Fake Roman Bath & Whitefriars Monastery

Craig’s review… Before you get too excited… it’s not really a Roman bath. But more about that later. The really interesting thing about this place is not what it is, or how old it is, but how you find it. Because there is absolutely no way in the world that you can stumble upon this location by accident. Somebody has to actually tell you where it is so you can seek it out yourself. But it’s a bit too piddly to warrant a standalone visit so I’m going to combine it with a few other bits and pieces in the surrounding streets and if you visit them all together then it turns into quite an interesting little walk.

Let’s start with the art-deco Adelphi. If you’ve seen a few old paintings of the Thames then you’ve probably seen the original Adelphi dominating the waterfront. It was a big building that overlooked the Victoria Embankment Gardens. Only it didn’t – because the gardens didn’t exist in those days. When the Victorians built the Embankment they pushed the riverbank back 100 metres and the old Adelphi lost its riverside setting. It quickly became unloved and unwanted and got demolished in the 1930s. The art-deco namesake that we see today isn’t a patch on the original, but it does have a nice little balcony overlooking the park. That’s where we’re headed first.

What you need to do is start at Charing Cross station and then head down the Strand. Turn right when you reach Adam Street and you’ll see balcony at the end. But first of all we’re going to pause outside No.10, which is halfway down the street.

Fake No.10 Downing Street

Does that front door look familiar? It should do. Have another look. What does that remind you of? It’s No.10 Downing Street! Whenever somebody wants to fake a photoshoot outside Downing Street then they always end up here because it’s practically identical to the real thing. The only bits missing are the policeman and iron lamplight across the top. But be quick if you’re going to take a photo though, because the residents are probably fed up of having tourists snapping photos outside their front door every five minutes.

Walk to the end of Adam Street and you’ll be standing on that balcony I was talking about. I admit that it’s not the greatest view in the world, but hey… it doesn’t matter. It’s just something new to do the next time you’re walking down the Strand, and sometimes that’s all you want. You can see Cleopatra’s Needle across the road if the trees aren’t too leafy, and a thin sliver of Victoria Embankment Gardens down below, but I think I actually prefer looking up at the towering hulk of the Adelphi above me.

If you want to see the difference that a flight of stairs can make to your lot in life then descend the set at the very far end (the Charing Cross station end). On the upstairs terrace it’s all leafy trees and river views, but directly underneath it’s a homeless city of cardboard carpet and tarpaulin bedsheets. There must be thirty people living here at the moment as I kick my way past the empty cans and beer bottles on the pavement.

One grizzly guy doesn’t look very happy with his situation and is currently standing here shouting and swearing at no one in particular. Everybody who walks past is a c-word, and we can all go and ‘eff ourselves because we’re all an ‘effing bunch of c-words. One dopey do-gooder chucks him a couple of quid but he’s too drunk or nuts to notice and starts swiping at the sky like a clockwork boxer. Money isn’t going to help this bloke, and the kindest thing you can do is probably give him another bottle of booze so he can forget who he is.

I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this because it’s not very touristy, but what the hell – this is London. It gets a bit boring seeing sunshine all the time. Let’s go and look at life above and below the Adelphi Terrace – pretty river views vs bottles of booze. And ten-seconds down the road is the back end of the Savoy Hotel (literally just ten-seconds down the road!).

Roman Bath in Strand Lane

Now keep walking down the Strand, past Somerset House and St. Mary le Strand, and turn right into Surrey Street (it’s a lot further than you think – it’s just after Waterloo Bridge). If you keep your eyes focused on the righthand side then you’ll find an archway through the buildings labelled ‘Roman Bath’. Head through there and turn right at the end. You might worry that you’re about to get mugged because it’s a bit dark and deserted down here but don’t worry, I promise you that it’s perfectly safe (probably). Look at it this way: we’re going on an adventure! Not many tourists know about this place so we’re like pioneers, tiptoeing down the back alleys in search of Roman artefacts.

What you’re looking for is a big white-framed window behind some iron railings. Push open the gate and have a peer through the window. What can you see? You might have to squint a bit through the curtain of condensation but hopefully you can make out a brick-lined hole in the ground (there’s a button on the wall which is supposed to switch on a light, but it never works when I try it). Apparently that’s a Roman bath. That’s what it says on the sign. That’s what it says in the guidebooks. Only it’s not, because it’s actually a 17th-century water cistern that fed the plants in Somerset House.

The fairy story about it being a Roman Bath began as an advertising gimmick in the 1830s and by the early 19th-century it was being entered onto maps and pamphlets as a genuine Roman find. And here we are, two hundred years later… still staring at a water cistern.

There’s one more place that I want to show you, so double-back onto the main road and carry on walking in the same direction past St. Clement Danes, past the Royal Courts of Justice and Temple Church, and turn right into Bouverie Street. Halfway down there you’ll see Magpie Alley on the left. Nip down there and look over the black barrier at the end, where you’ll see the remains of an old stone wall preserved behind a window.

Wall from Whitefriars Monastery

Squeak open the gate and walk down the stairs for a better view (it looks as if you’re not allowed to go down there, but you are). This battered bit of wall is all that’s left of Whitefriars Monastery – a 13th-century priory from the days of Henry III. When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in the 16th-century their domain was demolished and forgotten, but this little wall somehow managed to survive beneath the buildings until modern-day developers decided to build an ugly building on top of it, which meant they had to shift it across the street.

So it’s still a real wall from the monastery… but it’s not where it used to be. It used to be over the road. But it’s still an interesting little find, don’t you think? London is full of interesting little remains like this.

Worth a visit? ★★☆Value for money? freeGood for kids? ☆☆☆Easy to get to? ★★★

I also recommend… If you enjoy this then try Billingsgate Roman House and Baths (walk it in 30 mins or travel from Charing Cross to Monument by underground); London Mithraeum (walk it in 22 mins or catch a tube from Charing Cross to Cannon Street) and London Stone (walk it in 24 mins or catch a tube from Charing Cross to Cannon Street). If you want a walk with some real Roman remains then try our self-guided walk around Roman London

The author Craig Cross owns city-guide.london and has spent the last decade reviewing the capital’s landmarks, attractions and hotels. His guidebook London Squire is available from Amazon