Everything about The Fosse Way totally explained
The
Fosse Way was a
Roman road in
England that linked
Exeter (
Isca Dumnoniorum) in
South West England to
Lincoln (
Lindum Colonia) in the
East Midlands, via
Ilchester (
Lindinis),
Bath (
Aquae Sulis),
Cirencester (
Corinium) and
Leicester (
Ratae Corieltauvorum).
It joined
Akeman Street and
Ermin Way at Cirencester, crossed
Watling Street at
Venonis (
High Cross) south of Leicester, and joined
Ermine Street at Lincoln.
The word
Fosse is derived from the
Latin fossa, meaning
ditch.
For the first few decades after the
Roman invasion of Britain in AD
43, the Fosse Way marked the western frontier of Roman rule. It is possible that the road began as a defensive ditch that was later filled in and converted into a road, or possibly a defensive ditch ran alongside the road for at least some of its length.
The Fosse Way is the only Roman road in Britain to retain its original Latin name. Most others were named by the
Saxons, centuries after the Romans left Britain.
It is remarkable for its extremely direct route:
from Lincoln to Ilchester in
Somerset, a distance of 182 miles,
it is never more than six miles from a straight line.
Today's route
Many sections of the Fosse Way form parts of modern roads and lanes,
and
parish, district or
county boundaries.
Several place names on the route have the suffix
-cester
or
-chester, which is from the Latin
castra
meaning
military camp.
Some settlements are named after the road itself,
such as
Fosse-, or
-on-Fosse,
while others have a more generic form, such as
Street,
Strete,
-le-Street,
Stratton,
Stretton,
Stratford, and
Stretford,
from the Latin
strata, meaning
paved road.
Lincoln to Leicester
Between Lincoln and
Leicester the
A46 follows the route of the Fosse Way. The A46 deviates from Fosse Way at
East Goscote, to follow the
Leicester Western Bypass. The original alignment is still visible, as an unclassified road called
Fosse Way passes through
Syston, continuing as the minor road
Melton Road through
Thurmaston, before merging with the A607 (the old A46), continuing into the city centre on the old alignment, first as Melton Road then Belgrave Road and Belgrave Gate. The alignment terminates at the
Clock Tower, and picks up again at Narborough Road (the A5460), on the other side of the
River Soar.
Leicester to Cirencester
South of
Leicester, apart from a short deviation near
Narborough where the original course is no longer visible, the B4114 (the A46 until renumbered on the building of the
M69) follows the route. A couple of miles north of the
A5, the B4114 diverges from the line of the Fosse Way to pass through the village of
Sharnford. For two miles the route of the Fosse Way is followed by a minor road which, although single track, runs along a much wider and slightly domed strip of land with deep ditches either side (the
agger).
The modern road ends at a picnic site car park, and a further mile and a half southwards can be explored on foot.
The junction with
Watling Street, now the
A5, is
at High Cross (Roman name
Venonis).
Watling Street is the
the county boundary between
Leicestershire and
Warwickshire.
The Fosse Way follows the B4455
across
Warwickshire, through Street Ashton,
Stretton-under-Fosse, Brinklow, Bretford
Stretton-on-Dunsmore Princethorpe, and the site of a Roman town near Chesterton, until it joins the
A429 near the boundary with
Gloucestershire. The route then follows the
A429 through Stretton-on-Fosse,
Moreton-in-Marsh,
Stow-on-the-Wold,
Northleach and Fossebridge, to
Cirencester, where it crosses
Akeman Street and
Ermin Way.
Cirencester to Bath
South of Cirencester the Fosse Way follows
a short section of the A433, then goes cross country,
following the county boundary between Gloucestershire
and
Wiltshire,
across the old airfield at
RAF Kemble,
then follows fragmented sections of country lanes.
It passes near the
Iron Age hill fort of Bury Camp
and another section of the county boundary,
before dropping through
Batheaston and into
Bath back onto the A46.
Bath to Ilchester
Between Bath and
Shepton Mallet the line of the Fosse Way follows parts of the A367, through
Radstock and
Stratton-on-the-Fosse. It runs across open country and farm tracks parallel to the
A37 north of Shepton Mallet, near the
Iron Age hill fort of
Maesbury. At Beacon Hill south of
Oakhill, it crossed the Roman road along the
Mendip ridgeway from
Old Sarum to the lead and silver mines at
Charterhouse. The Fosse Way passes through the eastern suburbs of
Shepton Mallet on a short stretch of the A361 to Cannard's Grave, where it picks up the A37.
The Fosse Way follows the A37 through Street-on-the-Fosse and
Lydford-on-Fosse on a direct route to
Ilchester. The route leaves the A37 at the
A303 junction just north of Ilchester, and follows a small track, before picking up the B3151 through the town.
The Roman road from Ilchester to
Dorchester, Dorset continues on the line of A37 through
Yeovil to the south east.
Other minor Roman roads lead from Ilchester and Lydford-on-Fosse towards
Street and the
A39
route along the
Polden Hills, leading to Roman salt works on the
Somerset Levels, and ports at Combwich, Crandon Bridge and
Highbridge.
Ilchester to Exeter
After Ilchester the Fosse Way follows a section of the
A303 under the ramparts of the
Iron Age hill fort of
Ham Hill, occupied by the
Second Legion after conquest of the
Durotriges
in Dorset.
The alignment leaves major roads after Petherton Bridge over the
River Parrett, and follows country lanes to Over Stratton and
Dinnington, where members of the
Channel 4 television programme
Time Team recently uncovered a
mosaic next to the road.
The route crosses a stream called Stretford Water, climbs the ridge, and follows a short section of the
A30 at Windwhistle Hill. Then it turns on to the B3167 through the hamlets of Street and Perry Street, joins the
A358, crosses the
River Axe at what used to be called Stratford (now called Weycroft), and on to
Axminster.
Now we come to the difficult question of where the Fosse Way ends. There are further alignments on the A358 at Ball's Farm and
Musbury south of Axminster, which imply a Roman road did continue along the River Axe toward
Axmouth and
Seaton. These sections are labelled
Fosse Way on
Ordnance Survey maps.
However, the main route for
Exeter would have followed the Dorchester road west from Axminster to
Honiton.
The crossroads in Axminster was controlled by a Roman fort at
Woodbury Farm, now on the southern edge of the town. The route to the west crosses the Rivers
Axe and Yarty to
Kilmington, continuing on segments of the
A35 and minor local lanes to Honiton.
From Honiton the route leads south-west along the old A30, to Strete Ralegh, where there's a short break, then a clear alignment along a minor road towards Exeter.
It is also likely that one or more side roads split from the Fosse Way at Lopen Head or
Dinnington, passing around
Ilminster, then following the line of the current A303/A30 from Horton to Honiton. For example, there are villages called Crock Street and Street Ash on or near these routes. So in the later years of Roman occupation, there would probably have been a choice of routes from Ilchester to Honiton.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Fosse Way'.
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