Chapter 4

Papcastle in the Roman road system

Recent work has revealed that from the end of the Wall at Bowness-on-Solway a complete system of mile-castles existed southwards to St. Bees, linking the forts at Maryport, Moresby, etc. The development of the road system in north Cumbria was geared to the needs of this line ofdefence against invasion by sea as well as to the Wall itself.

Five roads radiated from Carlisle and Stanwix (the nine and a half acre fort to which the military moved from the city in AD 125), including that south-west to Old Carlisle near Wigton (OS 260 465). Old Carlisle was for long, possibly always, the only cavalry fort on the western flank of the Wall and the praefectus equitum in charge was senior to the prefects of the coastal forts and the inland fort at Papcastle. He was in effect commander of a district which may have stretched as far as Ravenglass and in an emergency could move a cavalry regiment or battalions of infantry from Old Carlisle without waiting for permission from either the senior officer of the Wall stationed at Stanwix or from headquarters at York. [1]

The south-westerly road continued beyond Old Carlisle to Papcastle and in 25 miles neither suddenly changed direction to avoid a difficult feature nor diverged more than half a mile from the direct line, so thorough was the original survey. The A595 follows the Roman road for considerable distances, the chief divergence being that the earlier route passed NW of Wharrels Hill and Bothel [2] and the present one curves round the SE.

Continuing in the same direction from Papcastle a road leads to Ravenglass.

In 1794 there was an “old paved way, seven yards in width, leading north and south” [3] near Eaglesfield, made of large flat stones. In 1816, passing near Lamplugh and Streetgate (significant name) in a direct line from Papcastle, was a road 18 feet wide (S.5m] made of cobbles and local freestone. [4] Limestone was to hand for the northern section, but sandstone was nevertheless used for the foundations to a cobbled surface.

Its route over Hotchberry has been located and there is considerable evidence further south in both names and ground signs. [5] As recently as the 1960s field drainage work uncovered it east of Dean Village. Near Dean a branch road diverged to Moresby, which may have been a garrison supply centre and which was well placed to watch the sea and a stretch of the coastal plain. A grant of land in Distington dated 1320 referred to “the great road under frothou towards Dean” and Stukeley wrote in 1776 that “there are evident signs of a Roman road from Morbium (Moresby) to Papcastle all the way”

Going NW from Papcastle is the road to Maryport, made of sandstone, limestone and cobbles. It follows a very straight route, along the occupation road west of Dovenby Hall to join the present Cockermouth-Maryport road from Unefoot to Dearham crossroads, whence it maintains the straight line to Camp Hill. [6] A raised section of the field path near the Dovenby Craggs – Broughton road (OS 097 325) is presumably part of this road. As far as is known PapcastIe had no direct link with Burrow Walls, the fort near the mouth of the Derwent (a harbour since pre-historic times).

South East from Papcastle a road went via Whinlatter Pass to Keswick, then continued eastwards. Evidence was provided in 1952 by the discovery just north of the former Braithwaite railway station of a metalled causeway, 20 feet wide, apparently never a farm track and lying in a Whinlatter-Keswick direction. [7] Earlier, in 1921, traces were reported of a Roman road crossing the Derwent above its confluence with the Greta and carried on an embankment to the foot of Whinlatter [8].

There is a very early reference in a Fountains Abbey Cartulary to a causeway across the nearby marshes. It seems reasonable to suppose that there was a fort in such an obvious centre as Keswick, but it has never been found.

It is a natural choice for a control centre for the surrounding hills and is at the focus of a number of valleys. Roads would go not only east and west, but south to the fort at Ambleside and north via Caermote fort to Old Carlisle.

The purpose of Caermote (OS 202 368) near Bothel Crags is obscure – possibly to control lead mining in the Caldbeck Fells to the east, possibly related to signalling from a nearby beacon. The original fort was a small 3.5 acre cohort camp and was later replaced by an even smaller one within the boundary of the first. [9] There may have been a road link with Papcastle. The road system in the immediate neighbourhood of Papcastle fort is interesting. Bellhouse points out that a change in direction of only 2 degrees at OS 133340 on the Carlisle road avoids an ascent and coincides with the old Cockermouth – Carlisle road. [10] Continuation in the same direction passes to the south of the fort and leads to Tendley Hill. Also the road from Maryport passes the fort, this time on the south-west. The two roads may have connected outside the fort but within the vicus, the Carlisle road having a link to the east gate and the Maryport one to the south or west gate.

Aerial photography has shown a road from the east gate which may have served not only as a link road but also been part of the road to Whinlatter, avoiding two river crossings by reaching the Derwent above the Cocker’s present or former entry and then turning southwards.

It appears that here the main roads did not pass through the fort, as at Maryport, but skirted it, as at Old Carlisle. [11] From PapcastIe, as from Old Carlisle, reinforcements could be rapidly moved along the diverging roads in an emergency. Normally the roads would be patrolled and along them would pass convoys of supplies, escorted high-ranking army officers and detachments of troops. The local people doubtless used them to convey their produce to the welcome market provided by the Papcastle garrison.