Strutt's Park Roman Fort was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in Strutt's Park, a suburb of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It was built around the year 50 and replaced, probably between the years 75 and 80, by a new fort at Little Chester on the opposite bank of the River Derwent.

The site

The site of the fort was under the present day Duffield Road and Belper Road; the first report of its existence appeared in 1967. Excavations in 1995 revealed terracing, stone wall footing and a cobbled pavement. Finds of pottery from the excavations are partly held by the Trent & Peak Archaeological Trust, partly at Derby Museum. Its purpose was probably to protect an important river crossing: less than a mile to the south the north-south Roman road now known as

Ryknild Street Icknield Street or Ryknild Street is a Roman road in England, with a route roughly south-west to north-east. It runs from the Fosse Way at Bourton on the Water in Gloucestershire () to Templeborough in South Yorkshire (). It passes through Alce ...

crossed the Derwent. A second road, known as The Long Lane, ran westward from this point in the direction of

Wroxeter Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England, which forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington, beside the River Severn, south-east of Shrewsbury. ''Viroconium Cornoviorum'', the fourth largest city in Roman Britain, was sited ...

and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

; a third, known as

The Street The Street may refer to: Geographical *Wall Street in New York City's Financial District *The Street, Lawshall, Suffolk, England *The Street (Heath Charnock) The Street is a historical property on a bridleway of the same name in Heath Charnock ...

, crossed the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorl ...

towards

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

History

The general outline of the Roman conquest of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

during the 1st century AD is recorded by historical sources; for the involvement of specific forts historians depend on archaeological excavations. This part of Britain was occupied by a tribe known as the Cornovii. In AD 46–47 the Roman Army led by governor

Aulus Plautius Aulus Plautius was a Roman politician and general of the mid-1st century. He began the Roman conquest of Britain in 43, and became the first governor of the new province, serving from 43 to 46 CE. Career Little is known of Aulus Plautius's e ...

had probably occupied the lands to the south of the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

. Late in 47 the new governor of Britain, Ostorius Scapula, began a campaign against the tribes of the western mountains (modern

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Caratacus Caratacus (Brythonic ''*Caratācos'', Middle Welsh ''Caratawc''; Welsh ''Caradog''; Breton ''Karadeg''; Greek ''Καράτακος''; variants Latin ''Caractacus'', Greek ''Καρτάκης'') was a 1st-century AD British chieftain of the ...

, their leader, was defeated in battle in AD 50 and fled to the

Brigantes The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geogr ...

who occupied the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commonly ...

. Their queen, Cartimandua, came to terms with the Romans and handed Caratacus over to them. Ostorius died and was replaced by

Aulus Gallus Aulus Didius Gallus was a Roman general and politician of the 1st century AD. He was governor of Britain between 52 and 57 AD. Career The career of Aulus Didius Gallus up to 51 can be partly reconstructed from an inscription from Olympia. H ...

who brought the Welsh borders under control but did not move further north or west. It was at about this time that the fort at Strutt's Park was built. It probably lay not far south of the border between Roman territory and that held by the Brigantes, who were now an allied or subject kingdom. The campaign to conquer the Welsh mountains continued under governor Quintus Veranius and his successor

Gaius Suetonius Paulinus Gaius Suetonius Paulinus (fl. AD 41–69) was a Roman general best known as the commander who defeated the rebellion of Boudica. Early life Little is known of Suetonius' family, but it likely came from Pisaurum (modern Pesaro), a town on the Adr ...

. Around AD 74 Queen Cartimandua asked for Roman assistance to defeat a rebellion, indicating possible unrest in the territories north of Strutt's Park. Then in 78,

Gnaeus Julius Agricola Gnaeus Julius Agricola (; 13 June 40 – 23 August 93) was a Roman general and politician responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. Born to a political family of senatorial rank, Agricola began his military career as a military tribun ...

, made famous through the highly laudatory biography of him written by his son-in-law,

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

, was made governor. He consolidated the forts, improved the road infrastructure and led some now well documented campaigns – firstly in 78 he reconquered North Wales, then in 79 conquered the Brigantes and also the

Parisii Parisii may refer to two ancient Iron Age tribes: * Parisii (Gaul) *Parisii (Yorkshire) The Parisi were a British Celtic tribe located somewhere within the present-day East Riding of Yorkshire, in England, known from a single brief reference b ...

of modern east

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, thus completing the annexation of what is now northern England. Strutt's Park, if intended as a defence of the river crossing against the Brigantes to the north, was perhaps no longer needed. It was at any rate replaced, at about this time, by a new fort at Little Chester, directly on the line of Ryknild Street and better placed to control the developing road network.

References

;Notes

External links

* – List of Scheduled Ancient Monuments

Bibliography

* * - "Excavations at Strutts Park, Derby, 1974" * * - "Conclusion: The development of Roman Derby" {{Derby Museum Roman Derby Roman fortifications in England Collections of Derby Museum and Art Gallery