Part of a Roman camp at Hoole 200m south of Hoole Hall

Reasons for Designation

Roman camps are rectangular or sub-rectangular enclosures which were constructed and used by Roman soldiers either when out on campaign or as practice camps; most campaign camps were only temporary overnight bases and few were used for longer periods. They were bounded by a single earthen rampart and outer ditch and in plan are always straight-sided with rounded corners. Normally they have between one and four entrances, although as many as eleven have been recorded. Such entrances were usually centrally placed in the sides of the camp and were often protected by additional defensive outworks. Roman camps are found throughout much of England, although most known examples lie in the midlands and north. Around 140 examples have been identified and, as one of the various types of defensive enclosure built by the Roman Army, particularly in hostile upland and frontier areas, they provide an important insight into Roman military strategy and organisation. All well-preserved examples are identified as being of national importance.

The Roman camp south of Hoole Hall is one of an important group now identified in the fields to the east of Chester City. Such groups are unusual and they will provide evidence of the construction and use of earthwork camps elsewhere in the British Isles. In addition they provide information on the activities of the garrison in the fortress at Chester. This camp survives reasonably well where it has not been destroyed by later road building. The ditch and rampart will survive under the ploughsoil and the interior will contain evidence of temporary buildings and pits for latrines and the disposal of refuse.

Details

The monument includes part of a Roman camp visible as a parch mark on aerial photographs. The marks reveal an L-shaped ditch cutting across the meadow to the south of Hoole Hall. This forms two sides of a camp. The other two sides of the camp are postulated to have lain under the main road (the A41) to the west and the former entrance driveway to Hoole Hall to the north. This camp is one of a group of Roman earthwork camps in the fields of Upton, Hoole Village, Christleton and Waverton. They are interpreted as having been constructed as practice camps by Roman troops from the garrison at Chester. The eastern side of the camp measures 120m and the southern side 120m where they are visible. The corner is rounded in the typical form of Roman camps. Each side has a gap of 30m in what was the central position on the plan of the original fort. Both gaps are protected by external earthwork projections called `claviculae' extending for 40m at 45 degrees from one end of the gap. By analogy with other Roman camps this one would have had a V-cut ditch with a rampart inside measuring 6m wide at the base. The rampart has been spread and the ditch infilled by later ploughing.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

27596

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
RCHME, , Upton Heath, (1989)

Other
Collens, J and Philpott, R, (1995)

End of official list entry

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