Roman roads in Cheshire
Deva Victrix at Chester was one of three permanent legionary fortresses in Britain, home to the Twentieth Legion, and the roads of Cheshire converge on it. Its amphitheatre is the largest known in the country, and the modern city walls still follow the Roman circuit along two sides. The supposed Via Devana takes its name from Deva, though whether it ever ran here as one road is another matter.
- Mapped segments
- 24
- Surveyed length
- 240 km
- Named roads
- 1
Measured from the Itiner-e survey within the modern county boundary, which for Yorkshire, Cheshire and the other counties broken up in 1974 means the traditional area reassembled from its present-day parts. The survey maps far more road than it attributes to a named route, so the segment count counts everything, and the named roads below are only those with a history recorded here.
Where to see it
The amphitheatre, the largest known in Britain, is half-excavated beside the city walls and free to walk into. The Grosvenor Museum holds the tombstones recovered from the city wall, where the Romans' own memorials had been reused as building stone, and the Roman Gardens display columns and hypocaust pillars from the fortress baths.
Named roads through Cheshire
Via Devana
Camulodunum to Deva