Monday 22 September 2014

Billingsgate Roman Baths, 101 Lower Thames Street

This weekend was the annual Open House London festival, in which buildings all around London open themselves up to visitors eager to wander within the walls they would rarely have access to. Each year my budding architect brother and I carefully plan our Open House weekends  to ensure we make the most of the opportunity and aside from a few Open House mishaps this year, we once again made some wonderful new discoveries. 

The Open House queue outside 101 Lower Thame Street
During previous Open House years, my brother and I have been put off by the queue that sprawls down Lower Thames Street outside a rather generic looking office block ashamedly unaware of what lay beneath. For future reference, the queue is relatively fast moving and if not, well worth the wait! It is the site of the Billingsgate Roman Baths. The conservation and research of the site is carried out by University College London's Archaeology department, the City of London and Nimbus Conservation. You can find more about their work here.


More queuing....
The Billingsgate Roman bath house was first discovered in 1848 during the construction of the Coal Exchange. Further archaeological discoveries were made between 1967 and 1970 when Lower Thames street was being widened and the Coal Exchange and other nearby buildings were demolished. The remains are representative of two periods in Roman London. The remains of the house on the site date from the 2nd Century A.D and the bath house, from the 3rd century A.D. At this time London, was better known as Londinium and the river Thames was about one hundred metres wider than it is today. The Roman house at 101 Lower Thames was therefore situated right on the river bank. Over the centuries the London street levels have raised considerably. In order to reach these Roman remains, one has to descend a flight of stairs, which quite literally transport you through the layers of London history. 

The remains of the Roman house on the site, built sometime during the 2nd century
The above image depicts the remains of the house which was built sometime in the 2nd century A.D. This section was once the Eastern wing of the house. The illustration below, which I took a quick snap of for the purposes of a visual aid, helps to illustrate the layout of the house. The Western wing is not currently visible. 

A useful diagram makes all the difference
As an eighteenth century specialist, I sadly know little of Roman life in London and am therefore incapable of providing you with any information of the day to day life for a family who lived in this type of house in Londinium. By looking at this diagram, I would presume the family were relatively well to do but of course if you have any knowledge of what this type of Roman house represents please don't hesitate to get in touch! 

This north side of the 2nd century house.
Proceeding along the walkway you reach the bath house which was built in the 3rd century and situated in the centre of the house. An Open House volunteer explained to us that by this time, the house was not likely to be a family home but in fact a guest house for businessmen arriving in the capital. The bath house would have been a well used and popular facility amongst guests. This bath house consisted of a cold room (frigidarium), a warm room (tepidarium) and a hot room (caldarium). Both the tepidarium and the caldarium retain the evidence of underfloor heating. The stacked square tiles supported the floor above and allowed the heat to warm the flooring above. The photo below depicts the caladrium on the right and in the foreground, a furnace used to provide the heat. 

The bath house, 3rd century.
And on the left side, there is evidence of the tepidarium, the warm room, and amazingly some of the stone tiles which covered the underground heating system. These remains help to illustrate how such impressive Roman engineering worked. 

The tepidarium, the warm room of the bath house.
The frigidarium was located in the centre of the warm and hot rooms and provided bathers with an opportunity to cool down. There is also evidence on site of the tank which contained cold water for bathers to splash themselves with. The flooring of the frigidarium is remarkably well preserved and evidence of the small mosaic work can still be seen. 

The surviving floor of the frigidarium
According to researchers at the Museum of London, findings of Roman coins indicate these baths continued to be in use up until the 5th century, but that by this time the roof had collapsed and only the walls were still standing. The Billingsgate bath house is a rare example of a Roman building in situ in London. The project at 101 Lower Thames Street is ongoing thanks to the support of the City of London and University College of London, English Heritage and the Museum of London. You can find out more through the Museum of London website and be sure to have a look at the map of Roman London. Finally, if you do plan to do Open House next year be sure to make a stop at 101 Lower Thames Street!

Archaeological findings!




Wednesday 17 September 2014

Baconsthorpe Castle, Norfolk

The outer gate house of Baconsthorpe Castle, Norfolk
On a recent visit to Norfolk, I was delighted to discover the impressive ruins of Baconsthorpe Castle, built between 1450 and 1650 and once home to the wealthy Heydon family. John Heydon (d.1479) purchased a property on the site in 1443 and during his lifetime carried out extensive building work. Due to a lack of documentation, little is known of the value and history of the acquisition but the surviving remains of the castle indicate that it is likely to have been considered an important acquisition. Heydon was the son of William Baxter, a free peasant or yeoman at Heydon and adopted a new surname to disguise his humble origins once having acquired an education at an inn of court. His law career proved to be highly successful. Biographer Anthony Smith attributes his rise to prominence to be due to his service with the duchy of Lancaster in Norfolk and William de la Pole, the 1st Duke of Suffolk. Heydon served as MP for Norfolk between 1445 and 1446. At the time of his death in 1479, Heydon owned thirteen manors, these included: Baconsthorpe, Heydon, Hempstead, Northrepps, Oulton and Salthouse. 

The village of Baconsthorpe is located about 3 miles east of Holt. Although it is difficult to reach without a car, there are bus services which run to and from the village, as listed by English Heritage. I was fortunate to spend the weekend in a VW camper van named Maggie May who transported some friends and I around north Norfolk. Baconsthorpe Castle was a particular highlight and one I thought ought to be shared with the readers of Missing Storeys.
Maggie May
Much like the story of the eighteenth century estate, Wanstead House, Baconsthorpe Castle's history has deteriorated due to the debts accumulated by the Heydon family. These debts led to a significant amount of building material being sold off. Unlike Wanstead however, there remains a sufficient amount of remains which helps visitors to gain an insight into how the house may have appeared during the family's most prosperous period. 

When arriving at Baconsthorpe, one is imimmediately faced with the remaining facade of the outer gate. This outer gate was a later addition, built to impress visitors to the castle. An illustration by Humphrey Repton, now held in the Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery depicts how the outer gate appeared in 1781. The outer gate was later used as a private dwelling until 1920 when one of the towers collapsed. The floors of the outer gate house are now missing but there is evidence of a large fireplace inside. which hints at the types of comfort provided to visitors upon their arrival to Baconsthorpe.Such comforts reflected well on the owner of the castle, presenting the family as hospitable but wealthy. It is also likely to have served as a defensive structure in times of danger. Flanking either side of the outer gate were a row of cottages and a barn, part of which can still be seen today.

An English Heritage information board at the site which depicts how the Castle may have appeared during the 16th century.
Proceeding through the outer gate under the fragmented remains of a door, you reach an open space which looks out towards the inner gate house. Illustrations of the site indicate that this space was used as a courtyard. The inner gate house housed the Heydon family and their servants and was surrounded by a defensive moat. 

The walls which once surrounded the families lodging chambers and great hall.
The Castle was divided into two courts, the service court was situated on the right and the main house used by family and their guests on the left. This included lodging chambers for the Lord's entourage and and a great hall for large feasts and the entertainment of guests.

The inner gate house 
Like the outer gate, the floors from the inner gatehouse have now been lost but there is evidence of a crumbling spiral staircase, fireplaces and a helpful English Heritage illustration to give you an idea of how it may have appeared during the fifteenth and sixteenth century. Unlike the very quiet setting I encountered, the Baconsthorpe site must have been a bustling and noisy site, full of life.

The interior of the inner gatehouse 

Evidence of the spiral staircase (right) in the inner gate house

Another useful English Heritage illustration
The two gatehouses are the most intact fragments of Baconsthorpe Castle which survive. Passing through the inner gate house you will find a large open space, it is difficult to visualise how this space may have appeared during the Tudor period, but the surrounding wall which remains largely intact helps to give an idea of the scale of the site. These walls also provide an insight into the types of building material used at the castle. One of the many reasons why I love Norfolk is the abundance of Flint work in the region's architecture. Flint work adorns numerous buildings throughout the region and it seems to also have been a technique used for Baconsthorpe.The use of Roman Brickwork can also be seen in some sections of the wall at the site.

Flint stonework, typical of Norfolk architecture!

Roman brickwork



The multiple layers of the Baconsthorpe walls.

Although the Heydon family initially made their fortune from their law profession, they eventually turned to the production of wool as a major source of the estates wealth. During the sixteenth century, Sir John Heydon II, converted the servants court into a wool processing factory. The large windows allowed for good levels of daylight for the spinners and weavers to produce the textiles which then went on to be sold in the Netherlands. This was a highly prosperous source of income for the Heydon family and provided the means for the family to spend money on a lavish lifestyle and further building works, such as the outer gatehouse and ornamental gardens.

The wool workshop

Windows of the wool workshop
Despite the differences in time, I couldn't help but notice a number of similarities between Baconsthorpe Castle and the eighteenth century estate and subject of my PhD thesis, Wanstead House.Like Josiah Child, John Heydon both came from humble origins and appear to have understood the necessity of acquiring landed property as a means to further elevate social status, wealth and political standing. The two families also demonstrate the importance of developing the estate as a means of displaying their ongoing wealth and providing future heirs with a prosperous future. Finally, the decline of the Heydon family's wealth and the need to sell off fragments of the building is the same unfortunate fate that the Child family of Wanstead met in 1822. Although these events are separated by time and geography, they share a similar story and reflect the challenges in maintaining a great house for future generations. 

Suggested reading:

Anthony Smith, ‘Heydon , John (d. 1479)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/52787, accessed 17 Sept 2014]

Stephen Hart, Flint Architecture of East Anglia, (Giles de la Mare, 2000).

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/baconsthorpe-castle/