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No.50 - January 2002 | Contex HOME

The Billingsgate Bath House
- London's Roman Secret

Rose Baillie

It is a paradox that Roman London is well known archaeologically, but there is almost nothing, other than parts of the wall and the reconstructed Temple of Mithras, to see above ground. There is however a well preserved part of a Roman building in the City, long inaccessible, that has recently been visited by a few guided tours organised by the Museum of London. It is the suite of rooms for bathing preserved in the basement at 101 Lower Thames Street, generally known as the Billingsgate bath house.

The site has a long history and strong COLAS connections. Roman remains were first noticed in 1848 during the construction of the Coal Exchange, more was discovered in 1859 and the area was among the first to be ‘scheduled’ under the 1882 Ancient Monuments Act. The demolition of the Coal Exchange and widening of Lower Thames Street in 1967-8 re-exposed the bath house and excavations were undertaken by Peter Marsden with volunteers from the recently formed COLAS. Among those involved were Alan and Jan Thompson, Des Woods, Rita Brown (neè Nash) and Pip Thompson. It was Pip’s first dig and well remembers getting the job of explaining what was going on to passing tourists and soliciting donations. Further excavations took place in 1969-70 and 1974, culminating in the consolidation and capping of the surviving walls with cement mortar by the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, and their preservation in the basement beneath the new building constructed on the site.

This is not the end of the tale. By 1987 it became clear that the 1970’s consolidation was itself causing damage to the surviving Roman walls and floors, because of its chemical nature and its interference with ground water evaporation. The Corporation of London then paid for desalination of the remains and their re-examination by the DUA.

The baths, as visible today, consist of two heated and one cool room, next to part of a residential building, which also had heated rooms and tessellated floors. Some rooms and corridors of this building can also be made out, with the best preserved walls standing over 3 ft high. The residential building is built primarily of rag stone and is believed to be of late 2^nd Century date, with the bath suite being added in the 3^rd Century in a yard area. The baths are of an odd design, with the bather having to pass the hot rooms before reaching the changing area and frigidarium, maybe because this room had previously had another purpose. It is unclear whether the residential building was a private house or part of an establishment such as an inn, that had a small bath suite for its customers

One aspect of the site that is not immediately evident is that it continued in use until the end of Roman London, or even beyond. It seems to have been occupied into the 5^th Century, as evidence by pottery and the leaving of 270 small, mainly late 4^th Century bronze coins on the furnace room floor and an adjacent passage, suggesting they were not picked up because they had become worthless after the end of Roman rule. The building was eventually abandoned and left to slowly decay, until the tile roofs fell down and dark soil, full of environmental evidence for wasteland flora and fauna covered it over.

Although the Billingsgate bath house is strategically placed between the Monument and the Tower of London and had been re-consolidated because of its scheduled status, it was still not open to the public, until now, when the office above it has undergone yet another re-development. The remains are in a basement which is readily accessible from a street door, via a hall (that would be suitable for an introductory display) and a staircase. They stretch for some 30 metres and can be somewhat dimly seen from a raised platform at one end and from a scaffolding walkway, that the Museum hopes to replace by a structure that does not actually rest on the monument itself. A model of the bath house has been brought from the museum to aid interpretation, while the boxes of Roman building material from the excavations of 1987 give an atmosphere of ‘work in progress’.

I am sure COLAS members will want to make their voices heard regarding the proper display and opening of this site. This is the only substantial part of a house of Roman London to be seen anywhere in situ, while the baths themselves, although of modest size, are sufficiently well preserved to demonstrate how they were constructed and functioned. The site could also be used to illustrate the rise and fall of Roman London and its rediscovery. At the time of writing the Museum and Corporation of London are in negotiation over the ways of making it more accessible. Only a relatively small amount of work is needed to make it into a highly evocative and educational revelation of the Londinium below the streets of modern London and it is very much to be hoped that this can be brought about.