A Roman Fort with its name unknown
Location
Lower Borrowbridge Roman Fort is situated in the bottom of Tebay Gouge but on slightly elevated ground, a mile south of the village of Tebay. It’s on the main road from Manchester to Carlisle. It was the equivalent of the M6 nearly 2000 years ago, which is 50 yards from the south east corner with the mail western railway in between.. To get to the fort leave Tebay on A685 and take the first right under M6 after A685 pass under M6, a quarter of a mile further south. The fort is on the right and the River Lune on the left.
The fort is 10 miles from Watercrook
Lower Borrowbridge History
An early fort was here in the early 70’s AD as part of the invasion of the north, on a prehistoric site. Evidence is limited.
If the traffic on this road were to be attacked, this would have been the ideal location with steep hills on either side. The identified stone remains date from the middle of the 2nd century, at a time when the army was withdrawing from “Scotland” after the 2nd invasion, and with the upper wall rebuilt in the Severan period around 200AD.
Lower Borrowbridge as identified by the remains was 135yds by 100yds about 2.75acres and defensive ditches have been identified outside the walls. This is a small fort just about able to house an understrength infantry cohort, but there was a tombstone of a cavalryman clouds the issue, an infantry unit seems the likely opinion, because the hills would be very step for cavalry. If it was a cavalry garrison it could only have housed about half a cavalry regiment about 250 men.
A geo physics survey has located the headquarters building and the commander’s house.
East of the farm house south of the fort a Mansio (guesthouse for visitors using the road) has been found, but the site was damaged during the construction of the M6. No evidence of a civilian settlement has been found but again this could have been destroyed during the M6 construction.
Further south a Roman crematory has been found. Because of the importance of this road the fort occurred throughout the fourth century