A medieval hall above a Roman arena. This watercolour captures Guildhall, the ceremonial and administrative heart of the City of London, its Gothic stone facade rising above Guildhall Yard beneath which lies the city's only known Roman amphitheatre.
Built in the 12th century and expanded over the centuries, Guildhall has survived the Great Fire of London and the Blitz, serving as the seat of the City of London Corporation for over 800 years.
Below the Art Gallery, six metres under modern street level, lie the remains of the Roman amphitheatre, first built in timber around AD 70 and rebuilt in stone around AD 120, large enough to seat 6,000–7,000 spectators for gladiatorial combat, animal fights, and public executions. The amphitheatre was only discovered in 1988 during excavations for the new Guildhall Art Gallery, and its outline is now traced in black paving stones across Guildhall Yard above.
Interesting facts...
Amazingly the Lord Mayor's office occupies the exact spot of the Roman arena's dignitaries' box. The power of London from Roman officials watching gladiators to the Lord Mayor presiding over the City today.
The amphitheatre was the largest in Roman Britain, seating around 7,000 people, roughly a fifth of Roman London's population, for gladiatorial contests, wild animal fights, and public executions.
The arena's entrance tunnel, through which gladiators, wild beasts, and condemned criminals passed into the arena, still survives with its double wooden doors and side chambers that may have served as shrines, resting rooms, or animal pens.
Guildhall Yard serves as the amphitheatre's "roof," with the arena's outline marked in black paving stones above ground.
The amphitheatre is now open to visitors in the Art Gallery's basement, where a light display recreates the banks of seating and the atmosphere of the arena. The Guildhall itself survived both the Great Fire of London in 1666 and the Blitz, making it one of the few medieval civic buildings in London to survive both catastrophes. The current Guildhall dates largely from the 15th century, with the Great Hall built between 1411 and 1440, though the site has been in civic use since the 12th century.
Location: Guildhall Yard, City of London, EC2V 5AE
