Wroxeter
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2009) |
Wroxeter (
Viroconium Cornoviorum, the fourth largest city in Roman Britain, was sited here, and is gradually being excavated.
The village contains one of Shropshire's commercial vineyards.
History
Roman Wroxeter, near the end of the
Archaeology has shown that the site of the later city first was established about AD 55 as a frontier post for a
The local British tribe of the Cornovii had their original capital (also thought to have been named *Uiroconion) at the
This legion XIV Gemina was later replaced by the Legio XX Valeria Victrix which in turn relocated to Chester around AD 88. As the military abandoned the fortress the site was taken over by the Cornovians' civilian settlement.
The name of the settlement, meaning "Viroconium of the
Viroconium prospered over the next century, with the construction of many public buildings, including thermae and a colonnaded forum. At its peak, it is thought to have been the 4th-largest settlement in Roman Britain, with a population of more than 15,000.[5]
The Roman city is first documented in Ptolemy's 2nd century Geography as one of the cities of the Cornovii tribe, along with Chester (Deva Victrix).
Following the
N. J. Higham proposes that Wroxeter became the eponymous capital of an early sub-Roman kingdom known as the Wrocensaete, which he asserts was the successor territorial unit to Cornovia. The literal meaning of Wrocensaete is 'those dwelling at Wrocen', which Higham interprets as Wroxeter. It may refer quite specifically to the royal court itself, in the first instance, and only by extension to the territory administered from the court.[9]
The Roman city was rediscovered in 1859 when workmen began excavating the baths complex.[10][14] A replica Roman villa was constructed in 2010 for a Channel 4 television programme called Rome Wasn't Built in a Day and was opened to the public on 19 February 2011.[15]
On 1 April 1986 the parish was abolished and merged with Uppington to form "Uppington & Wroxeter".[16]
St Andrew's
At the centre of Wroxeter village is
St. Andrew's was declared redundant in 1980 and is now managed by The Churches Conservation Trust. St. Andrew's parish is now united with that of St. Mary, Eaton Constantine.[19]
Literary reference
A. E. Housman visited the site and was impressed enough to write of "when Uricon the city stood", the poem ending "Today the Roman and his trouble Are ashes under Uricon."[20]
Bernard Cornwell has the main character of The Saxon Stories visit Wroxeter in Death of Kings, referring to it as an ancient Roman city that was "as big as London" and using it as an illustration of his pagan beliefs that the World will end in chaos.[21]
Sport
The village previously had a football team named Wroxeter Rovers. In 2017, the club relocated to nearby Shrewsbury and was renamed to Shrewsbury Juniors, in order to provide a senior football team for children progressing through the club's junior football system to take part in after the age of 16–17.[citation needed] The club were champions of the Shropshire County League Premier Division in 2020-21.
See also
References
- A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ISBN 0713472545, pp. 49–53
- ISBN 978-2-87772-483-8.
- ISBN 978-3-89500-136-9.
- ISBN 0-7102-1215-1.
- ^ Newman, John Henry & al. Lives of the English Saints: St. German, Bishop of Auxerre, Ch. X: "Britain in 429, A. D.", p. 92. James Toovey (London), 1844.
- ^ Ford, David Nash. "The 28 Cities of Britain" at Britannia. 2000.
- ^ Nennius (attrib.). Theodor Mommsen (ed.). Historia Brittonum, VI. Composed after AD 830. (in Latin) Hosted at Latin Wikisource.
- ISBN 0-7190-3160-5.
- ^ English Heritage: Wroxeter Roman City
- ^ Barker, P., Bird, H., Corbishley, M., Pretty, K., White, R. (1997) The Baths Basilica Wroxeter Excavations: 1966–90. English Heritage
- ^ Chadderton, J., Webster, G. (2002) The Legionary Fortress at Wroxeter: Excavations by Graham Webster, 1955–85. English Heritage
- ^ Ellis, P. (2000) The Roman Baths and Macellum at Wroxeter Excavations 1955–85. English Heritage
- ^ English Heritage has recently published a series of monographs on the excavations at Wroxeter from the 1950s to 1990s[11][12][13] These are available through the Archaeology Data Service.
- ^ BBC News Reconstructed Roman villa unveiled at Wroxeter
- ^ "Shrewsbury Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ Pevsner, Nicholas, Shropshire, 1958, p. 327
- ^ Aston & Bond, 1976, page 53
- ^ Archbishops' Council (2010). "Eaton Constantine S.Mary, Eaton Constantine". A Church Near You. Church of England. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- ^ A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, poem XXXI, 1896
- ^ Bernard Cornwell, Death of Kings, Part Two – "Angels", 2012
Further reading
- Aston, Michael; Bond, James (1976). The Landscape of Towns. Archaeology in the Field Series. London: ISBN 0-460-04194-0.