ULAS
University of Leicester Archaeological Services

The lost defences of Leicester: Excavations at Westbridge Wharf

‘Legecestria is a most wealthy city, and emcompast with an indissoluble wall, of which if the foundation were strong and good, the place would be inferiour to no city whatsever’
Matthew Paris, Lesser History, 13th century, translated by William Camden, 1695

Current re-development of Leicester’s Bath Lane area is providing an opportunity to locate the lost western town defences and present new evidence for their dating and sequence.

Westbridge Wharf at the time of the Roman conquest was part of the low-lying Soar floodplain. The area was reclaimed through the dumping of clay and earth, and a turf-built rampart was constructed on the elevated area some time during the second century, probably the latter half. It would appear that Bath Lane follows the line of the rampart - it was seen at Westbridge Wharf because the street had been slightly re-aligned when the railway line was built in the 1880s.

A 40m length of the later Roman town wall was revealed crossing the site, but somewhat further east than had been expected (many earlier observations of substantial masonry recorded during building works would now seem to be a Roman ‘river’ wall). The wall had been inserted into the front of the rampart, thus disputing previous assertions that Leicester’s defences were of one period. The superstructure had been ‘robbed’ (dismantled) and the stone re-used during the early post-medieval period. However, the footings mostly survived, revealing a formidable structure, up to 3m wide, amongst the widest of town walls in Roman Britain.

Read more about Westbridge Wharf in Projects, or click here