Page:VCH London 1.djvu/98

A HISTORY OF LONDON built in 1864, when on clearing away the old houses which had occupied the site a length of 1 10 ft, was exposed. Sir William Tite, who then described it," says it was 25 ft. in height from the old surface, but the drawing which accompanies his account shows it as nearly 40 ft., while if the details given are correct it would appear that the base had not been reached. Adjoining this spot the line of the wall is crossed by the London and Blackwall Railway, at the formation of which in 1841 a portion of the wall was removed^" (Plan C, 8). Again in 1880, when the railway was widened, several houses were removed on the west side of America Square, revealing pieces of the Roman masonry. This has been carefully described by Mr. A. A. Langley,^' who found the base resting at a depth of 1 8 ft. below the present surface, and consisting of the usual structure with the red sandstone plinth, beneath which was about i ft. of ragstone substructure, the whole resting on the normal bed of flint and clay. Running under the wall, just beneath the level of the plinth, was a small drain built entirely of red tiles, the opening of which was about i ft. high and 9 in. wide. This, taken in conjunction with the great depth at which the base is found, and other indications in the neighbourhood, shows that the ground at this point was low and that drainage was necessary. There seems to have been a bastion at this spot, although no details of its discovery are given (Plan C, 9). Crossing John Street, on the north side of which was another bastion* (Plan C, 10), the wall proceeds in the direction of Jewry Street. At the junction of Crutched Friars a fine piece of the wall was exposed in 1905 -' (Plan C, 11). It here forms a boundary between warehouses, and on the removal of the buildings on the west side 40 ft. of the inner face was uncovered. By the public-spirited intervention of the Skinners' Company, who are the ground landlords, a good fragment of the wall, 20 ft. long and 8i ft. high, has been preserved and built into the basement of the new offices, which are named Roman Wall House. This forms an excellent example of the inner face of the wall, its condition being as perfect as when first built. Continuing along Jewry Street, the wall underlies the fronts of the houses on the east side, and has caused the greater elevation of the pavement observable on that side of the street. During the recent rebuilding of the Cass School the wall was uncovered'* (Plan C, 12), and on this site there was probably a bastion, but little notice was taken of any remains which were found ** (Plan C, 13) . Nearer to Aldgate a portion of the wall was removed in 1 86 1, which has been described by Loftus Brock ^° as of Roman construc- tion throughout, and as resting at a depth of 1 1 ft. to i 2 ft. on massive piles driven in to form a foundation on account of the badness of the soil (Plan C, 14). At Aldgate, early in 1907, a sewage tunnel was driven under the site of the old gate, and on the south side of the High Street adjoining Jewry Street it passed through 16 ft. of solid masonry, the base of which was 16 ft. 6 in. below the present street level. It consisted of work of two distinct periods, one built against the other, that under the houses being of " Jrci. xl, 295. " Knight, LortJ. i, 163. " Antiquary, iii, 62-5. » Ibid. 1885, xi, 33. " Jrch. Ix, 191. " Ibid. Ix, 193. " Joutii. Brit. Arch. Assoc, xxrv-i, 163. 52