Those houses that were upon high ground were, of course, like the other towns, ransacked of all they contained by the remnant that was left; the iron, too, was extracted.

Trees growing up by them in time cracked the walls, and they fell in.

Trees and bushes covered them; ivy and nettles concealed the crumbling masses of brick.
The same was the case with the lesser cities and towns whose sites are known in the woods.

For though many of our present towns bear the ancient names, they do not stand upon the ancient sites, but are two or three, and sometimes ten miles distant.

The founders carried with them the name of their original residence.
Thus the low-lying parts of the mighty city of London became swamps, and the higher grounds were clad with bushes.