Norman Conquest Encyclopedia

Because it was the first place coming upstream from the Thames estuary at which a bridge could be built over the river, the Romans created Londinium and fortified it with stone walls. It was the focus of the Roman road system and also an important port, so it survived and prospered long after the Romans had gone. However, until the time of Edward the Confessor it stood in second place to Winchester as a seat of government and to Canterbury as a centre of religion. Edward chose to build a great cathedral outside the City of London, two miles (3.2km) to the set, upstream, at a place that was subsequently called Westminster. To oversee progress, he also built a palace there on the Isle of Thorns and the area became the place from which the kingdom was governed. Harold Godwinsson's efforts to protect his throne from the Normans and from the Vikings were based at Westminster. After William the Conqueror had advanced from Hastings, first to Dover and then to Canterbury, he turned west and, as he went, sent a small force towards London, but it was repulsed at Southwark. He then made great sweep clockwise around the city, crossing the Thames at Wallingford and proceeding to accept the submission of Edgar Atheling at Little Berkhamstead before approaching London from the north. It has been suggested that the gates were shut against him. The River Fleet ran along what is now Farringdon Road and New Bridge Street, and the Roman Wall stood along the eastern bank, running approximately along Blackfriars Lane to Lud Gate (now Ludgate Hill) and then along the east side of Old Bailey to New Gate. The story goes that a traitor opened Lud Gate to the Conqueror and that his men poured in to slaughter the resisting citizens in the Battle of Ludgate Hill. The evidence for this is scanty and the graves found in modern times close to the Thames are said to have nothing t do with the alleged event. In any case, William gained the submission of the City and, on Christmas Day, was crowned at Westminster. For his security and as a symbol of his dominance, the White Tower was built. It now stands within the Tower of London.

See also: Edward the Confessor; Canterbury; Harold Godwinsson; Norman; Viking; William the Conqueror; Dover; Hastings; Southwark; Edgar Atheling; Little Berkhamstead; Wallingford; Tower of London

Related Reading:

• Hastings 1066 (Revised Edition)- The Fall of Saxon England
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