Roman Middlewich c 150AD - 250AD - Middlewich, UK
Posted by: dtrebilc
N 53° 11.572 W 002° 26.615
30U E 537174 N 5893870
This information board on the banks of the Trent & Mersey Canal is one of a series with information about the Roman occupation of this important salt town.
Waymark Code: WMW156
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/25/2017
Views: 0
There are information boards along the canal and in the town centre. As well as information about the Roman occupation each board has two aerial views of the area. One map is a modern aerial photograph showing where you are in modern times, and a second aerial view drawing showing where you would have been in the Roman times.
There is also a timeline of Roman occupation in the area on the board.
Although the Trent & Mersey Canal was only built in 1777, at this part of its route it runs very close to the River Croco and so locations on the canal map very closely to the original river locations.
Roman Middlewich
Piecing the past together
The Roman Middlewich Project is a partnership between Cheshire County Council, Congleton Borough Council, Middlewich Town Council, Middlewich Heritage Society, Gifford and Partners Consulting Engineers and is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund with assistance from English Heritage.
Roman Middlewich c.150-c.250AD
The Roman army moved away from Middlewich early in the 2nd Century AD.
However the site of the fort (now dismantled) at Harbutt's Field appears to have been set aside and reserved for the temporary housing of troops passing through the area on their way to northern Britain. In its wake, a large saltworking settlement gradually developed along King Street. This was known as either CONDATE ('at the joining of the rivers') or SALINAE ('saltworks') - historians still argue the choice. This town reached its heyday in the period between c.150AD and the early 3rd Century AD
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The Roman army has left Middlewich and the area is now taken over by the large saltworks settlement which has developed either side of the main road (now King Street) heading northward for the Mersey crossing at Warrington. The British community still flourishes in the neighbourhood although it has become increasingly 'Romanised' in its way of life. Cultural differences between Roman and Briton have almost disappeared.
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43 AD |
Roman Invasion of Britain
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48 AD |
Temporary camp built in Middlewich by the Roman army |
70 AD | permanent fort built in Middlewich for an auxiliary regiment of the Roman army |
c.130 AD | Midddlewich fort dismantled |
150-250 AD | Middlewich dominated by saltworks |
300 AD |
Saltworks have declined but Middlewich remains a major crossroads |
c.350AD |
Middlewich saltworks under church control? | |
c.400 - 450 AD |
End of Roman Britain |