Roman roads in Essex
Camulodunum at Colchester was the first Roman capital of Britain and the site of the temple of the deified Claudius, which the Iceni burned in AD 60 or 61 with its defenders inside. The colony was refounded and the road network rebuilt around it: north to Venta Icenorum by the Pye Road, west toward Cambridge, and south-west to London. Colchester still has the longest surviving stretch of Roman town wall in Britain.
- Mapped segments
- 28
- Surveyed length
- 280 km
- Named roads
- 2
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 Balkerne Gate is the largest surviving Roman gateway in Britain and stands at the western end of the town wall. Colchester Castle is built directly on the vaults of the temple of Claudius, which you can go down into, and the Roman circus, the only one known in the country, is marked out south of the town centre with a visitor centre on the site.
Named roads through Essex
Pye Road
Camulodunum to Venta Icenorum
Via Devana
Camulodunum to Deva