View source for Wroxeter

{{Short description|Village in Shropshire, England}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2009}}
{{infobox UK place
|official_name= Wroxeter
|static_image_name= St. Andrews Church Wroxeter - geograph.org.uk - 1754377.jpg
|static_image_caption=[[St Andrew's Church, Wroxeter]]
|coordinates = {{coord|52|40|14|N|02|38|51|W|display=inline,title}}
|os_grid_reference= SJ561082
|label_position=bottom
|population= 
|population_ref= 
|civil_parish= [[Wroxeter and Uppington]]
|unitary_england= [[Shropshire (district)|Shropshire]]
|lieutenancy_england= [[Shropshire]]
|region= West Midlands
|country= England
|constituency_westminster= [[Shrewsbury and Atcham (UK Parliament constituency)|Shrewsbury and Atcham]]
|post_town= [[Shrewsbury]]
|postcode_district= SY5
|postcode_area= SY 
|dial_code= 01743
|london_distance= 
|website= {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723000726/http://www.2shrop.net/wupc Wroxeter & Uppington Parish Council]}}
}}

'''Wroxeter''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɒ|k|s|ᵻ|t|ər}} {{respell|ROK|sit|ər}}) is a village and former [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]], now in the parish of [[Wroxeter and Uppington]], in the [[Shropshire (district)|Shropshire]] district, in the ceremonial county of [[Shropshire]], England. It is beside the [[River Severn]], {{convert|5|mi|km}} east-south-east of [[Shrewsbury]]. In 1961 the parish had a population of 657.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10367890/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Wroxeter CP/AP through time|publisher=[[A Vision of Britain through Time]]|accessdate=9 June 2023}}</ref>

''[[Viroconium Cornoviorum]]'', the fourth largest city in [[Roman Britain]], was sited here, and is gradually being excavated. In 2024, archaeologists uncovered a 2,000-year-old mosaic depicting dolphins and fish.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gv3e6p05do|title=Hidden mosaic discovered at Wroxeter Roman site|website=BBC News|first1=Chloe|last1=Hughes|first2=Emily|last2=Beament|date=13 August 2024}}</ref>

The village contains one of Shropshire's commercial vineyards.

==History==
{{main|Viroconium Cornoviorum}}

Roman Wroxeter, near the end of the [[Watling Street]] [[Roman road]] that ran across Romanised Celtic Britain from ''[[Dubris]]'' ([[Dover]]), was a key frontier position lying on the bank of the River Severn whose valley penetrated deep into what later became known as [[Wales]], and also on a route south leading to the [[River Wye|Wye]] valley.

Archaeology has shown that the site of the later city first was established about AD&nbsp;55 as a frontier post for a [[Thracian]] legionary [[cohort (military unit)|cohort]] located at a [[castra|fort]] near the Severn river crossing.<ref>Rome Against Caractacus, G. Webster. {{ISBN|0713472545}}, pp. 49–53</ref> A few years later a legionary fortress (''[[castra|castrum]]'') was built within the site of the later city for the [[Legio XIV Gemina]] during their invasion of [[Wales in the Roman era|Wales]].

The local British tribe of the Cornovii had their original capital (also thought to have been named *Uiroconion) at the [[British hillforts|hillfort]] on [[the Wrekin]]. When the Cornovii were eventually subdued their capital was moved to Wroxeter and given its Roman name.

This legion XIV Gemina was later replaced by the [[Legio XX Valeria Victrix]] which in turn relocated to [[Chester]] around AD&nbsp;88. As the military abandoned the fortress the site was taken over by the Cornovians' civilian settlement.

The name of the settlement, meaning "Viroconium of the [[Cornovii (Midlands)|Cornovians]]", preserves a [[Britons (Celtic people)|native]] [[Common Brittonic|Brittonic]] [[Celtic placenames|name]] that has been [[linguistic reconstruction|reconstructed]] as *'''Uiroconion''' ("[the city] of *Uirokū"), where *''Uiro-ku'' ({{abbr|lit.|Literally}} "man"-"wolf") is believed to have been a [[masculine name|masculine]] [[given name]] meaning "[[werewolf]]".<ref name="Delamarre">{{cite book |last=Delamarre |first=Xavier |title=Noms de lieux celtiques de l'europe ancienne |year=2012 |publisher=Editions Errance |location=Arles |isbn=978-2-87772-483-8 |page=273}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wodtko |first=Dagmar |title=Wörterbuch der keltiberischen Inschriften: Monumenta Linguarum Hispanicarum, Band V.1 |year=2000 |publisher=Reichert-Verlag |isbn=978-3-89500-136-9 |page=452}}</ref> 
[[File:Wroxeter baths, 2010.jpg|thumb|left|The ruins of [[Viroconium]]'s [[Thermae|public baths]] at Wroxeter]]

Viroconium prospered over the next century, with the construction of many public buildings, including [[thermae]] and a colonnaded [[Forum (Roman)|forum]]. At its peak, it is thought to have been the 4th-largest settlement in [[Roman Britain]], with a population of more than 15,000.<ref name=frerejacques>Frere, S. S. ''Britannia: a History of Roman Britain.'' London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., 1987. {{ISBN|0-7102-1215-1}}.</ref>

The Roman city is first documented in [[Ptolemy]]'s 2nd century ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]'' as one of the cities of the [[Cornovii (Midlands)|Cornovii]] tribe, along with [[Chester]] ([[Deva Victrix]]).

Following the [[Roman withdrawal from Britain]] around AD&nbsp;410, the Cornovians seem to have divided into [[Pengwern]] and [[Kingdom of Powys|Powys]], although the territorial name may have continued into this period.<ref name="Strange (2025)">{{cite web|last=Strange|first=O|title=The Lost Land of the Cornovii|url=https://www.academia.edu/127089896/The_Lost_Land_of_the_Cornovii|accessdate=18 January 2025}}</ref> The minor [[Magonsæte]] sub-kingdom also emerged in the area in the interlude between Powysian and [[Mercia]]n rule. Viroconium may have served as the early [[Sub-Roman Britain|post-Roman]] capital of Powys prior to its removal to [[Mathrafal]] sometime before 717, following famine and plague in the area. The city has been variously identified with the {{nowrap|'''Cair Urnarc'''}}<ref name=shusher>Newman, John Henry &&nbsp;al. [http://www.mocavo.co.uk/Lives-of-the-English-Saints-St-Gilbert-Prior-of-Sempringham-Volume-3/527392/459 ''Lives of the English Saints: St. German, Bishop of Auxerre'', Ch.&nbsp;X: "Britain in 429, A.&nbsp;D.",<!--sic--> p.&nbsp;92.] James Toovey (London), 1844.</ref> and {{nowrap|'''Cair Guricon'''}}<ref name=nashford>Ford, David Nash. "[http://www.britannia.com/history/ebk/articles/nenniuscities.html The 28 Cities of Britain]" at Britannia. 2000.</ref> which appeared in the 9th-century ''[[Historia Brittonum|History of the Britons]]''{{'}}s list of the 28 [[civitas|cities]] of [[Sub-Roman Britain|Britain]].<ref name=mommy>[[Nennius]] ({{abbr|attrib.|Traditional attribution}}). [[Theodor Mommsen]] ({{abbr|ed.|Editor}}). [[s:la:Historia Brittonum#VI. CIVITATES BRITANNIAE|''Historia Brittonum'', VI.]] Composed after AD&nbsp;830. {{in lang|la}} Hosted at [[s:la:Main Page|Latin Wikisource]].</ref>
[[File:A lidar view of Wroxeter in Shropshire.jpg|thumb|A [[lidar]] view of Wroxeter and part of the old Roman city wall]]
N. J. Higham proposes that Wroxeter became the eponymous capital of an early sub-Roman kingdom known as the ''[[Wreocensæte|Wrocensaete]]'', which he asserts was the successor territorial unit to Cornovia.  The literal meaning of ''Wrocensaete'' is 'those dwelling at ''Wrocen''<nowiki/>', which Higham interprets as Wroxeter.  It may refer quite specifically to the royal court itself, in the first instance, and only by extension to the territory administered from the court.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Origins of Cheshire |last=Higham |first=Nick J. |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1993 |isbn=0-7190-3160-5 |pages=68–77}}</ref>
The Roman city was rediscovered in 1859 when workmen began excavating [[Thermae|the baths]] complex.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/wroxeter-roman-city/|title=Wroxeter Roman City|website=English Heritage}}</ref>{{refn|English Heritage has recently published a series of monographs on the excavations at Wroxeter from the 1950s to 1990s<ref>Barker, P., Bird, H., Corbishley, M., Pretty, K., White, R. (1997) [http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/eh_monographs_2014/contents.cfm?mono=1089053 The Baths Basilica Wroxeter Excavations: 1966–90]. English Heritage</ref><ref>Chadderton, J., Webster, G. (2002) [http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/eh_monographs_2014/contents.cfm?mono=1089060 The Legionary Fortress at Wroxeter: Excavations by Graham Webster, 1955–85.] English Heritage</ref><ref>Ellis, P. (2000) [http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/eh_monographs_2014/contents.cfm?mono=1089069 ''The Roman Baths and Macellum at Wroxeter Excavations 1955–85''.] English Heritage</ref> These are available through the [http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/eh_monographs_2014/ Archaeology Data Service].}} A [[Viroconium Cornoviorum#villa|replica Roman villa]] was constructed in 2010 for a Channel 4 television programme called ''Rome Wasn't Built in a Day'' and was opened to the public on 19 February 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-12471007|website=BBC News|title=Reconstructed Roman villa unveiled at Wroxeter|date=15 February 2011}}</ref>

On 1 April 1986 the parish was abolished and merged with [[Uppington]] to form "Uppington & Wroxeter".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/shrewsbury.html|title=Shrewsbury Registration District|publisher=UKBMD|accessdate=9 June 2023}}</ref>

==St Andrew's==
{{main|St Andrew's Church, Wroxeter}}
At the centre of Wroxeter village is [[St Andrew's Church, Wroxeter|Saint Andrew's parish church]], some of which is built from re-used Roman masonry. The oldest visible section of the church is the [[Anglo-Saxon architecture|Anglo-Saxon]] part of the north wall which is built of Roman monumental stone blocks. The chancel and the lower part of the tower are [[Norman architecture|Norman]].<ref>Pevsner, Nicholas, Shropshire, 1958, p. 327</ref> The gatepiers to the churchyard are a pair of Roman columns and the [[Baptismal font|font]] in the church was made by hollowing out the capital of a Roman column.<ref>Aston & Bond, 1976, page 53</ref> Later additions to the church incorporate remains of an Anglo-Saxon preaching cross and carvings salvaged from nearby [[Haughmond Abbey]] following the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]].

St. Andrew's was declared [[Redundant church|redundant]] in 1980 and is now managed by The [[Churches Conservation Trust]]. St. Andrew's parish is now united with that of St. Mary, [[Eaton Constantine]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.achurchnearyou.com/eaton-constantine-wroxeter-st-mary/ |title=Eaton Constantine S.Mary, Eaton Constantine |author=Archbishops' Council |year=2010 |work=A Church Near You |publisher=[[Church of England]] |access-date=30 January 2011}}</ref>

==Literary reference==
[[A. E. Housman]] visited the site and was impressed enough to write of "when Uricon the city stood", the poem ending "Today the Roman and his trouble Are ashes under Uricon."<ref>A. E. Housman, ''[[A Shropshire Lad]]'', poem XXXI, 1896</ref>

[[Bernard Cornwell]] has the main character of ''[[The Saxon Stories]]'' visit Wroxeter in ''[[Death of Kings]]'', referring to it as an ancient Roman city that was "as big as London" and using it as an illustration of his pagan beliefs that the World will end in [[Chaos (cosmogony)|chaos]].<ref>Bernard Cornwell, ''[[Death of Kings]]'', Part Two – "Angels", 2012</ref>

==Sport==
The village previously had a [[Association football|football]] team named Wroxeter Rovers. In 2017, the club relocated to nearby [[Shrewsbury]] and was renamed to Shrewsbury Juniors, in order to provide a senior football team for children progressing through the club's junior football system to take part in after the age of 16–17.{{Source needed|date=May 2022}} The club were champions of the [[Shropshire County Football League|Shropshire County League]] Premier Division in 2020-21.

==See also==
*[[Listed buildings in Wroxeter and Uppington]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Aston |first1=Michael |last2=Bond |first2=James |title=The Landscape of Towns |series=Archaeology in the Field Series |year=1976 |publisher=[[J.M. Dent]] & Sons Ltd |location=London |isbn=0-460-04194-0 |pages=45–48, 51–54}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Wroxeter}}
*[https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=7413549 Photos of Wroxeter and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk]
*[http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/wroxeter-roman-city-info-for-teachers/ English Heritage: Information for teachers]

{{Roman visitor sites in the UK}}
{{Severn from Llandrinio to Ironbridge}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Shropshire]]
[[Category:Populated places on the River Severn]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in Shropshire]]