The re-establishment of London by Alfred the Great

There is only fragmentary evidence of any occupation of the old walled city of London between the mid-5^th century and the latter part of the 9^th century so we must assume it was largely deserted. A settlement known as Lundenwic developed around what is now Charing Cross under the early Saxons but was unprotected from Viking raids and abandoned.

In the latter 9^th century the London area came under the control of King Alfred of Wessex. When he succeeded his father to the throne of Wessex in 871 at the age of 21 Alfred was already a battle-hardened young man, having spent much of his teenage years fighting the Vikings on land and sea. The first years of his reign were dominated by conflict with the Vikings. Alfred’s relations with the Mercian King Ceolwulf II were also an important factor in the struggle for control of London. Wessex – the land of the West Saxons – was centred in southern England, while Mercia occupied much of the Midlands. Viking-controlled territory extended across much of northern and eastern England. The boundaries were continually changing.

London was in a strategically important location. Whoever had possession of the town controlled passage along the Thames. Occupation of London and the surrounding area by these three powers changed several times. Coins dated in 874-877 bearing Alfred’s name and minted in London have been discovered while others dated from 877 for Ceolwulf also exist.

In 879 King Alfred won a battle against the Vikings at Edington, in what is now Wiltshire. Ceowulf of Mercia died (or at least disappears from any records) in the same year. Faced with a resurgent Alfred, the Vikings retreated east to Essex and a separate army that was camped at Fulham departed to the continent. The Viking leader agreed a treaty with Alfred that defined a boundary between Alfred’s territory and the territory under Guthrum. The area west of the River Lea, including London and the strategically important Watling Street to the north were in Alfred’s territory, and that to the east of the Lea as Guthrum’s land. Alfred subsequently extended his authority over much of Mercia, while Æthelred, the ealdorman of Mercia, became an important figure in the administration and defence of London.

Coins bearing a distinctive London monogram were minted at London during this period, and several have been discovered on the foreshore in the Queenhithe area, providing evidence of renewed commercial activity.

One of the few events to be contemporarily recorded about London during the entire period between the Romans and early Middle Ages is found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, written during Alfred’s reign, for the year 886:

King Alfred occupied London and all the English people [‘all angelcyn’] that were not under the subjection of the Danes submitted to him. And he then entrusted the borough to the control of Ealdorman Æthelred.

We can therefore understand several points. First, Alfred clearly controlled London, which had become an important defensive as well as trading town on the border with Danelaw. Second, Alfred was the ruler of a Saxon kingdom that included Mercia and Wessex. Lastly, (as Alfred had based himself at Winchester) he had delegated control of London to his future son-in-law Æthelred.

Although the Chronicle records Alfred’s occupation of London in 886, he may have taken control of the city several years earlier, perhaps in 879 or 880.

London was thus close to the border between the territories of the Anglo-Saxons and the neighbouring Danes so Alfred set about strengthening London’s fortifications. At around the same time he initiated a defensive system across his kingdom in which more than 30 towns were created or adapted, known as ‘burhs’. Each was fortified against attack and supported by a large area of land known as a ‘burghal district’. The inhabitants of the district formed a defensive militia in return for a grant of land measured in ‘hides’. One hide was equal to around 20 acres, being enough land to support a household.

A document was produced called the Burghal Hidage, that listed 33 burhs, showing the amount of land within each district. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle describes London in 886 as “Lunden burg” implying it to be one of the fortified towns created by King Alfred, although it is not listed in the Burghal Hidage.

One burh that is listed in the Burghal Hidage is ‘Suthriganaweorg’, meaning ‘defensive work of the men of Surrey’, with a district of 1,800 hides, and this would seem to correspond with Southwark, which had been a former Roman community. As yet there is no further evidence of the existence of a Saxon settlement on the opposite side of the Thames to London. If it existed a further intriguing and unanswered question is whether the old Roman London Bridge still remained to link the two communities, or perhaps was rebuilt to prevent passage along the Thames by raiders.

To encourage London’s development, areas known as ‘sokes’ were granted to religious leaders, noblemen and members of Alfred’s family within the town. Bishop Asser, in his Life of King Alfred of 893, wrote that Alfred “after all the burning of cities and slaughter of people rebuilt London in a splendid manner and made it habitable again”. Exactly how much rebuilding took place in the early years is not certain.

In about 898, Alfred met at Chelsea with his son-in-law Æthelred, Archbishop of Canterbury Plegmund and Bishop Werfrith of Worcester to discuss the restoration and fortification of London. Grants of land were given to each of the clergymen in the area of Æthelred-hithe around the modern-day Cannon Street.

A road ran northwards from the river landing-place at Æthelred-hithe (which would be renamed Queenhithe from the Middle Ages). The land to the west of the road was granted to the Archbishop and that to the east to the Bishop. Each of the recipients of these grants was given the right to land boats along their respective sections of riverbank.

It seems that a number of streets, some of which still exist today in the City of London leading up from the Thames, were laid out during the late 9^th century. In some cases they were probably on the same lines as – or re-aligned from – earlier Roman thoroughfares. About ten streets ran down to the river, thus dividing the town into easily definable communities. Each street probably terminated with its southern end at a gate in the riverside wall, originally erected during the Roman period.

The main east-west street running through the centre of the populated area ran along the line of Eastcheap, St. Paul’s and Ludgate Hill and then on to Thorney Island (Westminster).

Boats were initially berthed on the muddy beach along the riverside wall, probably because the old Roman quays had collapsed. New embankments were constructed along the river to the west of the Walbrook, partly to protect the wall from the Thames. These embankments were not continuous but acted as platforms that provided dry spaces outside of the riverside wall, which were no doubt used as markets or for docking boats. The slopes or beaches between the platforms continued to give access to the river at low tide, for example allowing animals to drink, and to be able to beach boats.

A new road was laid out through the town between Aldgate and Ludgate with connecting streets to the wharves. A royal palace was built on what is now Wood Street and Aldermanbury and records show that this was used for at least the next 200 years. Houses and workshops were built, with a series of small streets and alleys to connect them. The town gradually expanded northwards, away from the river within the walls, with additional sokes created.

The area occupied by buildings was only around a quarter of the total within the walls. The space along the river from Billingsgate in the east to St. Paul’s in the west and back to Cheapside was fully utilised. The remaining areas were probably used for grazing of animals and market gardening.

Most buildings in London at this time were probably simple timber structures, while stone was used principally for churches and other important buildings. A number of churches within the City of London, such as All Hallows and St. Bride’s, still contain fragments of stonework dating from the Saxon period.

It is possible that ‘folkmoots’, meetings at which the town’s business was discussed, were held in the area of the old Roman amphitheatre. This may help explain the continued importance of the site around the Guildhall during the medieval period.

The capital of Alfred the Great’s kingdom was at Winchester. This statue of him was erected in the town to mark 1,000 years since his death. The inscription reads: “Aelfred, To the Founder of the Kingdom and Nation”.

London had become a strategically important fortress town. It was well defended, with the former Roman walls repaired on both the land and river sides. To the west the River Fleet acted as a natural moat and there were marshes to the north and east. Yet London was not yet in a position to truly flourish. Alfred’s ceremonial centre was Winchester, and London’s overseas trade appears to have declined in the late 9^th and early 10^th centuries, as did the minting of coins in London.

It would have been for good reason that London and Southwark were maintained as burhs, or garrisoned towns. Despite the treaty between Alfred and Guthrum, Vikings continued to be a threat throughout the 880s and 890s. Battles took place in Surrey and possibly the Thames Estuary in 882 and at Rochester in 885. In 894 word reached Alfred that the Danes had assembled an army at Benfleet in their territory of Essex so he arrived at London and led its men to meet them. Victorious in the ensuing battle, the Londoners seized or destroyed the Viking ships and earthworks, killed those men who did not flee, and brought their ships, wives and children back to London, presumably as slaves.