Local Roman history at Wroxeter

 The village of Wroxeter in Shropshire sits near the River Severn & not far from our county town of Shrewsbury. It has within it the remains of the Roman town of Vivoconium, which was once the fourth largest Roman settlement after London, St Albans & Cirencester. 

I often take visitors to the Wroxeter settlement, our closest Roman one & so have visited it many times. 

However, being in the vicinity on Sunday, we took the opportunity to visit the nearby St Andrew's Church at Wroxeter, which is a short distance from the ruins. 

I knew that it contained stones & columns from the nearby Roman ruins & it did not disappoint. Two Roman columns grace the entrance gates, the font is also carved from a column & there are several parts of stones being used in the exterior.  

The church itself is noted in the Doomsday book of 1086, which catalogued all land & buildings at that time & it is still a reference document. 

The impressive font was said to be carved from a pillar from the ruins, & Emperor Hadrian visited Wroxeter too, probably en route north to build his infamous wall on the boundary of England & Scotland. 

The church also contains impressive tomb monuments & references to the Newport family who were Royalists during the troubled times under King Charles 11. 

The Wroxeter Roman settlement is managed by English Heritage. The nearby Roman Town house was built in 2010 by Channel four as part of a project using only tools & techniques available to the Romans. It was a fascinating series & the townhouse is an interesting visit, looking out towards the Severn River. 

Watling Street passes between the two sides of the Roman Ruins - it was the main Roman Road that ran the length of early England.  Much of the A5 road follows this route & it passes close to our house as it enters Shropshire on the way to the port at Holyhead. 

After reading the guide book for the church, I think another visit is on the cards to absorb it all. 

I hope you have found this as interesting as I did, there is so much history around us, layers of it & we are the richer for it. 

Thank you for stopping by, it is always appreciated

Dee 🏛️⛪️