Photo source: Steven Fruitsmaak, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
About this place
Chesters Roman Fort stands on Hadrian's Wall near Humshaugh in Northumberland, built around AD 124 to house a cavalry regiment of some 500 men.
The site includes some of the best-preserved Roman military bath house remains in Britain, with walls still standing to shoulder height in places.
English Heritage manages the fort and its museum today.
Visitors can walk through the excavated headquarters building, barrack blocks, and the riverside bath house down by the North Tyne.
Read more on WikipediaHistory
Known to the Romans as Cilurnum, the fort guarded a bridge carrying Hadrian's Wall across the North Tyne and was garrisoned by cavalry units including the Ala II Asturum. The antiquarian John Clayton inherited the Chesters estate in 1832 and began extensive excavations around 1840, assembling the collection now displayed in the on-site museum built in 1896 to house his finds.
Architecture
The visible remains include the fort's headquarters building, barrack blocks, and a separate bath house by the river, with stonework surviving to unusual height for a Roman military site in Britain. A country house stands nearby and was built partly using stone robbed from the fort.
Worth knowing
John Clayton, the Newcastle town clerk and antiquarian who inherited Chesters in 1832, went on to acquire several other forts along Hadrian's Wall, making him one of the most significant figures in the Wall's early preservation.
Facilities
Plan your visit
Nearest station: Hexham Rail Station (4 miles)
Nearby properties
Chesters Roman Fort and Clayton Museum
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View Carrawburgh on heritage mapHistoric places nearby
Within 5 miles of Chesters Roman Fort there are 5 historic properties, including 2 historic buildings and 2 archaeological sites.
Within 10 miles of Chesters Roman Fort there are 10 historic properties, including 4 historic buildings, 3 archaeological sites and 2 museums.
Within 20 miles of Chesters Roman Fort there are 27 historic properties, including 16 historic buildings, 4 archaeological sites and 3 castles, across English Heritage, National Trust and Churches Conservation Trust sites.
Facts
The Roman bath house here survives better than almost anywhere else on Hadrian's Wall, walls and all.
- Type
- historic building
- Location
- Northumberland, England
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