Tag: Roman roads

Rambling around Ryknild

On By SteveIn Places, Road users, Walks and walkersLeave a comment

Ryknild Street was the only long-distance Roman road that crossed Derbyshire, coming from Lichfield to the camp at Little Chester and then on to Chesterfield. Part of its route is still used today, notably the A61 from Higham through Stretton and Clay Cross to Chesterfield. There is little trace of the first part, through Breadsall and up to Brackley Gate, but then the route is picked up by Golden Valley and runs very straight to Smithy Houses and Street Lane. This last name, of course, and the village of Stretton, are reminders that Roman roads were always ‘streets’. Ryknild Street is the name given on the OS map, but there are many variations of the spelling, and this name was almost certainly not used by the Romans. The map above, of the area around Pentrich, is one place where public footpaths give access to the line of the road.

There’s a road here somewhere

The footpath due west from Pentrich Church crosses the line of the old road at the top of a rise, and the raised platform for the road (known as an ‘agar’) can be just made out in the grass. Following this line north you come to another section of path which runs alongside a hedge – this is one of the few places Ryknild Street can actually be followed (see lower photo). On the other side of Riley Lane there is no trace of the road as it runs through ploughed fields east of Coneygrey Farm. However, just west of the road’s course, on Castle Hill, is what the OS map calls a ‘Roman Fortlet’.

The view is worth the climb

Roughly half-way between Little Chester and Chesterfield, this fort might have offered some shelter to road users but was unlikely to be manned regularly. It can be reached by climbing the quite steep bank from the Oakerthorpe road, but the view from the top is brilliant, and shows that the road builders were keeping to high ground, well away from the Amber floodplain to the west. Possibly they were just upgrading an older route which followed the ridge?

All roads lead to ….

One obvious question is why such well-built roads as the Romans constructed were allowed to go out of use? Of course, in places they were maintained and improved, such as the modern A38 from Lichfield to Derby but other areas such as this may have preferred older routes, or have been unable to organise maintenance, for instance when trees were blown down or drains and culverts became blocked.

For a detailed report on the fortlet see:

https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=f222bde9-7683-4e90-a7e0-16414ecf2cc2&resourceID=19191

The ridgeway rumpus

On By SteveIn Prehistory1 Comment
The road(s) to Buxton

The OS map of the area north of Newhaven shows how popular this route has been for transport: the modern A515 follows the line of the eighteenth-century turnpike; the Midshires Way runs along the route of the Cromford and High Peak Railway, while the Roman road (The Street) runs a little to the east of this. All of these are following the high ridge between Newhaven and Buxton, avoiding the valleys on either side. It seems a classic example of a ridgeway, which have been generally seen as long-distance travel routes, with well-known examples in the south of England such as the Icknield Way, running south west from Norfolk towards Avebury, the western section now simply called ‘The Ridgeway’.

Walking the Ridgeway

It is suggested that ridgeway routes were developed in prehistoric times for long-distance travel, since their route involved fewer descents into boggy river valleys, while higher ground was less densely wooded and gave travelers a better view of landmarks ahead. Moreover, there seem to be many prehistoric remains such as hillforts or tumuli near these routes, further justifying their existence. In many cases the Romans seem to have taken over these routes and engineered them to their standards. However, other prehistorians claim that the ridgeways which have survived owe their survival to being in remote upland areas, and that modern aerial photography shows evidence of wide prehistoric settlement, not only on the higher ground. Some also argue that there is no evidence that the ridgeways are prehistoric, and may well be medieval.

Minninglow, visible for miles around

In view of this debate it is worth looking at the line of the Roman road from Brassington to Buxton, part of which is shown on the map above. Not only are there many tumuli along the way – ancient burial mounds – but also a large number of ‘lows’: Slipper Low, Minninglow, Aleck Low, Arbor Low, Great Low, Brierlow and others. ‘Low’ is derived from Anglo-Saxon ‘hlaw’ meaning (confusingly) ‘high place’, and again was the site of burials, as can be seen at Minninglow. Added to the proximity of the Arbor Low henge – one of the largest in England – the evidence for a prehistoric date for this route appears convincing.

NB: Today there are hardly any rights of way along the Roman road, but the route can be roughly followed from the High Peak Trail.

All roads lead to ….?

On By SteveIn Places, Roadside featuresLeave a comment

A street in the ruins of Pompeii

Pompeii may provide us with a good idea of what a Roman road looked like. Until its destruction in 79 CE Pompeii was a medium-sized town with good public facilities such as baths and temples – and well-paved streets complete with raised pavements. The photo shows the ‘crazy paving’ surfacing, kerb stones and also the ruts worn in the stone by carts with iron-rimmed wheels. In the distance blocks can be seen in the roadway to allow pedestrians to cross without getting too muddy. Perhaps the most surprising feature is the narrowness of both road and pavement – you wonder what happened when two carts met, or was there a one-way system?

Burdett’s Derbyshire map of 1767 showing The Street north of Pike Hall

The Street, the Roman road that ran between Wirksworth and Buxton, is one of the best examples of a Roman road in Derbyshire. Clearly marked as such on Burdett’s map, it was still in use in the eighteenth century before the Ashbourne-Buxton turnpike was built, although today there is little visible evidence of its route. The Romans would have used whatever building material was available, so in the Peak District there was plentiful stone for foundations and kerbs, although the surface was probably something like gravel. Their roads were generally constructed on an agger, a raised platform about two or more metres wide.

Roman milestone found in Buxton. It gives the distance to Navio as 11 miles.

The Street has been thoroughly researched by the Wirksworth Archaeological Society and various sections have been excavated. There has been endless debate about the southern destination of this route, and their research establishes that it reached Wirksworth, although the route beyond is unknown. The excavations also found that the road was no wider than two metres in places, so it should be seen as a relatively minor route, just wide enough for one wheeled vehicle. Given the number of pre-Roman sites which lie next to the Street, such as Arbor Low and Minninglow, it seems that the Romans actually followed and engineered a prehistoric route rather than create a brand-new road.

The theory

Although it is claimed that some stretches of Roman road survive in the Peak, for example near the Snake Pass, in fact it is impossible to know if these fragments are medieval or earlier. In general, over the last two thousand years almost all traces have vanished, due to weathering (stone tends to sink into the ground under its own weight; ditches fill up) and robbery of stone for wall or barn building.

Source:

The Street: A re-evaluation of the Roman road from Buxton to Wirksworth.

Wirksworth Archaeological Society, 2019