Fosse Way
Fosse Way | |
---|---|
Roman Road | |
Route information | |
Length | 230 mi (370 km) |
Time period | Roman Britain |
Venonis, Ratae Corieltauvorum | |
To | Lindum Colonia |
Location | |
Country | United Kingdom |
Road network | |
The Fosse Way was a
Toponym
The word Fosse is derived from the
Route
The road joined Akeman Street and Ermin Way at Cirencester, crossed Watling Street at Venonis (High Cross) south of Leicester, and joined Ermine Street at Lincoln.
The Antonine Itinerary (a 2nd-century Roman register of roads) includes the section between High Cross and Lincoln, and lists intermediate points at Verometo (Willoughby on the Wolds), Margiduno (Castle Hill near Bingham), Ad Pontem (East Stoke) and Crocolana (Brough).[3]
From Lincoln to Ilchester in Somerset, a distance of 182 miles (293 km), the route is never more than 6 miles (10 km) from a straight line.[4][5]
Preservation
Many sections of the Fosse Way form parts of modern roads and lanes, and parish, district or county boundaries, but some parts are now only accessible on foot.[6]
Several place names on the route have the suffix -cester or -chester, which is derived from
Lincoln to Leicester
Between Lincoln and
The alignment terminates at the
Leicester to Cirencester
South of
For 2 miles (3.2 km) the route of the Fosse Way is followed by a minor road, named Roman Road which, although single track, runs along a much wider and slightly domed strip of land with deep ditches either side (the
The junction of Fosse Way with Watling Street, now the A5, is at High Cross (Roman name Venonis).[12] Watling Street is the county boundary between Leicestershire and Warwickshire.
The Fosse Way follows the B4455 across Warwickshire, through Street Ashton, Stretton-under-Fosse, Brinklow, Bretford, Stretton-on-Dunsmore, Princethorpe and the site of a Roman town near Chesterton,[13] until it joins the A429 near the boundary with Gloucestershire. The route then follows the A429 through Stretton-on-Fosse, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, Northleach and Fossebridge, to Cirencester, where it crosses Akeman Street and Ermin Way.[14][15]
Cirencester to Bath
South of Cirencester the Fosse Way follows a short section of the
It passes near the
Bath to Ilchester
Between Bath and
The Fosse Way follows the A37 through Street-on-the-Fosse and Lydford-on-Fosse on a direct route to Ilchester. The route leaves the A37 north of the A303 junction just north of Ilchester, and follows a small track (previously part of the A37 from before the by-pass opened and broken by the present-day A372 and A303), before picking up the B3151 through the town. It leaves the B3151 onto Ilchester's High Street, then follows West Street and Roman Road, a minor road that was formerly part of the A303, towards the present-day A303 west of town.
The Roman road from Ilchester to Dorchester, Dorset continues on the line of A37 through Yeovil to the south east. Other minor Roman roads lead from Ilchester and Lydford-on-Fosse towards Street and the A39 route along the Polden Hills, leading to Roman salt works on the Somerset Levels, and ports at Combwich, Crandon Bridge and Highbridge.[19]
Ilchester to Exeter
After Ilchester the Fosse Way is followed by a section of the
The alignment leaves major roads after Petherton Bridge[21] over the River Parrett, and follows country lanes to Over Stratton and Dinnington, where in 2002 members of the Channel 4 television programme Time Team uncovered a mosaic next to the road.[22][23][24]
The route crosses a stream called Stretford Water, climbs the ridge, and follows a short section of the
The location of the end of the Fosse Way is uncertain. There are further alignments on the A358 at Ball's Farm and Musbury south of Axminster, which imply a Roman road did continue along the River Axe toward Axmouth and Seaton. These sections are labelled Fosse Way on Ordnance Survey maps.
The crossroads in Axminster was controlled by a Roman fort at
See also
- Fosseway Bitter
- Roman Britain
- Roman roads in Britain
- Crossings of the River Thames
Notes
- ISBN 9780521537773.
- ^ "The Fosse Way". Rural Roads. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ "Iter VIII". roadsofromanbritain.org. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ISBN 9781931882507.
- ISBN 9781107646902.
- ISBN 9781473837478.
- ^ "Following the Fosse Way through Nottinghamshire Archaeology and the A46" (PDF). Highways Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ McWhirr, A.D. "The Roman Road from Leicester to Mancetter" (PDF). Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ McWhirr, A.D. "The Roman Road from Leicester to Mancetter" (PDF). Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ Holbrook, Neil. "The Roman Period" (PDF). Cotswold Archaeology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ Holbrook, Neil. "The Roman Period" (PDF). Cotswold Archaeology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ Historic England. "High Cross Roman Settlement (337719)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ Warwickshire Scheduled Historic Monument Chesterton
- ISBN 9780195398755.
- ISBN 9781445611242.
- ^ "The Roman road known as the Foss(e) Way runs from Exeter to Lincoln, with sections running north-east and south-west from Cirencester". Heritage Gateway. Gloucestershire County Council.
- ^ G M Boumphrey, Along the Roman Roads, Allen & Unwin, London, 1935
- ^ Gathercole, Clare. "Shepton Mallet". Somerset Urban Archaeological Surveys. Somerset County Council. Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ Page, William. "Romano-British Somerset: Part 3, Other Locations". British History Online. Victoria County History. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ISBN 0-340-20116-9.
- ^ Petherton Bridge Archived 24 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Villa mosaic's secrets revealed". BBC News. BBC. 11 July 2006. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ "Dinnington, Somerset". Time Team. Channel 4. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ "Roman villa, Northfield Lane, Dinnington". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ "Roads of Chard". Combe St Nicholas. Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ "Mvridvnvm?". Roman Britain. Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
References
- Aston, M. & Burrow, I. (eds.) (1982) The Archaeology of Somerset: a review to 1500 AD, Taunton: Somerset County Council ISBN 0-86183-028-8
- Margary, I. D. (1955) Roman Roads in Britain: Vol.1, South of the Foss Way-Bristol Channel, 1st ed., London: Phoenix House, 255 p.
External links
- Roman Roads of Britain: Chapter 7: The Foss Way , Thomas Codrington (1903)