Meeting point: Just outside Exit 2 of St Pauls Underground Station
An exploration of what happened at the end of the Roman Period, and how the City became deserted, and then was reborn as an English city.
The first British Brexit? The Roman Britons kicked out the Romans in 407 AD, and, soon, asked them to come back after a catastrophic collapse. Faced with plague, civil war, invasion, mass immigration, industrial decline, reversion to barter; the authorities struggled against anarchy and descent into a dark age.
But was that how it was? Wasn’t it a rather a transition into the Late Antique period in which life for most people went on much as before except paying taxes to local rulers rather than distant Romans?
The walk investigates why the Roman system in London broke down, and what really was the impact of the end of the Roman system in London? What is the evidence? and can we trust it? Or can we really do nothing much more than guess?
We tramp the streets of London in search of light to shine on the dark age of London.
Robin –
I really enjoyed this in depth tour of the Decline and Fall of Roman London. Kevin was an excellent tour guide. He was engaging and clear. He did an excellent job of explaining what archeologists have discovered and what it could mean based on the current understandings of assessment. In addition, he helped us understand what London may have looked like and how daily life was conducted during those times. It was fascinating to see some of the Roman ruins along our walk. I highly recommend this tour guided by Kevin.
Naoise –
Kevin’s illuminating tour on the decline and fall of Roman London was the high point of our weekend in London. His remit was the period between the 2nd century AD to the 9thc century, which saw England change from a Romano Celtic culture to a Christian Saxon one.
Kevin was so articulate, fully equipped with a compelling delivery and delicious humour that kept us riveted until the end of the tour. We really appreciated the clarity with which he approached the topic, in particular the way in which he set out a sturdy geographical and narrative structure into which the information could be effortlessly situated. Drawing on archaelogical evidence from his own career we were shown fascinating case studies that came together in a compelling theory as to the changing significance of London over the centuries. We are really looking forward to someday making his ‘1066 and All That’ tour which promises more revelatory insights, detective work and spellbinding narrative from a superb historian.