Details

The monument includes the buried remains of those parts of the late first/
early second century AD Roman fort at Nether Denton which do not underlie St
Cuthbert's Church and its churchyard, together with the fort's associated
civilian settlement or vicus and a length of the Stanegate Roman road which
runs through part of the vicus. The fort is located on a hilltop overlooking a
bend in the River Irthing whilst the vicus, which remained in occupation after
the fort had been abandoned, lies on lower ground to the south and south west.
Although no surface remains are visible, recent aerial photography together
with a combination of 19th and 20th century chance finds, antiquarian
investigation and limited excavation, has shown that a fort measuring
approximately 200m by 160m and defended by a turf rampart and outer ditch was
constructed on the hilltop overlooking the Irthing. The rampart still survives
as a buried feature up to 9m wide and 1.5m high. The fort was later reduced in
size by the abandonment of its southern half. Strategically Nether Denton
Roman fort formed part of the Stanegate frontier system which operated by
transforming a military road, in this case the Roman road between Carlisle
and Corbridge, into a frontier road by the building of numerous forts along
its length. Once completed the Stanegate frontier ran from the fort at
Kirkbride on the Cumbrian coast to the fort at Washing Well on the south bank
of the River Tyne, and was supplemented by a number of manned watch towers to
the north from where signals could be relayed back to some of the forts. This
Roman frontier was later superseded by Hadrian's Wall, the building of which
commenced in 122 AD, and Nether Denton fort is considered to have been
abandoned once Hadrian's Wall became operational.
Aerial photographs also clearly show crop marks representing the buried
remains of the civilian settlement and the Stanegate to the south west of the
fort, together with lengths of other branch roads to the south and west of the
fort and a short length of the branch road connecting the earlier fort's east
gate to the Stanegate. Building plots and land subdivisions within the vicus
can also be clearly seen on the aerial photographs. Pottery found within the
vicus indicates occupation lasting into the second half of the second century.
A number of features are excluded from the scheduling; these are Church Hill
House and The Rectory and all associated outbuildings, all modern walls and
fences, the surfaces of all access drives and paths, the surfaces of all
cobbled and flagged areas, all telegraph poles and gateposts, all septic
tanks, the brick supports for an oil tank and the concrete pads for propane
gas holders; the ground beneath all these features is, however, included.
St Cuthbert's Church and graveyard are totally excluded from the scheduling.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Hadrian's Wall marks one of the frontiers of the Roman Empire. The
international importance of the surviving remains has been recognised through
designation as a World Heritage Site.
The military importance of the Tyne-Solway route across the Pennines was
recognised by the Romans during their early campaigns through northern England
and into Scotland in the second half of the first century AD. At this time a
military road, the Stanegate, was constructed along with a series of forts.
Subsequently the Romans largely withdrew from Scotland and there is evidence
that the Tyne-Solway route was being recognised as a frontier by the start of
the second century AD. This position was consolidated in the early second
century by the construction of a substantial frontier work, Hadrian's Wall,
under the orders of the Emperor Hadrian. Hadrian's successor, Antoninus Pius,
subsequently attempted to establish the boundary further north, between the
Clyde and the Firth of Forth, but by c.AD 160 growing unrest amongst the
native populations of northern Britain and pressures elsewhere in the Empire
caused a retraction back to the Hadrianic line. Hadrian's Wall was then the
frontier of the Roman Empire in Britain until c.AD 400 when the Roman armies
withdrew from Britain.
Stretching over 70 miles from coast to coast, Hadrian's Wall was a continuous
barrier built of stone in the east and, initially, of turf in the west. The
stone wall was originally designed to be ten Roman feet wide and sections of
this width are termed broad wall. A change of plan shortly after construction
began led to a reduction in the width of the Wall to eight Roman feet, such
sections being termed narrow wall. Today, stretches of both wall types
survive, including some sections of narrow wall built on broad wall
foundations. For most of its length a substantial ditch on the northern side
provided additional defence. Where the Wall crossed rivers, bridges were
constructed to carry it across. Construction of the Wall was organised and
executed by legionary soldiers.
From the beginning the barrier was planned to comprise more than just a
curtain wall. At regularly spaced intervals of about a mile along its length
lay small walled fortlets known as milecastles. These were attached to the
southern side of the Wall and most had a gateway through the Wall to the
north. Hence they controlled crossing points through the Wall as well as
affording space for a small stable garrison. Between the milecastles were two
equally spaced towers known as turrets. Together the milecastles and turrets
provided bases from which the curtain wall could be watched and patrolled.
Both the turrets and milecastles are thought to have been higher than the Wall
itself to provide suitable observation points. It is often assumed that a
platform existed on the Wall so that troops could actually patrol along the
wall top; it is however far from certain that this was the case.
At the western end of the Wall a system of towers, small fortlets and palisade
fences extended the frontier system another 30 miles or so down the Cumbrian
coast and helped control shipping moving across the estuary of the Solway
Firth.
As originally planned, and apart from whatever space there was in the
milecastles, provision for the accommodation of garrison troops manning the
Wall was left with the line of forts which already lay along the Stanegate. At
some point a fundamental change of plan took place and forts were constructed
along the line of the Wall itself. There are now known to have been 16 forts
either attached to the Wall or in close association with it. Some overlay
earlier features such as turrets or milecastles. At this stage another linear
element, the vallum, was also added to the defensive system to the south of
the Wall. This was a broad flat-bottomed ditch flanked by a pair of linear
banks. It shadows the course of the Wall for almost all its length, sometimes
lying very close to it but sometimes up to a kilometre away from it. The
vallum's main function was to act as a barrier to restrict access to the Wall
from the south. It also had a function in linking the forts along the Wall
with a method of lateral communication. When the forts were placed along the
wall line no provision was made for a road to link them. This situation was
clearly found impracticable and a metalled track was therefore provided in
places along the vallum between the north mound and the ditch.
Later, after the withdrawal back to the Hadrianic line from the Antonine Wall,
various refurbishments were made throughout the frontier line. At this stage a
new linear feature was added: the `Military Way'. This was a road linking
all elements of the Wall defence, running from fort to fort within the area
bounded by the Wall and the vallum.
Throughout its long history the Wall was not always well maintained. It was
often neglected and sometimes overrun, but it remained in use until the late
fourth century when a weak and divided Roman Empire finally withdrew its
armies from the Wall and Britain.
It now survives in various states of preservation. In places, especially in
the central section, the Stone Wall still remains several courses high and the
attached forts, turrets and milecastles are also clearly indentifiable.
Earthwork features such as the ditch, vallum and Military Way also survive
well in places. Elsewhere the Stone Wall has been virtually robbed out and
only its foundations survive beneath the present ground surface. Similarly,
stretches of the earthwork remains, including sections of the Turf Wall, have
been levelled or infilled and now only survive as buried features. Although
some sections of the frontier system no longer survive visibly, sufficient
evidence does exist for its position to be fairly accurately identified
throughout most of its length.
The Stanegate military road linked Corbridge and Carlisle, both of which were
also situated on important north-south routeways. It also extended west of
Carlisle towards the Cumbrian coast. The construction of a series of forts
along the road line allowed many troops to be stationed in this crucial
frontier zone and ensured that the area could be closely patrolled. A series
of smaller watch towers were also built to help frontier control. The
Stanegate frontier was consolidated during the late first and early second
century AD and helped crystallise Roman tactics and military expectations in
the area. The function of the Stanegate road and its forts was changed by the
building of Hadrian's Wall. Initially at least, the Stanegate's support
function was enhanced, but as the new frontier line became more fully
established its strategic importance declined.

The attached vicus would have comprised a cluster of buildings such as
domestic residences, workshops, shops and temples, together with roads,
trackways, enclosures, fields and garden plots. Such vici were similar to
contemporary small towns although they lacked the planned street grid normally
evident in the latter. Normally they also lacked the defences surrounding the
small towns. Unlike other towns the vici were probably administered by the
military authorities rather than being self-governing. The close juxtaposition
of the fort and vicus allows the civilian communities to be investigated. In
this instance the close proximity of the site to the Roman frontier was
probably of considerable contemporary importance and activities within the
vicus are thought to have been closely linked to wider activities within the
frontier region.
Roman roads were the first artificially made-up routes in Britain and were
introduced by the Roman army from approximately 43 AD. They facilitated both
the conquest of the province and its administration. Additionally Roman roads
acted as commercial routes and became foci for settlement and industry. They
provide important evidence of Roman engineering skills as well as the pattern
of conquest and settlement.
A combination of chance finds, antiquarian investigation, limited excavation
and aerial photography have shown that buried remains of Nether Denton Roman
fort, its associated vicus and a length of the Stanegate Roman road survive
well and extensively. The monument will contain considerable information about
its origin and form and will contribute greatly to any further study of Roman
frontier defences. Additionally the monument is a rare example of a civilian
settlement which remained in occupation after the abandonment of its
associated fort.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Higham, N, Jones, B, The Carvetti, (1985), 62-3
Manchester University, , Nether Denton
Manchester University, , Nether Denton
Shipman, T T, 'Trans Cumb and West Antiq and Arch Soc. Old Ser.' in The Recently Discovered Remains at Nether Denton Parsonage, , Vol. I, (1869), 88-93
Simpson, F G, St Joseph, K, 'Trans Cumb and West Antiq and Arch Soc. New Ser.' in Report of the Cumberland Excavation Committee for 1933, , Vol. XXXIV, (1934), 152-4

Source: Historic England