Brocavum is the Latin name of a Roman fort at Brougham near Penrith, Cumbria. [1] The fort survives as earthworks, but no excavation of these has been carried out so far.
Brocavum is the Latin name of a Roman fort at Brougham near Penrith, Cumbria. [1] The fort survives as earthworks, but no excavation of these has been carried out so far.
With the rivers Eamont and Lowther flowing nearby and meeting to the west, the site had natural defences. As well as two rivers, three Roman roads intersected at the fort: the York - Scotch Corner - Stainmore Pass - Brough under Stainmore - Kirkby Thore - Brougham route (along the present A66); the Manchester/Lancaster - Burrow-in-Lonsdale - Middleton - Low Borrow Bridge (Tebay) - Brougham route (along the present West Coast rail line); and the Glannaventa (Ravenglass) Roman port - Hardknott - Galava (Ambleside) - High Street - Brougham route. From Brocavum (Brougham), the road went north to Luguvallium (Carlisle) via Old Penrith (along the present A6). From late Flavian times (80sAD) onwards, there may also have been a road from Old Penrith and/or Brocavum westwards to Troutbeck, to an undiscovered fort at Keswick, to the fort at Papcastle, and on to Alauna (Maryport).
There was also a civilian settlement (part of which was excavated in 2008 during construction of a pipeline from Hackthorpe to Penrith), [2] and a cemetery (excavated in the 1960s), [3] the evidence from the latter suggesting that an East European (Danubian) contingent of people lived there.
Six dedications to the local deity Belatucadrus were discovered at Brougham, suggesting perhaps "that his worship was centred there". [4] It has been suggested that the focus of the Carvetii, a pre-Roman and Roman 'tribe' may have been nearby at Clifton Dykes. This may have been an additional factor, to the road and river ones mentioned above, in the positioning of the fort after the Roman conquest. [5]
The dating of the fort is uncertain, but an important role from an early date is thought to be likely. [6] The foundation date may be just after the revolt of Venutius in the early A.D.70s. An early-Flavian occupation is probable, even though the artefacts found in the excavation of the cemetery were from the second and third centuries A.D. [7]
The medieval Brougham Castle now occupies part of the site, which is in the care of English Heritage. It is known that stones from the Roman fort were used in the construction of the castle, as a Roman tombstone can be seen in a passageway in the keep, used as a ceiling slab. [8] The fort is scheduled as an Ancient Monument, along with the castle, as "Brougham Roman fort and Brougham Castle".
The Carvetii were a Brittonic Celtic tribe living in what is now Cumbria, in North-West England during the Iron Age, and were subsequently identified as a civitas (canton) of Roman Britain.
Penrith is a market town and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. It is less than 3 miles (5 km) outside the Lake District National Park and about 17 miles (27 km) south of Carlisle. It is between the Rivers Petteril and Eamont and just north of the River Lowther. The town had a population of 15,181 at the 2011 census. It is part of historic Cumberland.
The Eden Valley Railway (EVR) was a railway in Cumbria, England. It ran between Clifton Junction near Penrith and Kirkby Stephen via Appleby-in-Westmorland.
Birdoswald Roman Fort was known as Banna in Roman times, reflecting the geography of the site on a triangular spur of land bounded by cliffs to the south and east commanding a broad meander of the River Irthing in Cumbria below.
Clifton is a small linear village and civil parish in Cumbria, England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies 3 miles (4.8 km) south east of Penrith.
Brough, sometimes known as Brough under Stainmore, is a village and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness unitary authority of Cumbria, England, on the western fringe of the Pennines near Stainmore. The village is on the A66 trans-Pennine road, and the Swindale Beck, and is about 8 miles (13 km) south east of Appleby-in-Westmorland. Brough is situated 5 miles (8.0 km) north east of Kirkby Stephen and 28 miles (45 km) north east of Kendal on the A685.
Brougham is a small village and civil parish on the outskirts of Penrith in the Eden District of Cumbria, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 279, falling marginally to 277 at the 2011 Census.
Brough Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Brough, Cumbria, England. The castle was built by William Rufus around 1092 within the old Roman fort of Verterae to protect a key route through the Pennine Mountains. The initial motte and bailey castle was attacked and destroyed by the Scots in 1174 during the Great Revolt against Henry II. Rebuilt after the war, a square keep was constructed and the rest of the castle converted to stone.
The history of Cumbria as a county of England begins with the Local Government Act 1972. Its territory and constituent parts however have a long history under various other administrative and historic units of governance. Cumbria is an upland, coastal and rural area, with a history of invasions, migration and settlement, as well as battles and skirmishes between the English and the Scots.
Brougham Castle is a medieval building about 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of Penrith, Cumbria, England. The castle was founded by Robert I de Vieuxpont in the early 13th century. The site, near the confluence of the rivers Eamont and Lowther, had been chosen by the Romans for a Roman fort called Brocavum. The castle, along with the fort, is a scheduled monument: "Brougham Roman fort and Brougham Castle".
Ninekirks is the local name for St Ninian's church, Brougham, Cumbria. Dedicated to Saint Ninian, it was formerly the Anglican parish church for Brougham, a parish which is now combined with Clifton, a neighbouring village. It is preserved as a redundant church for its architectural interest, and presents a mainly seventeenth-century appearance. It has been known as Ninekirks since at least 1583.
Lavatrae , also known as Lavatris, was a Roman fort in the modern-day village of Bowes, County Durham, England. The medieval Bowes Castle was built within the perimeter of the fort.
Verterae was a Roman fort in the modern-day village of Brough, Cumbria, England. Occupied between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, it protected a key Roman road in the north of England. In the 11th century, Brough Castle was built on part of the site by the Normans. Archaeologists explored the remains during the 20th century, and it is now protected under UK law.
The history of medieval Cumbria has several points of interest. The region's status as a borderland coping with 400 years of warfare is one. The attitude of the English central government, at once uninterested and deeply interested, is another. As a border region, of geopolitical importance, Cumbria changed hands between the Angles, Norse, Strathclyde Brythons, Picts, Normans, Scots and English; and the emergence of the modern county is also worthy of study.
Derventio was a Roman settlement at Papcastle on the river Derwent near Cockermouth, Cumbria, England. It was the site of a Roman fort, which was originally built in timber and rebuilt in stone. There was also a civilian settlement (vicus). It is sometimes called Derventio Carvetiorum by modern writers to distinguish it from other places named Derventio, but there is no evidence of that extended name being used in the Roman period.
The Maiden Way or Maidenway was a roughly 20-mile (32 km) Roman road in northern Britain connecting the Roman fort of Bravoniacum near Penrith with that of Magnis (Carvoran) on Hadrian's Wall, via the intermediate fort of Epiacum roughly half-way between the two. The Maiden Way was sometimes considered also to have run east along the Stanegate to Banna (Birdoswald), then 7 miles (11 km) north to the Shrine of Cocidius (Bewcastle), and thence to Liddesdale, but the zig-zag identity of this course as a single road is problematic.
Roman Cumbria was an area that lay on the north-west frontier of Roman Britain, and, indeed, of the Roman Empire itself.. Interest in the Roman occupation of the region lies in this frontier aspect: why did the Romans choose to occupy the north-west of England; why build a solid barrier in the north of the region ; why was the region so heavily militarised; to what extent were the native inhabitants "Romanised" compared to their compatriots in southern England?
Prehistoric Cumbria describes the English county of Cumbria prior to the Romans Period. This includes the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. As of 2010, 443 stone tools, 187 metal objects and 134 ceramic pots, have been unearthed in Cumbria. Likewise, various monuments, such as henges and stone circles, are widespread in the region. The survival of these monuments and objects has been influenced by processes such as the rise in sea levels on the west coast, erosion, deposition practices, industrial and agricultural development, and the changing interests and capabilities of antiquarians and archaeologists.
Over Burrow Roman Fort is the modern name given to a former Roman fort at Over Burrow, Lancashire in North West England. Today it is the site of the 18th-century country house Burrow Hall. The first castra is thought to have been founded in the first century AD within the Roman province of Britannia.
