Roman settlement at Cow Roast

Summary

A small Roman town likely to have been occupied continuously from the first to the fourth century AD, as revealed through archaeological excavation, geophysical survey and cropmarks evident on aerial photography.

Reasons for Designation

The Roman settlement at Cow Roast, Hertfordshire, is scheduled for the following principal reasons:

* Survival: aerial photographic evidence, geophysical survey and excavation have combined to confirm the quality of the surviving buried remains;

* Diversity: the site comprises the Roman road of Akeman Street with roadside ditches, buildings, structures and enclosures and has been shown to demonstrate evolution over time;

* Potential: there are known features of high archaeological importance within the scheduled area, and potential for rich deposits to exist which will increase our understanding of the settlement, its evolution and function;

* Documentation: aerial photographic interpretation, geophysical survey, and limited excavation reports all contribute to our understanding of the monument;

* Period: the Roman small town is a strongly representative monument type of the period.

History

The Roman settlement at Cow Roast has been shown through archaeological excavation, geophysical survey, and aerial photographic analysis to have been both significant and extensive. Its precise nature is not absolutely known, but it is likely to be classifiable as a ‘minor town’ or ‘small town’. It appears to have been occupied continuously from the first to the fourth centuries AD. The settlement site includes part of Akeman Street, a Roman road, and is one of the most substantial Roman towns between Verulamium (St Alban’s) and Alchester.

Five types of town are known to have existed in Roman Britain: coloniae, municipia, civitas capitals, Roman provincial capitals and Roman small towns. The first four types can be classified as `public towns' because each had an official status within the provincial administrative system. Roman small towns are settlements of urban character which lack the administrative status of public towns, but which are nevertheless recognisably urban in terms of morphology, features and function. They tend to lack the planned rectangular street grids, public buildings and well-appointed town houses of the public towns and instead are generally characterised by mainly insubstantial timber or half-timbered structures. Some small towns possess an enclosing wall, while others have masonry or earthwork defences. Additional features include temples, bath houses, ovens, kilns and cemeteries. Roman small towns began to emerge in the mid-first century AD. However, the majority of examples appeared in the later first and second centuries, while the third and fourth centuries saw the growth and development of existing establishments, together with the emergence of a small number of new ones. Some small towns had their origins in earlier military sites such as fort-vici and developed into independent urban areas following the abandonment of the forts. Others developed alongside major roads and were able to exploit a wide range of commercial opportunities as a result of their location. Around 140 Roman small towns have been recorded in England. These are mainly concentrated in the Midlands and central southern England. Some examples have survived as undeveloped 'greenfield' sites and consequently possess particularly well-preserved archaeological remains.

Whether the settlement at Cow Roast was primarily religious, military, or civilian in character has not been firmly established, though it is clear that iron was produced here.

The present village at Cow Roast continues to be defined by transport routes and its name is likely to derive from its position on a cattle drove. The route of the Roman road runs roughly parallel to the modern Tring Road. The River Bulbourne was canalised around 1800 to become part of the Grand Junction Canal (now Grand Union Canal). North of the river the London & Birmingham Railway was laid out in 1837 (now the West Coast Main Line).

The earliest recorded discoveries of Roman artefacts at Cow Roast have been associated by Thompson (2002) with the construction of the Grand Junction Canal, either 1798-9 or 1813, and include tiles, coins, and a bronze helmet.

Aerial photography and geophysical survey in the 1970s helped identify the course of Akeman Street, the presence of enclosures on either side, and the existence of pits and other archaeological features. The Roman settlement at Cow Roast was first added to the Schedule on 1st May 1975. An additional area north-east of the railway cutting was added on 20th October 1977 following the identification of a Roman building.

Between 1972 and 1978 a series of excavations by the Berkhamsted and District Archaeological Society were conducted in the area of Orchard Cottage, south of Tring Road, and on the site of the present marina (summarised in 'Britannia'). These excavations took place outside the presently scheduled area. However, they provide evidence of the continuous occupation of the site between the first and fourth centuries AD, the importance of the Roman town, and the high archaeological potential of the area. Artefacts uncovered included pottery, military items, hundreds of coins, tinned bronze metalwork, jewellery and other items capable of revealing the material culture of Roman Britain. Numerous well shafts, various pits, evidence of timber buildings, chalk floors, iron working features such as slag and two bowl-furnaces, a beaker likely containing wall-paint, and a third-century yard or market were all identified.

A summary of the main archaeological events between 1972 and 1993, almost all of which are unpublished, is given in the Extensive Urban Survey Project Assessment Report (Isobel Thompson, 2002). Further geophysical survey was undertaken in 2014 by West Yorkshire Archaeological Services (ASWYAS). Trial trench evaluations were conducted to the rear of the Cow Roast Inn by Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) in September 2022.

Details

A small Roman town likely to have been occupied continuously from the first century AD to the fourth century.
PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS

The site comprises part of the Roman road of Akeman Street with associated roadside ditches. Enclosures and buildings have also been identified through geophysical survey, excavation, and aerial photography. There are no discernible features surviving above ground. The scheduled monument is defined by three separate areas of protection covering around 12.49 ha in total.

DESCRIPTION

The monument is situated between the Hertfordshire towns of Tring and Berkhamsted, at the heart of the settlement of Cow Roast. It lies within the Bulbourne valley, where deposits of clay, silt, sand and gravel lie over a bedrock of chalk.

The monument lies south-west of the Bulbourne River / Grand Union Canal. The largest area of protection (around 8.7 ha) is on the south-west side of Tring Road (the A4251). It is defined by the road and the properties along it, and by historic field boundaries along its north-west, south-west and south-east boundaries. The land includes a playing field, agricultural land, the rear yards and car park of the Grade II listed Cow Roast Inn and land historically associated with Fendley House. Geophysical survey conducted in 2014 by West Yorkshire Archaeological Services (ASWYAS) and aerial photography has confirmed that the Roman road of Akeman Street runs roughly 100m south of Tring Road, orientated north-west to south-east. Small enclosures were identified on the north-west side of the road. A possible prehistoric trackway or boundary feature was identified as a sinuous set of anomalies south of the Roman road. Linear ditches were found to flank the road 22m apart. Trenches dug to the rear of Cow Roast Inn (MOLA, 2022) did not identify the surface of the road which may have been disturbed by quarrying or car park construction, though a metalled surface running perpendicular to it was identified.

Between a ditch alongside Tring Road and the river, north of Wharf Lane Bridge, is a further area of protection of around 2.7 ha. This is bound by the road to the west, the river to the east, and historic property boundaries to the north and south. The land here is agricultural, with a raised area of land forming the canalside towpath. Evaluation of the site in 1975 concluded that this area of protection was of equal archaeological importance as the rest of the monument as defined by aerial photography and geophysical survey.

Within the fields north-east of the railway cutting is the third separate area of protection covering roughly 1.15 ha of arable agricultural land. The site contains the remains of a Roman building aligned approximately north-south and constructed in flint and pale grey mortar. The nature of the structure is not known. Four Roman coins dating between around AD 180 and AD 340 were found over the building. The scheduled area is bounded to the south-west by steel fences and the railway cutting itself, and to the north-east by a footpath and a line of trees and fencing. The north-western and south-eastern boundaries of this part of the scheduled area are not marked by physical boundary structures.

EXTENT OF SCHEDULING

The monument is defined within three separate areas of protection: those to the north and south of Tring Road, and a third north of the railway.

EXCLUSIONS

All sheds, stables, garages, hard-surfaced roads, track surfaces, fences, fence posts, bollards, above-ground walls, hedges, goal posts, substations, street lamps, and telegraph poles are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

HT 91

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Books and journals
Goodburn, R., Sites Explored in Britannia, Vol. 1978, (9), 444
Frere, S., Sites Explored in Britannia, Vol. 8, (1977), 401
Goodburn, R., Sites Explored in Britannia, Vol. 7, (1976), 338-339
Wilson, D.R., Sites Explored in Britannia, Vol. 6, (1975), 257
Wilson, D.R., Sites Explored in Britannia, Vol. 5, (1974), 438

Other
"Land at Cow Roast Hertfordshire. Geophysical Survey. Report no. 2702" by West Yorkshire Archaeological Services (ASWYAS, January 2015)
Archaeological Evaluation Report (Orchard Cottage), KDK Archaeology Ltd, August 2016
Archaeological trial trench evaluation at land to the rear of Cow Roast Inn, Cow Roast, Tring, Hertfordshire. September 2022 (Museum of London Archaeology).
'The Roman Settlement at Cow Roast, Northchurch', Extensive Urban Survey Project Assessment Report, Isobel Thompson 2002 (Hertfordshire County Council)
Archaeological Desk Based Assessment, The Cow Roast Inn, London Road, Cow Roast, Tring (2022, Abrams Archaeology).
Abrams, J. 2023. Request for a Boundary Review for part of the Scheduled Monument known as - Roman settlement at the Cow Roast Inn (1005254). Abrams Archaeology Project No 00288
Collins, C. 2022. Archaeological trial trench evaluation at land to the rear of Cow Roast Inn, Cow Roast, Tring, Hertfordshire. September 2022. MOLA Report No 22/107

End of official list entry

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