A large section of Roman wall in the City of London is now on display at a student and office space.
The City Wall at Vine Street was created by Urbanest as part of the company’s redevelopment of the site. The centrepiece of the display is a segment of London’s Roman Wall, thought to have been completed between AD 190 and 230, which once encircled the city.
The permanent display includes artefacts lent and curated by the Museum of London from its London Collection; a tile marked with a cat’s paw print, Roman coins and discarded animal bones which were recovered from Vine Street or nearby.
The section of wall is protected as a scheduled monument but had previously been inaccessible in the basement of the previous office building.
After acquiring the site in April 2016, Urbanest worked in collaboration with the local planning authority – the City of London Corporation – and Historic England to incorporate the wall into the design.
During the construction of Urbanest City in 2018, the monument was protected by a bespoke timber enclosure. Throughout the project it was monitored for movement or potential damage by engineers, historic stone conservators and Historic England.
Steel props have since been added alongside the existing red steel jacks as a permanent support for the wall inside the new building.
Tom Foxall, Regional Director at Historic England, said: “The City Wall at Vine Street represents the culmination of seven years of successful collaboration between Historic England, Urbanest, the City of London Corporation and the Museum of London.”
Finbarr Whooley, Director of Content at the Museum of London, added: “This will be a fantastic way for people to stand in the shoes of Roman Londoners and discover more about our history, surrounded by the historic walls of the city.”
