Monument Type(s):

• ROAD (Roman - 43 AD to 410 AD)

Summary

Roman road running from Wroxeter to Rutinium and Whitchurch and eventually to Chester.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA3325 - 1991 excavation at Heath Road, nr Whitchurch by SCCCAS (Site I)
• ESA4255 - 1930s Excavation at Wroxeter
• ESA4257 - 1976 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA4259 - 1991 WB on water mains work near Stanton upon Hine Heath by BUFAU
• ESA4742 - 1988 Evaluation, A5/A49 Shrewsbury Bypass by BUFAU
• ESA4744 - 1989-91 WBs/ Small Excavations, A5 Shrewsbury Bypass by SCCAS
• ESA4749 - 1989 Evaluation of Industrial Sites [A5 Bypass] by IGMT
• ESA5111 - 2002 WB on transfer main between Preston Brockhurst and Lee Brockhurst by BUFAU
• ESA5814 - 2004 Evaluation and WB at 14 & 16 Dodington, Whitchurch by Giffords
• ESA6406 - 2007 DBA and site visit to land at Prees Heath Common, Whitchurch by Cotwold Archaeology
• ESA71 - 1960 WB on redevelopment of Lloyds Bank, Watergate Street, Whitchurch by SAHS
• ESA89 - 1993 WB on test pits in High Street, Whitchurch by SCCAS
• ESA6978 - 1989 WB near Holloway, Weston-under-Redcastle by SCCAS
• ESA6777 - 1994-5 field walking survey at Withington (Wroxeter Hinterland Project Location 23) by BUFAU
• ESA5030 - 1993 evaluation of land to N of Moreton Corbet by Lancaster University Archaeological Unit
• ESA8181 - 2017 WB on new agricultural access to land off Chester Road, Whitchurch, Shropshire by Castlering Archaeology (Ref: 16/00833/FUL)
• ESA8197 - 1996 WB on pipeline at Prees Green, Shropshire by BUFAU
• ESA8507 - 1959 Trench across Roman Road, N of Raven Inn, Prees by Graham Webster
• ESA8524 - 2018 Trial trenching at Poynton Road, Shawbury by SLR Consulting (Ref: 17/03698/FUL)
• ESA9499 - 1960 excavations of Roman Road at Pepper Mill Bank by A W J Houghton
• ESA10245 - 2023 Trial trenching on land at Myttons Solar Farm, Roden by Archaeology Warwickshire (Ref: TWC/2020/0851)

Description

Roman road running from Wroxeter to Rutinium and Whitchurch and eventually to Chester. The road surface was found at a depth of 9ft from the present surface at SJ5420 4147 during investigations carried out in 1960 when the new Lloyds Bank Whitchurch was about to be built. An eroded NE edge was exposed over a distance of 100ft. It was constructed of close rammed cobble stones…and was not more than 12 to 14 ins in thickness. It lay upon the natural sandy subsoil and on its surface was found a dupondius of Vespasian in fine condition <11>

Its crossing of the River Severn at Duncote at cSJ571 114 was included in an evaluation and proposals document on the effect of the A5 Bypass on Duncote, and investigation was recommended for the area to be affected by the road works. <13>

The modern OS 25in scale map depicts six lengths of surviving agger from SJ557 237 at Moreton Corbet to SJ555 298 S of Prees Green. <14>

Salvage recording during the construction of the Whitchurch By Pass in February-March 1991 demonstrated that the present day Heath Road, Whitchurch (SJ551 395) overlies PRN 00066, of which a strip up to 3m wide survived alongside the western edge of the modern road. The ditches and pebble yards of a Romano-British settlement (PRN 04288) appeared alongside the road shortly after its construction. …the northern limit of the settlement ..(was) marked by a stream, apparently forded by the Roman road. <15>

A watching brief was carried out in 1991 on the cutting of a water main trench near Stanton upon Hine Heath where it cut the postulated line of the road. At SJ558 256, Area I, just S of Papermill Bank, a 150m section of trench was monitored. Ground observation had raised the possibility that the Roam road followed the second river terrace at this point, skirting the flood prone river valley…However, nothing that might represent the remains of the road was observed. This may have been due to the considerable plough erosion of top soil found in this area. At SJ556 268, Area III, c 250m of trench were watched. Some evidence for a 3.5m wide track, F1, was found, which may represent a restatement of an earlier, possibly Roman course. Inspection was also made of a zone of concentrated pebbles encountered by the workmen at SJ 553 256, Area II, west of the River Roden. This was unlikely to be the Roman Road, as earthwork evidence indicated ran east of the river, and a 30m long excavation parallel to the pipe trench confirmed that the pebbles were probably a glacial deposit. <16>

Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1, Medium score as one of 11 Roman Roads. <21>

On the 7th of April 1993, three test pits were excavated by the County Surveyor's Dept along the east side of the High St, Whitchurch, which is thought to follow the line of PRN 00066. Of the three test pits, only in the southernmost, adjacent to the corner of the TSB, were any significant archaeological deposits visible. Beneath the tarmac and hardcore of the present road, a succession of three cobbles surfaces were revealed. Their depth in relation to the present road surface and the sole plates and sleeper walls of post-medieval timber framed buildings on the street frontage suggested that they were medieval or earlier. They were similar in both construction and material to those of PRN 00066 as seen at the excavations at Heath Road c 2.5km to the south. <23>

CMHTS Comment [Wroxeter]: The North road running to Whitchurch (Mediolanum) is completely masked at the Wroxeter end by the modern road running to Norton and Atcham Industrial Estate. Wright located part of the road in 1862 (1852?) [PRN 06420]. This road is Margary 6a [<24>] ->

-> The street forms part of the Roman fortress and civilian settlement, and part of the later civitas capital. It remained in use in the post Roman period and relates to the early medieval urban form [PRN 06495]. <25>

CMHTS Report. <26>

Watching brief recommended on section of road at SJ57121155, threatened by A5 Shrewsbury Bypass in 1988. <27>

The road is thought to have crossed the River Tern at Duncote Farm (NGR SJ 571 115), where Roman masonry has been dredged from the river. There are stretches of possible agger on the north side of the river and a cutting on the river terrace marking the road's approach from the south. No traces of the road or of the river crossing were seen either during the Ironbridge Institute's excavations or during the watching brief [during the construction of the A5]. This is not conclusive evidence that the road and the river crossing should be sought elsewhere. The northern approach would certainly not have survived alterations to the course of the River Tern in the 1930s, and the southern approach may well have lain outside the road corridor. <28><28a>

A survey exercise by Ironbridge Institute students at the Duncote Mill site [PRN 04320] observed no apparent evidence for the Roman road, but noted a road cutting on the eastern bluff of the river which could represent a later road on the same alignment. The report argues that the previous sharp alignment of the river (since straightened) at this point, which appears to have been in existence very early (since the parish boundary follows it), may have originally been caused by the presence of an agger (possibly a substantial one leading to a bridge) acting as a dam. If so, then the river crossing would be expected in the area of the old mill pool. <29>

Watching brief carried out on the construction of a new water main from Preston Brockhurst to Lee Brockhurst in North Shropshire, in 2002. Monitoring was undertaken on the excavation of three launch pits for direct drilling on the pipeline route. The investigations revealed no evidence relating to the Roman road. It was not possible to date a ditch feature located in test pit 2 although it was possible to confirm that it did not relate to the Roman road. No artefactual material was recovered from the feature. <30>

In an evaluation of 14 & 16 Dodington, in Whitchurch, three evaluation trenches were sited to pick up the Roman road if it deviated at this point from the line of Dodington (as the evidence from the previous excavation at Lloyds Bank c150m to the NW [<11>] appeared to indicate it might). No trace of the road was seen in these trenches, but because of the extent of later deposits and cellaring encountered, this was not conclusive evidence of the road's course. <31>

A section of Roman road, presumed to be the Chester to Wroxeter road, was uncovered in 1962 [<33>]. <32>
Note: the reference above relates to work which is incorrectly located by <33> in Prees Parish. The work occurred near Wellington (ESA 4280). <33a>

Roman road located in section of trench near Holloway, Weston-Under-Redcastle. <34>

The line of the Roman road running past the western boundary of Whitchurch Rugby and Hockey Club was assessed as part of a DBA carried out in 2011. The line of the B5395 is generally at a level which is significantly below that of the surrounding ground. It is possible that the modern road has adopted a medieval or later holloway at this point, although there is no evidence to suggest the level or exact alignment of the Roman road. <35>

The agger of the Road is visible as a clear earthwork on LiDAR running for some distance N of Moreton Corbett, from c. SJ 5579 2346 to c. SJ 5566 2676. <36>

A programme of desk-based assessment, a field walking survey and trial trenching was carried out on an area of land at Moreton Corbet in November 1993, which was crossed by the Roman Road. The agger of the road was observed as a broad bank crossing the area from NE to SW. No particular concentration of finds was noted in the fieldwalking. Three trenches, D, E and R were placed adjacent to the east and west of the road earthwork to look for possible ribbon development; all three trenches recorded signs of deep ploughing and extensive modern drainage, but no indication of any archaeological levels. <37>

A watching brief was carried out in 2017 during the groundworks for a new agricultural access adjacent to Chester Road, Whitchurch (centred on SJ 53075 42278), the line of which preserves the line of the Roman road, The excavations were minimal and no archaeological finds or features were recorded. <38>

A watching brief was undertaken in 1996 during excavations by Severn Trent for a pipeline which crossed the recorded alignment of the Roman road (centred on SJ 555 308). This alignment, slightly to the west of the B5065 had not been previously archaeologically tested. No evidence related to the Roman road was recorded. The alignment may have run directly under the modern road (not monitored) or outwith the area of the watching brief. <39>

A partial section was cut in 1959 across this road to the north of the Raven Inn. Only the western edge of the Roman road, together with a marginal ditch, was found and it is clear that the modern road has removed much of the original agger. <40>

Two trial trenches were excavated to investigate the postulated line of the Roman Road from Wroxeter to Rutinium, Whitchurch and Chester [PRN 00066] across a development site to the S of Shawbury in February 2018. The trial trenching failed to identify any features associated with the agger of a Roman road, or with a feature previously identified in geophysical survey across this area (ESA 8253); it is suggested that the line of the Roman road here runs under the modern Poynton Road. Analysis of LiDAR suggests that the line of the Roman Road may be visible to the S of the site. <41>

Material held by Historic England Archive. Ordnance Survey Linear File (RR6a). <42>

Excavation by the Roman Shropshire Research Group in 1960 at Paper Mill Bank (SJ 557 261). This identified an eroded agger on the W side of the holloway leading up the slope. <43>

A review of LiDAR imagery was undertaken. Earthwork remains of the agger of RR6a are visible on LiDAR between SJ5712412016 and SJ5710113838, SJ5692216162 and SJ5632918572, SJ5580023476 and SJ5569425548, and SJ5546528596 and SJ5562731039. Also includes extracts from the OS Roman Road files and Ordnance Survey Strip Maps for the route. <45>

In 2023 an archaeological evaluation was undertaken ahead of the installation of a solar farm on land to the north-west of Roden. A geophysical survey (ESA9357 <46>) had revealed few potential archaeological features, despite the Roman road from Wroxeter to Chester crossing the site’s south-east corner, with the line clearly visible on LiDAR imagery of the area. ->

-> The remains of the road were uncovered in three trenches, where it survived as a metalled surface, with ditches flanking some sections of it. The surface was best preserved in one trench, where it appeared to have been maintained and remained in use as a track into the 19th century. It was not so well preserved in the other two trenches, where it seemed to have been disturbed by the creation of a boundary that followed its line until the late 19th century. ->

-> In Trench 108 the road consisted of a metalled surface constructed from frequent rounded stones and fragments of slag, with occasional angular stones and iron fragments also present. At its widest point it was 3.40m wide and ranged in depth from 0.22m to 0.40m. The road sat within a shallow irregular hollow, overlaid by clay layer, sandy silt layer, and pebbly silt layer, the later contained a small and very abraded sherd of probable Roman Grey Ware pottery. The slag recovered from the metalled surface may be post-medieval or later. The road was flanked by ditches on the east and west, with steep sides and a rounded base. ->

-> Trench 101 was laid across the line of the road, and here it consisted of a spread of medium-large pebbles in a dark brownish grey clayey silt and a concentration of small-medium rounded pebbles in a greyish brown sandy silt. Both had unclear edges, but appeared to be roughly NNW-SSE oriented and were probably the metalled surface of the road. ->

-> Trench 96 was positioned at the southern end of the road within the Site, and it contained two spreads of small-medium pebbles in very compacted silty loam. Both had depths of around 0.10m and appeared to be the surviving metalled surface of the road. A ditch, was situated directly to the west of spread 9604 and may be a flanking ditch for the road, or part of the later boundary. <47>

Sources

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