Tagged: Saxon Shore
Richborough Guides
(1983)
The Department of the Environment (DOE) enhanced the former ‘paper’ guides issued by the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works (e.g. Lullingstone Roman Villa; Tretower) by adding a ‘blue’ masthead. These were published alongside the fuller blue guidebooks (e.g. Stonehenge and Avebury; Bury St Edmunds Abbey). An example of this is provided by the 1978 (2nd ed.; reset 1983) guide to Richborough Castle by J. P. Bushe-Fox (Edinburgh: HMSO; price, 20p). This consists of 8 pages with a short history of the site and then a longer description. There is a single plan showing the different phases of the site. It is worth noting that the site was known as “Richborough Castle” whereas English Heritage now calls it “Richborough Roman Fort and Amphitheatre“. This DOE guide had its origins in the 1933 Office of Works guide to Richborough Castle (reprinted 1936) at 33 pages.
The DOE guide was published alongside two separate guides for “The Saxon Shore” that placed Richborough alongside the other forts under state guardianship: Portchester, Pevensey, Dover Castle (with the Roman lighthouse), Reculver, and Burgh Castle.
(2012)
The present English Heritage guide by Tony Wilmott covers both Richborough and the nearby fort of Reculver. This has 48 pages along with fold out plan of Richborough and site guides for Richborough and Reculver.
Heritage Fortnight in Ipswich
Back on Track Heritage Lecture © Caroline Gill
UCS contributed two lectures to the Ipswich Heritage Fortnight: one on the Saxon Shore by Professor David Gill, and the other on Back on Track by Dr Geraint Coles. They were opportunities to present to a wider public the two projects that we would like to develop through Heritage Futures: the first linked to the benefits of heritage tourism, and the second to economic regeneration. We were impressed by the large audiences for both the lecture (as well as the Sutton Hoo conference where there was a waiting list). We are hoping to hold follow-up workshops to both lectures.
Saxon Shore: Heritage Lecture
Professor David Gill at 2014 UCS Heritage Lecture
© Caroline Gill
I was greatly encouraged by the packed lecture theatre for the first of two UCS Heritage Lectures for the 2014 Ipswich Heritage Fortnight. We explored the development of the ‘Saxon Shore’ fort system and members of the audience shared their knowledge of what was visible of Walton Castle (near Felixstowe) at very low tides. We also considered how a number of the ‘Saxon Shore’ forts (Burgh Castle, Caister-on-Sea, Bradwell, Reculver, Richborough and possibly Walton Castle) were reused in the 7th century as monastic sites.
The lecture concluded with a suggestion that a Late Roman / Anglo-Saxon trail could be developed from Brancaster to the Blackwater, taking in a number of key sites including North Elmham, Bury St Edmunds, West Stow, Burgh Castle, Sutton Hoo, and Iken.
Ipswich Heritage Fortnight (2014)
UCS Heritage Futures is contributing two lectures for the Ipswich Heritage Fortnight in September 2014.
- Professor David Gill on The Saxon Shore (Wednesday 17 September)
- Dr Geraint Coles on Back on Track (Wednesday 24 September)
Further details here.
Heritage Fortnight Lecture: The Saxon Shore
Othona / Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex © David Gill
East Anglia is dominated by a series of Late Roman fortresses around its coast: from Brancaster on the north Norfolk coast, to Bradwell-on-Sea on the mudflats of Essex. These forts, known as ‘The Saxon Shore‘, continued round the coast of Kent, Sussex and Hampshire. Several of them became sites of Christian foundations during the 7th century: Burgh Castle, (possibly) Walton Castle (near Felixstowe), and Reculver.
Saxon Shore lecture (2014)
The lecture for the Ipswich Heritage Fortnight (2014) will explore some of the issues on this transformation from Late Roman Britannia to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia. It will also suggest the way that this important part of East Anglia’s history could form part of a visitor trail.
Saxon Shore Forts: Brancaster
Brancaster (Google Earth, 2010)
The Roman fort at Brancaster lies to the east of the village of the name on the north Norfolk coast. Numismatic evidence suggests that the fort was occupied in the 3rd century.
Saxon Shore Forts in Norfolk
Three Roman forts associated with the Saxon Shore defences are located in Norfolk (and one of them used to be located in Suffolk before the county boundary changed!). David Gurney has written a helpful illustrated booklet on the forts for the Norfolk Archaeological Trust: Outposts of the Roman Empire: a guide to Norfolk’s Roman forts at Burgh Castle, Caister-on-Sea and Brancaster (2002). There is an introductory section that includes a map of Roman Norfolk, and another showing the estuary of the Bure, Yare and Waveney in the Roman period.
The book contains information about how to visit the three sites, and where to see the finds. There is also a short bibliography.
Burgh Castle: the leaning walls
The Roman fort at Burgh Castle © David Gill
Concern was raised earlier this month that the excessive rainfall over the winter months had destabilised the impressive Roman walls at Burgh Castle (press report). It now appears that the walls are stable although some sections appear to be leaning in a quite dramatic way.
Burgh Castle is one of a series of major Roman forts of the “Saxon Shore” that can be found from Brancaster in north Norfolk to Portchester in Hampshire. The fort at Walton Castle near Felixstowe has now disappeared into the sea.
The Saxon Shore
In 1964 the Department of the Environment produced a small booklet (40 pages) on The Roman Forts of the Saxon Shore by Leonard Cottrell. (My 1971 reprint cost 14 p.) This was illustrated with black and white photographs, plans, and a map showing the location of the forts.
The booklet covered the following themes (with an emphasis on the forts under the guardianship of the Department of the Environment):
1. What was the “Saxon Shore”?
2. The nine forts in order
3. What was the purpose of the forts?
4. Burgh and Reculver
5. Richborough, Pevensey and Portchester
The booklet concludes with a bibliography.
Saxon Shore publications
During the 1970s the Department of the Environment produced a number of themed guidebooks to explore a group of sites. Stephen Johnson produced one on the Saxon Shore (1977) to cover the string of Late Roman forts that ran from Brancaster in Norfolk to Portchester in Hampshire. The site of one lies in Suffolk: Walton Castle at Felixstowe (although this has now dropped into the sea). Burgh Castle is now in Norfolk (although it is in the Suffolk volume of Pevsner).
Johnston’s 28 page illustrated booklet, printed in landscape, covers the British forts. There are also maps showing the parallel forts from Holland and France.
There are short descriptions of the British forts (some with aerial photographs or plans): Brancaster; Burgh Castle; Walton Castle; Bradwell; Reculver; Richborough; Dover; Lympne; Pevensey; and Portchester.
(old site) Heritage Futures 