Monuments & Ruins

Not every statue in London. The ones worth crossing the road for: Roman wall, medieval ruins, and the monuments that earn a detour.

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Roman Bath, Strand Lane

Not Roman at all, and a better story for it: a Jacobean cistern that spent two centuries as a plunge bath.

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A brick-vaulted chamber with a bath of shallow Tudor bricks, down a lane off the Strand. It was built in 1612 as a cistern to feed a fountain in the garden of Somerset House, fell into ruin, and was reopened in the 1770s as a cold bath for gentlemen, who were told it was Roman. Dickens sent David Copperfield here for a plunge. A light switch outside the window lets you see it from the lane; going inside is by appointment with Westminster council, on weekday afternoons.

Where
5 Strand Lane, WC2R 2NA
Nearest station
Temple · 2 min walk

Through the window any time; inside by appointment

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Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.

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