Part of a Roman fort and its associated vicus and remains of a pre-Conquest monastery and a Benedictine priory on Castle Hill

Heritage listing

Details The monument includes the upstanding and buried remains of the northern parts of Lancaster Roman fort and its associated civilian settlement or vicus, together with the buried remains of a pre-Conquest monastery and a Benedictine priory. It is located on the top and the northern slopes of Castle Hill and extends beneath the present Priory Church of St Mary and its churchyard, the modern and former vicarages and their gardens, the garden of No. 2, St Mary's Gate, the garden of No. 100 Church Street, and north into Vicarage Fields. The buried remains of the pre-Conquest monastery are considered to lie beneath the priory church, while the buried remains of the Benedictine priory and its associated precinct and precinct wall are considered to lie beneath the priory church and within land to the north and west. Lancaster Roman fort, the Roman name of which is unknown, was constructed during the latter quarter of the first century AD and, apart from occasional periods of abandonment, it remained in military occupation until the early years of the fifth century. The fort was strategically located to command the lowest bridging/fording point of the River Lune and was connected by a series of Roman roads with forts to the north, south, north east and south east. A combination of chance finds and 20th century limited excavations have revealed that the first Roman fort was constructed about AD 80. It was rectangular in shape with rounded corners and was defended on its north, west and east sides (its south side not yet having been ascertained) by a clay-and-turf rampart and two `V'-shaped ditches. The north wall of the rampart ran east-west a little to the north of the Old Vicarage and measured about 187m long. Inside the rampart excavation found an intervallum road and re

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.