Hunting London’s First Roman Road at Lambeth - Stangate Under St Thomas’ Hospital?

An amateur’s 60-year-old claim points to a Roman road in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s back garden. But what if London’s very first crossing lay somewhere far bolder? Time Team chases the straight-line route from Watling Street to the Thames, tests Bernard Davis’s 1935 trenches at Lambeth Palace, and builds a 3D map of Roman-era high ground beneath today’s gardens. A fire brigade boat, a tape measure, and a surprising sandbar midstream change everything, hinting at a ford to Thorny Island beside the future Palace of Westminster. Watch the team weigh Roman texts, garden terraces masquerading as “roads,” and roof tiles from an early riverside outpost. And discover why trade, tides, and depth drew Londinium downriver to London Bridge instead. Was Stangate really beneath Florence Nightingale at St Thomas’ Hospital? Did the Romans first cross here, not in the City? Follow the clues to a crossing that could rewrite where London began. Watch now to see what the evidence finally reveals. #TimeTeam #RomanLondon #Lambeth #Stangate #Archaeology #WatlingStreet #Westminster