Soldiers, emperors, saints and prisoners
Who lived in and around the forts, and the stories told about them later.
Soldiers and families
Caister had a garrison of between 500 and 1,000 men. English Heritage: History of Caister Roman Fort The garrisons listed in the Notitia are mainly infantry (soldiers on foot). English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison
At Portchester, women and children lived inside the fort alongside the soldiers. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison Brooches, beads, bracelets and hairpins found at Caister suggest women and children lived in the fort. English Heritage: History of Caister Roman Fort
Finds at Caister include charred grain, fish bones and over 10,000 oyster shells. English Heritage: History of Caister Roman Fort
Pieces of a Roman soldier’s helmet were found at Burgh Castle; that type of helmet came from the eastern borders of the Roman Empire. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison
The Notitia says Burgh’s garrison was the Stablesian cavalry unit. English Heritage: History of Burgh Castle Roman Fort
An emperor of Britain
In AD 286 Carausius, commander of the Roman Channel fleet, proclaimed himself emperor in Britain and northern Gaul. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison In AD 293 Carausius was assassinated by his deputy, Allectus. English Heritage: History of Portchester Castle
His breakaway empire lasted until his successor, Allectus, was defeated in AD 296. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison
Who were the “Saxons”?
To Roman writers, “Saxon” seems to have been a catch-all word for several Germanic tribes, including Franks and Frisians. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison We don’t know why the Notitia uses the name “Saxon Shore”. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison
Saints and monks
Bede records that in about AD 630 Sigeberht, King of the East Angles, gave land inside a Roman fortress to St Fursa to found a monastery. English Heritage: History of Burgh Castle Roman Fort
An Anglo-Saxon monastery was founded inside Reculver fort in 669. English Heritage: History of Reculver Towers and Roman Fort
At Bradwell-on-Sea (Othona), the 7th-century chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall stands on the site of the Roman fort’s west gate. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison
A late Roman font, used for baptisms in a Christian church, was found inside the fort at Richborough. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison
Kings and conquerors
In 904 the Bishop of Winchester gave the fort to King Edward the Elder. English Heritage: History of Portchester Castle Portchester then became a burh, one of a series of fortified places that protected the kingdom from Viking attack. English Heritage: History of Portchester Castle
William the Conqueror landed at Pevensey on 28 September 1066. English Heritage: History of Pevensey Castle William built a temporary fort, almost certainly inside the Roman walls. English Heritage: History of Pevensey Castle
The siege of Pevensey in 1264 to 1265 was the longest siege in medieval England. English Heritage: History of Pevensey Castle
A royal palace was built at Portchester in the 1390s for Richard II. English Heritage: Portchester Castle, history and stories In 1415 Henry V launched his invasion of France from Portchester; it ended in his victory at Agincourt. English Heritage: Portchester Castle, history and stories
Prisoners and players
From 1665 Portchester was used as a prisoner-of-war camp; between 1793 and 1815 it held up to 8,000 prisoners at a time. English Heritage: Portchester Castle, history and stories French prisoners set up a theatre in Portchester’s keep in 1810. English Heritage: Portchester Castle, history and stories
Diggers and builders
The Tudor antiquarian John Leland explored a “cave” under the arch’s foundation by candlelight. English Heritage: Gateway to Britannia, Richborough’s Monumental Arch In 1843 a Mr Rolfe’s workmen spent two weeks digging 16 feet (5 metres) into solid masonry before giving up. English Heritage: Gateway to Britannia, Richborough’s Monumental Arch
Professor Barry Cunliffe directed major excavations at Portchester between 1961 and 1979. English Heritage: History of Portchester Castle In 1968 Barry Cunliffe suggested that it was a four-way arch. English Heritage: Gateway to Britannia, Richborough’s Monumental Arch
In the 1920s and 1930s, many of the workmen who repaired Portchester’s walls were unemployed Welsh miners. English Heritage: History of Portchester Castle
Parts of Caister fort were uncovered by archaeologists between 1951 and 1955. English Heritage: History of Caister Roman Fort
Digs between 1959 and 1969 found barracks, a bath-house and the headquarters building at Reculver. English Heritage: History of Reculver Towers and Roman Fort