The Stanwick Fortifications

NB To fully appreciate the extent of this site you are strongly advised to go up the road to Forcett - about half a mile - to the Heritage site on the right of the road - where Sir Mortimer Wheeler, for the Festival of Britain in 1951, created a vantage point which allows you firstly to see what the ditch would have been like and secondly to appreciate the extent of the fortifications to the east and south.  At the church in Stanwick you are almost at their centre, and looking south from the lych gate, the Tofts field with its ornamental hexagonal Deer Shelter was the central sector of the fort.

 The complex of prehistoric earthworks known as Stanwick Camp lies in the fertile, rolling countryside of North Yorkshire, between the rivers Tees and Swale. The scale of the site is enormous: an area of over 300 hectares (700 acres) is enclosed by massive ramparts of earth and stone, still standing to a height of about five metres, and fronted by a huge defensive ditch. Some two thousand years ago, this was a centre of great importance, and one of the chief places of the pre-Roman people of northern Britain.

 Occasional finds of Bronze Age metalwork suggest that the development of Stanwick may have started at a very early date. Certainly, by the last two centuries BC, the landscape was occupied by one or more Iron Age farms, surrounded by a system of fields enclosed by low banks and ditches. Sheep and cattle were kept, and a variety of cereal crops grown.

 Recent archaeological research has shown that there were many such prehistoric fields in the north, and a considerable number are now known in the Tees valley. It was during the 1st century AD that Stanwick grew in importance and became much more than a normal Iron Age settlement: this may have been the result of the general transformation of British society which was caused by the arrival of the Romans.

 When the Romans first arrived in Britain (AD 43), Yorkshire and much of northern England was occupied by the Brigantes, the most populous of the northern tribes. Rather than attempting to subdue the Brigantes by military force, the Romans entered into treaties which recognised Brigantian independence under their queen, Cartimandua, giving her security in exchange for her political co-operation.

 This arrangement was not popular among all of the Brigantes, and resistance developed under the leadership of Cartimandua’s husband, Venutius. Matters finally came to a head in 51 AD, when the queen handed over to the Romans the southern British prince Caratacus, who had fled to her court. War broke out among the Brigantes, and finally,in AD 71, a Roman  army under Petillius Cerealis was sent north, to end northern independence by bringing Cartimandua’s territory into the Roman province of Britain. The subsequent fates of Cartimandua and Venutius are not known.

 During the early 1950’s excavations were carried out at Stanwick by Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the best-known of British archaeologists. His work concentrated mostly on the great ramparts themselves, which he was able to date to the 1st century AD. because of the great scale of the earthworks, Wheeler thought it was probably the stronghold of Venutius, where he rallied the anti-Roman faction within the tribe and lost his last battle against the army of Cerealis.

 More recent excavations by the University or Durham have concentrated on the area near the centre of the site, close to the Ice House in the Tofts field. Here were found a series of small, ditched enclosures, containing the remains of the circular, timber houses of the Iron Age inhabitants.

 Pottery and other finds indicate that, during the reign of Cartimandua, the Brigantes enjoyed a privileged lifestyle, with ready access to luxury goods imported from all over the Roman Empire. The finds include fine pottery from southern France and the Rhineland; glass vessels from Germany and Italy; and amphora jars which once held imported Mediterranean wine. Pieces of Roman roofing tile indicate the existence of a building constructed in sophisticated Roman style. All of this reached Stanwick before the arrival of Roman troops in AD 71.

 It appears that Stanwick is much more likely to have been Cartimandua’s court and seat of power than a stronghold of Venutius, as the presence of expensive Roman commodities may be the result of her favoured status. the houses which have been found appear to be the residences of Brigantian nobility.

 It is not clear how many other people lived within the ramparts, but it is unlikely that much of the area was occupied by settlement. Most of the interior was probably grazing land for cattle and horses, or may even have served as a market centre.

 The wealth of  Iron Age Stanwick was shown by a remarkable find just outside the ramparts in 1854. Workmen laying drains discovered a large hoard of highly-decorated metalwork, consisting of a set of weapons and armour, and the fillings for a war chariot. The finds (now in the British Museum) include a fine sword* and the corroded remains of  a coat of mail, as well as ornate horse-bits, axle-fittings and decorative plaques.

 An idea of the scale of the Stanwick defences may best be found at the [English Heritage] Guardianship site, reached through a signposted gate on the edge of Forcett village. This was Wheeler’s largest excavated section, and it has been left open and partially reconstructed to show the original appearance of the earthworks. The lower part of the defensive ditch is cut through solid rock, and this has been used to build a vertical stone wall at the front of the rampart: elsewhere this wall is no longer visible, but it originally ran round the full circuit of the site (the name Stanwick means ‘Stone Walls’).

 Clearly, a huge labour force was need to build the Stanwick ramparts, which run to 6.5 kilometres (about 4 miles) in length. This indicates the power of the ruling class of the Brigantes, and the size of the northern population. Despite the apparent strength of the ramparts, it would have been difficult to defend such a circuit, and it is probable that the impressive, stone-faced banks and ditches were as much an expression of status and  power as a practical fortification.

 Across the road to the south from the Guardianship site may be seen one of the original entrances to Stanwick (and the only entrance definitely identified). The University of Durham’s work has shown that the entrance was strongly defended by stone-faced ramparts, with a massive double gate. Here, Wheeler made two spectacular finds: an iron sword, still in its scabbard of wood and bronze, and a human skull, chopped off at the neck and mutilated by a series of savage sword cuts. These relics seem to have been part of a trophy, hanging above the gateway, the result of tribal warfare.

 There is little evidence for settlement at Stanwick after the arrival of the Romans. It is possible that the population moved to enjoy the amenities of the new Roman towns, perhaps at Piercebridge. Stanwick did, however, become the site of a village in the Middle Ages. little trace of this remains: the houses seem to have been in the area of Kirkbridge Farm, and the remains of the mediaeval cultivated fields may still be made out in the surrounding pastures.

 The site of Stanwick Church has been a religious focus at least since Anglo-Saxon times. the building includes numerous fragments of limestone sculpture which date from the 9th century onwards. The church itself contains many mediaeval features, although most of it, apart from the fine tower, was rebuilt in the 1860’s.

 In the south aisle is an elaborate alabaster tomb with effigies of Sir Hugh Smithson and his wife: it was he who built the splendid 17 th century mansion now called Kirkbridge Farm, probably on the site of the old mediaeval manor house. A branch of the family became Dukes of Northumberland, and went of to construct Stanwick Hall, a stately mansion which was demolished in the 1920’s. Little survives, but the coach-house and walled gardens can still be made out. the excellent preservation of Stanwick’s archaeological remains owes much to their inclusion within the parkland of the Hall.

 *illustrated

 Text reproduced in 2003 from the North Yorkshire County Council leaflet ‘The Stanwick Fortifications’, drawn up by Brigantia Archaeological Practice and available free from tourist offices and The Heritage Unit at County Hall, Northallerton, North Yorkshire  DL7  8AH, Tel. 01609 780780