Location :
Northumberland, County Durham
Greater Willington, Brandon and Byshottles, Stocksfield, Broomhaugh and Riding, Greencroft, Corbridge, Shotley Low Quarter, Lanchester, Esh, Brancepeth
Non Civil Parish
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More information : Dere Street. RR 8d Roman Road. Binchester - Corbridge.
The road left Binchester (NZ 23 SW 16) in a north-westerly direction across the River Wear to Hunwick but its course is not visible. The road towards Willington follows the course, but just before the village it bears away and a short piece of agger appears in a field on its north side. Here the branch road RR 83 LINEAR 295) diverged north-eastward towards Durham.
A side street called Watling Terrace marks the course for a few yards, after which it runs across country, soon turning from east of north to due north. Approaching Oakenshaw it is marked by a track and hedgerows, and elsewhere there are faint traces of the agger, particularly near West Brandon Farm, where a formerly large agger across a golf course has now been ploughed and visible only as a faint swelling. Beyond Hill House, field walls and a cart track mark the course and the agger is faintly visible. On reaching the edge of Rag Path Wood, the road turns sharply to the north-west and slants down the hillside as a terrace, now a hollow way.
Beyond the valley the road climbed direct through the fields to Heugh Farm and to the hamlet of Quebec, where it joined the present road. East of Willy Hill it shows plainly in the fields east of the present road as a large spread agger, some 1-2 feet high, until it joins the road again as far as Square House. Beyond here, mining has destroyed it and the course is not traceable, except for hedgerows, to the Roman fort at Lanchester (NZ 14 NE 4); it seems likely that the road passed outside the south wall of the fort.
Beyond this there are traces at some points in the fields between Newbiggin and Lanchester. As it approaches and crosses the present road near Low Woodside, it is followed by hedges with traces of agger, this line is very plain up to where the modern road rejoins it at Iveston. The course then runs very straight to Leadgate and Brown Hill, where a slight turn to the north was made. It then continues very straight and down the steep hill into Ebchester fort (NZ 15 NW 6).
Beyond the River Derwent the course is not clear, partly owing to mining. At Morrowfield the present road follows it upon a single alignment to beyond Whittonstall. At Apperley Dene the old road lay to the west, terraced up on the hillside. Its structure was examined here and found to be 22 feet wide with a heavy kerb of sandstone blocks on the eastern, downhill side, although damaged and lacking its surface layer.
Where the present road bends east to pass through Broomley, the agger can be seen in places as a low swelling across the fields until the road rejoins it. At the descent into the Tyne valley at Riding Mill the road passes through a pine wood where the agger is some 40 feet wide and 2 feet high, below the present road. On the north side of the village street the cobbles and kerbs were revealed in digging a gas-main trench.
Beyond Farnley the old road lies a little to the south of the modern road, and can be traced at some points through the fields. Then it turns down the hillside to cross Dilston Haughs by the cemetery to the site of the Roman bridge over the Tyne ( NY 96 SE 40 ) and the fort at Corbridge ( NY 96 SE 20).
The Antonine Iter I follows this road and the distances given are in good agreement with the actual mileage. (1)
See Linear Archive File for further details.
(2)
The site described by authorities 1-2 has been mapped for the Durham Magnesian Limestone Durham NMP project. A small section of the road is visible as a cropmark centred at NZ 2076 3147, heading in a north westerly direction from Binchester Roman Fort (NZ 23 SW 16) and measuring approximately 175m. Another section of the road can be seen to the south going into the fort, running along the same axis. This section is visible as an cropmark bank centred at NZ 2105 3127 and measures approximately 182m in length and 4m wide.
(3-4)
Air photographs taken in 2006 show the Dere Street clearly as cropmarks just to the south of the River Tyne and Corbridge Roman town. Both the agger of the road and its bounding ditches are intermittantly visible across 2 fields from NY 9846 6311 to NY 9819 6411. There maybe traces of the agger showing in a third field immediately to the south of the river, centred at NY 9810 6426. A second road appears to join with Dere Stree from the east, this has been recorded separately in record 1462046. (5-6)
Located on the English Heritage map of Hadrian's Wall 2010. (7)
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