Roman London – 5. Remains under St Bride’s

Our final entry in our short series on Roman London concerns the Roman remains found under St Bride’s Church in Fleet Street.

Following heavy bombing during World War II, much of the church was destroyed. But the bombing did reveal hitherto unknown secrets below the church.

As well as the remains of what were thought to be numerous plague and cholera victims (dating from 1665 and 1854 respectively), these included remains dating back to the 2nd century AD which featured the foundations of a somewhat mysterious Roman building and pavement, both of which were built outside the later Roman wall. There are also the remains of a ditch which is believed by some to be part of what was a quarry.

The remains can now be viewed in the church’s crypt along with those of the earlier churches. For more on St Brides, see our previous entry here.

WHERE: Fleet Street (nearest tube St Paul’s); WHEN: 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 11am to 3pm Saturday, 10am to 1pm and 5pm to 7.30pm Sunday; COST: Entry is free but guided tours are available on Tuesday afternoons at 3pm for £5 a person; WEBSITE: www.stbrides.com.

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