be opened to let ships pass through into the docks of the city.

Every person who entered the city had to enter by one of the gates. In the east, Ludgate and Newgate, in the north Bishopsgate and in the east Aldgate. The population of the city was controlled by the guilds of craftsmen and traders. They kept out people who could compete with them. There was often conflict between the guilds, the king and the powerful church.

Century by century, London grew richer and stronger. By the 16th century English ships eventually beat the most powerful nation in the world, Spain. King Henry VIII broke the power of the Catholic Church and England began to become the greatest trading power in the world with its centre in London.

Terry Moston: London, capital city; AOL Verlag, Lichtenau; 2. Auflage 2006, Seite 29

a) Find the names of London's rivers.

b) Find the three groups of foreigners who controlled England through the centuries.

c) Extra: Find the old gates on the map. What do you notice about their position?