Wroxeter Roman City

…And we’re back with the Romans. Wroxeter Roman City, or Viroconium, is just ten minutes’ drive down the road from where we’re staying in Meole Brace. We would have been there on the dot of 10 o’clock, but we got stuck behind an agricultural vehicle on the way, so it took us a little longer.

It was once the fourth largest* Roman city in England with a population of 15,000 – around the same size as Pompeii in Italy. It was originally built as a fort for a cohort of Thracian auxiliaries, on a strategic location to defend the Severn crossing on Watling Street – a major Roman Road that ran from Dover to the North. It was later increased in size as more legions arrived to attack Welsh tribes, and a town grew up around it. Its position on a main road, and access to Wales led to its increasing importance and size.   

After the Romans left, the city continued to be used for a short while, but as the local Cornovii tribe split in two, it (stop me if you’ve heard this before) fell into disuse, then the stones were used for local buildings, and the rest was buried and turned into farmland.

Most of the site remains unexcavated. The baths were first rediscovered in the 19^th century, and then further excavations took place in the 1960s and 70s. Unfortunately, much of which was uncovered has been damaged by exposure to the elements, so at the moment no further dig is expected. Instead, the site has been comprehensively surveyed in situ underground, using modern geophysics techniques. What is shown above ground is the remains of the substantial bathhouse, including the largest freestanding piece of Roman masonry in England, known as “The Old Work”. 

The baths

The old work

Also at the site, on the other side of Watling Street, is a reconstructed Roman house. This has been built using Roman techniques and materials, similar to what we saw in South Shields, and gives an idea of what life was like for an ordinary(!) wealthy upper middle-class Roman.

One of the things Romans did in England was grow vines for wine. Less than a mile down the road is a vineyard, not quite on the site of the Roman vineyard, but not far from it. The Wroxeter Roman Vineyard has been in business for over 30 years, and we tasted some of their wares before buying a bottle of Shropshire Gold.  

There’s also another English Heritage site nearby, so we stopped off at the ruins of Haughmond Abbey on the way back. This is yet another dissolved abbey dating from the 12^th century. As usual, there were plaques describing what we were seeing and abbey life. The abbey is set in the countryside, and our perambulations were observed by a bunch of bored-looking cows. 

*            1: London (Londinium)

              2: Colchester (Camulodunum)

              3: St Albans (Verulamium)