The Site

Where was Roman Castleford?

- Beneath our feet

Modern Castleford has been built over the top of Roman Castleford so there are no Roman buildings to see. However, the line of the Roman road can still be seen on the map. The Roman road entered Castleford from the south underneath Beancroft Road. It then ran under Welbeck Street and passed east of All Saints’ Church to cross the river by a ford.

The Romans built a fort to control the river crossing. The fort was in an area now defined by Church Street, Carlton Street, Bradley Street and the river.

Archaeologists have also excavated part of the civilian settlement (the Romans called this a vicus). The main vicus buildings fronted the Roman road in the area of modern Welbeck Street.

Map showing the position of the fort and vicus underneath modern Castleford

Aerial photograph showing the position of the fort and vicus underneath modern Castleford

Have the archaeologists found all of Roman Castleford?

No. The archaeologists have only been able to dig in areas where new buildings or roads are planned. Usually they only have time or money to dig a part of each site. So there may be more of Roman Castleford in areas where there has been no new building recently.

The areas in red on this map show where archaeologists have been able to excavate in the centre of modern Castleford.