London at work

This chapter offers a detailed consideration of London’s labour market, exploring the high degree of seasonality that applied in a reconstruction of London’s Roman working year. The harbour relied on inputs of manual labour and ox-drawn haulage, serving the needs of dozens of vessels docked against the quays or beached on the river foreshore. Demand was intensive during the summer sailing season, but negligible in the winter. London’s construction industry was similarly labour-intensive and seasonal. These demands combined to present high levels of labour demand from spring to autumn, interrupted by slack winters of underemployment. Some needs may have been met by seasonal immigration from the countryside, but a lack of evidence for knowledge exchange between town and country suggests that this was not on a large scale. It is more likely that labour, perhaps including a relatively high proportion of slaves, was redirected into industry and craft production as stock was built up against spring needs. The chapter reviews the evidence for these shops and workshops, and for industrial production in and around Roman London. Particular emphasis is given to the importance of shipbuilding, and the demand this placed on supplies of timber and iron. Other industries to receive attention include potting, tanning and leatherworking, and glassmaking.