Monument record 8344 - Roman Barrack Block C (retentura east) at Deanery Field

Please read our .

Summary

A series of archaeological investigations carried out at the Deanery Field in the 1920s and 1930s recorded substantial evidence of Roman legionary quarters. Legionary quarters comprised six barrack buildings for the regular soldiers and six centurial houses for the officers. Deanery Field lies within the retentura or the rear ward section of the fortress that was almost entirely given over to barrack blocks for four cohorts, two each on either side of the via Decumana (Northgate Street). Only faint traces of the fourth barrack block in the north east corner of the fortress were identified during excavations in 1922 comprising a single wall, a possible hearth and a floor surface tentatively interpreted as a veranda. Legionary barrack blocks each accommodated a century of 80 men plus their officers, and were normally arranged in groups of 6 (a cohort of 480 men). Narrow streets gave access to facing pairs of barracks. The centurions' quarters were situated at the ends of the barracks, adjacent to a major road - either the perimeter road (via sagularis) or main transverse street (via principalis). The centurions' quarters were divided from those of the rank-and-file by a narrow alley. They were wider than the men's quarters but lacked a veranda. In ground plan they consisted of a corridor with rooms (including a private latrine) opening off on each side. The men's quarters consisted on 14 (later 11 or 12) units of two rooms for approximately eight men, fronted by a veranda that often contained an enclosed latrine at one end. The outer room was used to store equipment; the inner was for living and sleeping and contained a hearth. Only 10 pairs of rooms should have been needed to accommodate a century; the purpose of the spare rooms is uncertain. The first barracks were constructed using a timber frame with wattle-and-daub infilled panels. These timber barracks underwent a varying number of re-buildings in a relatively short period of time. From about AD 100, there was intermittent rebuilding in stone (perhaps with timber superstructures). However, there were also periods of abandonment. A comprehensive rebuilding was finally undertaken in the early third century. These barracks had much the same plan as their timber predecessors. A diminished number of barracks continued to be occupied into the fourth century.

Map

Find a placename, postcode or grid reference

Map layers

Base layers

Info

Record list

Tools

Type and Period (5)

Full Description

Archaeological investigations carried out by Newstead in 1922 in the southern part of the Deanery Field recorded traces of a Roman structure later interpreted as a barrack type block.

The evidence on this occasion comprised a single north-south aligned wall was a rubble foundation and traces of two internal walls perpendicular to it interpreted as the eastern external wall and traces of two rooms, one of which contained a hearthstone. Evidence of a possible veranda was also recorded on the eastern side of the barrack block. The walls comprised sandstone block foundations with no mortar bonding and ashlar faced upper courses. (1)


<1> Newstead, R (Prof.), 1924, Report on the Excavations on the Site of the Roman Camp at the Deanery Field, Chester (Article in Journal). SCH6478.

<2> Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 1883 -, Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 36/8-10 Watkin W T 1887 (Journal/Periodical). SCH3293.

<3> Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 1883 -, Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 2/33-8 Watkin W T 1884 (Journal/Periodical). SCH3293.

<4> Webster, Graham, 1953, Excavations on the Legionary Defences at Chester, 1949-52 (Part ii), p17-23 (Article in Journal). SCH5727.

<5> Harris, B.E. (ed), 1987, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I, pp149-51,157 (Book). SCH3556.

<6> LeQuesne C, 1999, Excavations at Chester: The Roman and Later Defences Part I (Monograph). SCH6156.

<7> Collingwood R G & Wright R P, 1965, The Roman Inscriptions of Britain: Volume I (Monograph). SCH3235.

<8> Newstead, Robert (Prof.), 1926, Records of Archaeological Finds at Chester (Article in Journal). SCH5955.

<9> Lloyd-Morgan G., 1978, Some small Roman Bronzes in the Grovsenor Museum, Chester (Article in Journal). SCH5917.

<10> Thompson Watkin W. T., 1886, Roman Cheshire: A Description of Roman Remains in the County of Chester, p158-9 (Book). SCH2878.

<11> Lloyd-Morgan G., 1977, Mirrors in Roman Chester (Article in Journal). SCH5915.

<12> Lawson, P H, 1926, Schedule of the Roman Remains of Chester with Maps and Plans (Article in Journal). SCH5956.

<13> Thompson, F.H., 1964, A History of Cheshire. Volume Two: Roman Cheshire (Book). SCH2862.

<14> Wright, R. P. & Richmond, I. A., 1955, Catalogue of the Roman Inscribed and Sculptured Stones in the Grosvenor Museum, Chester (Monograph). SCH522.

<15> Lloyd-Morgan G., 1981, Jet and shale in the archaeological collections of the Grosvenor Museum (Article in Journal). SCH5932.

Sources/Archives (15)

  • <1> Article in Journal: Newstead, R (Prof.). 1924. Report on the Excavations on the Site of the Roman Camp at the Deanery Field, Chester. Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology (Liverpool). Volume 11.
  • <2> Journal/Periodical: Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society. 1883 -. Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society. 36/8-10 Watkin W T 1887.
  • <3> Journal/Periodical: Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society. 1883 -. Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society. 2/33-8 Watkin W T 1884.
  • <4> Article in Journal: Webster, Graham. 1953. Excavations on the Legionary Defences at Chester, 1949-52 (Part ii). Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. Volume 40. p17-23.
  • <5> Book: Harris, B.E. (ed). 1987. Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I. pp149-51,157.
  • <6> Monograph: LeQuesne C. 1999. Excavations at Chester: The Roman and Later Defences Part I. Survey Report No 11.
  • <7> Monograph: Collingwood R G & Wright R P. 1965. The Roman Inscriptions of Britain: Volume I. volume I.
  • <8> Article in Journal: Newstead, Robert (Prof.). 1926. Records of Archaeological Finds at Chester. Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. Volume 27, Part 2.
  • <9> Article in Journal: Lloyd-Morgan G.. 1978. Some small Roman Bronzes in the Grovsenor Museum, Chester. Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. 61.
  • <10> Book: Thompson Watkin W. T.. 1886. Roman Cheshire: A Description of Roman Remains in the County of Chester. p158-9.
  • <11> Article in Journal: Lloyd-Morgan G.. 1977. Mirrors in Roman Chester. Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. 60.
  • <12> Article in Journal: Lawson, P H. 1926. Schedule of the Roman Remains of Chester with Maps and Plans. Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. Volume 27, Part 1.
  • <13> Book: Thompson, F.H.. 1964. A History of Cheshire. Volume Two: Roman Cheshire.
  • <14> Monograph: Wright, R. P. & Richmond, I. A.. 1955. Catalogue of the Roman Inscribed and Sculptured Stones in the Grosvenor Museum, Chester.
  • <15> Article in Journal: Lloyd-Morgan G.. 1981. Jet and shale in the archaeological collections of the Grosvenor Museum. Journal of the Chester Archaeological and Historic Society. 64.

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (1)

External Links (0)

Location

Grid reference Centred SJ 40 66 (26m by 53m) (2 map features)
Map sheet SJ46NW
Civil Parish CHESTER NON PARISH AREA, CHESTER, CHESHIRE WEST AND CHESTER
Historic Township/Parish/County CHESTER, CHESTER HOLY TRINITY, CHESHIRE

Protected Status/Designation

Record last edited

May 16 2018 11:07AM