Enjoying retirement
In The Red Rose County
"It is written upon a wall in Rome; Ribchester was as rich as any town in Christendom". So wrote William Camden in 1586. A rumour picked up by him in the village perhaps. Nevertheless, quite the statement. We were in Ribchester to visit the Roman Museum. The village's setting by the Ribble with Pendle in the background as always is picturesque. For the Romans it -Bremetennacum - was of strategic importance, and the location of a cavalry fort. The Ala II Asturum, a Spanish cavalry unit were here and then replaced by a Sarmation unit from Hungary. What a cosmopolitan Empire the Roman Empire was. The museum is run by a small charity and receives no grants, a typically English affair. Although small it does contain a wealth of remains, starting with the Bronze Age but heavily concentrating on the Roman occupation. Some absolutely fascinating stuff. I had never seen for instance a Roman tent. Made of leather and with substantial pegs as you can see. The catapult balls were also larger than expected. Now I have seen many Roman nit combs before but never a Roman nit! Amazing. There was quite a lot of stonework on display, this a cavalry tombstone of a “rider and barbarian”, the barbarian being ridden down by the Roman rider. of course. These tombstones were seemingly more popular in Britain than in the rest of the Empire. Similar ones can be seen at the museums of Lancaster and Chester, both of which had forts. The XX Legion at Chester was indeed connected with the building here. Here an altar dedicated to Marcus Aurelius......... But the most remarkable of the many finds at Ribchester is this full-faced Roman parade helmet. "This helmet covered the whole of the rider’s head, with the mask showing the fine features of a human face. On top of the helmet are human figures fighting. The replica in the museum is impressive and well displayed, but the original is on permanent display in the British Museum, London." One of the reasons the Romans valued Britannia was for its mineral wealth. Here we see a lead ingot. A great little museum, with finds even littering its doorstep. We went next to the bathhouse built around 100AD. It had the usual arrangement of cold, warm and hot rooms. Here the circular laconium or sauna distinctly visible. The bath house would have had painted plaster walls and barrel vaulted ceilings. Small translucent glass windows would have given some illumination. Finds from the site indicate that it was used by both men and women and include gaming counters, brooches, beads, stones from rings, bronze pins and 25,000 pottery sherds as well as coins from the times of the Emperors Trajan and Antonius Pius. After 225 AD the baths were no longer in use. They may seem to have had a short life but in relative terms the same sort of time span as between the Victorian PM Lord Salisbury and now. A beer break in the fine pub The White Bull was next. And, suitably refreshed, we looked round the medieval parish church of St Wilfrid, dating back to at least the Eleventh century. The chancel, parts of the nave and vestry date from around the 1220s. The distinctive narrow lancet windows of this period can be seen in the chancel. the oak-beamed roof was repaired and altered in 1527. The wooden medieval screen in front of one of the two chantry chapels is quite rare. The list of former rectors goes back to 1243, the first name being simply Drogo. Tolkien was a frequent visitor to nearby Stoneyhurst. Draw your own conclusions........ "One striking feature is the sundial in the churchyard. It’s 17th century, but the tall flight of steps that it stands on is much older, probably medieval 13th-14th century. At the top of them would have stood a tall cross, now long gone with no trace of it to be found, a fate of many crosses throughout the country. The top step supporting the sundial bears the inscription: “I am a shadow, so art thou. I mark time, dost thou?” This comes from the brilliant blog Lancashire Past by two brothers Adrian and Richard Bowden. Recommended.
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August 2023
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