The Salt Way, from the Soar to the Fens
Contents
- From Barrow upon Soar to Saltersford - Roman Road 58a
- Barrow to Six Hills
- Six Hills to Goadby Marwood
- Goadby Marwood to Saltersford
- From Saltersford to Donington - Roman Road 58b
- Saltersford to Cold Harbour
- Cold Harbour to Threekingham (the A52)
- Threekingham to Donington
- East of Donington: the salt workings of Bicker Haven
- References
From Saltersford to Donington - Roman Road 58b
Saltersford to Cold Harbour
Fig. 8 THE SALT WAY FROM SALTERSFORD TO COLD HARBOUR (Base map from OS Standard map)
Margary (1955) states that while "The exact route by which [the Salt Way] leaves the valley of the river Witham from Saltersford is uncertain ...", it crosses Ermine Street at Cold Harbour, and then continues as what is now the A52.
A straight line for the Salt Way would in fact be achieved by a direct route from Saltersford to Cold Harbour (broken line in Figure), and support for this line comes from the discovery of: "A pair of widely set, double ditches seen as a cropmark and interpreted as a possible Roman road, east of Spittalgate Heath Farm" Link
). The position of these ditches (see Figure) is exactly on the direct route.- Trench 8 - see SALTERSFORD text (above).
COLD HARBOUR
Ermine Street was the major Roman road linking London to Lincoln and York, and through much of Lincolnshire it maintains high ground by running along the top of a limestone escarpment. While much has been written on the origins of the many places in England called 'Cold Harbour', it usually refers to a place of refuge in a cold (exposed, bleak) location Link
, and this could certainly apply at the Cold Harbour on the top of the limestone escarpment overlooking Grantham.It has also been suggested that "Cold Harbours are all in the vicinity of one or other of the great Neolithic or Roman roads, and were originally the remains of partially destroyed Roman or Romano-British dwellings, or settlements" Link
. While this could also apply here, such an origin is strongly disputed by others (Coates, 1984)
BLUE HARBOUR HOUSE (FORMER COLD HARBOUR INN). The Cold Harbour Inn used to stand at a crossroads where Cold Harbour Lane from Grantham, and the A52 from Donington, joined the B-6403 (Ermine Street). The road in front of the house is the original A52 before junction improvements
Cold Harbour to Threekingham (the A52)
Margary (1955) states that from Cold Harbour onwards the Roman road " .. is now a main road [the A52] .. ".
THE A52 PASSING THE 'ROMAN GARAGE'. An archaeological site in the fields behind the garage used to be regarded as a Roman camp, but is now thought to be a 12th century Cistercian grange Link
THE A52 WEST OF CHAIN FARM HOUSE. Romano-British pottery was recovered during excavation of a pipeline trench on the north (right) side of the road Link
THE A52 APPROACHING THE CROSSING OF KING STREET. King Street (Margary Roman Road 26) crosses from the south (right) near the entrance to Long Hollow (by sign)
SITE OF A ROMAN VILLA BY THE A52. Excavation revealed a large villa, probably of a courtyard plan consisting of eight rooms including a bath house, and artefacts including coins dating from the period 76 to 364 AD Link
THE A52 APPROACHING THE CROSSING OF MAREHAM LANE AT THREEKINGHAM. Mareham Lane (Margary Roman Road 260) crosses from the south (right)
Threekingham to Donington
Fig. 9 THE EASTERN END OF THE SALT WAY, APPROACHING DONINGTON (Base map from OS Standard map)
Two slightly different routes have been proposed for the eastern end of the Salt Way.
Route 1 (red line on map): Beyond Threekingham Margary (1955) has the line of Roman Road 58b continuing to be represented by the main road (modern A52), and suggests that it enters Donington via Bridge End Causeway.
Route2 (black line on map): Link
suggests that the east-south-east direction into Threekingham is continued into Horbling (broken black line on map) and Link suggests that the route then continues on this line across Horbling Fen (solid black line on map)ROUTE 1. BRIDGE END CAUSEWAY
Beyond Treekingham Margary (1955) has the line of Roman Road 58b continuing to be represented by the main road (modern A52):
"After passing Swaton ... it crosses the belt of fen land and bears the name Bridge End Causeway, reaching Donington just beyond ..."
BRIDGE END, THE WESTERN END OF THE CAUSEWAY. The farmhouse sits by the original main road, and is on the site of the former Gilbertine priory of St Saviour (founded c. 1199) whose canons were charged with the upkeep of the causeway.
THE A52 ON BRIDGE END CAUSEWAY. Looking east from the site of the Old Forty Foot Bridge
THE A52 ON BRIDGE END CAUSEWAY. Looking east from Hammond Beck Bridge
THE WEST END OF BRIDGE END CAUSEWAY. The A52 approaching Donington
ROUTE 2. HORBLING FEN TO SHOFF DROVE
However, Link
suggests that "Instead of bending northward in Threckingham the east-south-east line into Threckingham [along the modern street named 'Salter's Way'] is continued ... into Horbling" (broken line in Figure 9). East of Horbling Link reports that "Traces of a road show clearly on APs [aerial photographs]" , and that this " .. represents the possible route of Salter's Way .. " (solid black line in Figure 9).
SALTER'S WAY ENTERING THREEKINGHAM. This is the line of the original main road entering Treekingham. A straight continuation of this direction would produce the east-south-east route for the Salt Way to Horbling shown by the broken line in Figure 9
HORBLING FEN DROVE CROSSING CAR DYKE. "The Car Dyke is an artificial water channel that runs along the western fen edge from Peterborough to Lincoln. It is thought to have been constructed by the Romans ..." Link
SHOFF DROVE, NEAR DONINGTON. Near the eastern-most end of a proposed route of the Salt Way in Figure 9. For the etymology of 'Shoff' see Link
East of Donington: the salt workings of Bicker Haven
Fig. 10 SALT WORKING SITES OF BICKER HAVEN (Base map from Link
)Areas marked blue are some of the archaeological sites identified as salt workings, and generally regarded as medieval or earlier, on the Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer map Link
. The workings lie within an area known as Bicker Haven, a medieval tidal estuary (possibly the pre-11th century mouth of the River Witham). The area is bounded by the remains of old Sea (flood) Banks (orange lines on map). The Salt Way, as far as it can be traced, is believed to have run towards Donington either along the A52 or Shoff Drove.References
Abbott, R. D. (1956). Roman Discoveries at Goadby Marwood. Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Transactions, 32, 17-35. Link
Allen, M., Blick, N., Brindle, T., Evans, T., Fulford, M., Holbrook, N., Lodwick, L., Richards, J.D. and Smith, A. (2018) The Rural Settlement of Roman Britain: an online resource [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] Link
See Map with Overlay Roman Roads
Barrow upon Soar Community Association Heritage Group. The Archaeology of Barrow upon Soar. Link
Charnwood Council (2008). Qourn Conservation Area, Character Appraisal. Link
Coates, R. (1984). Coldharbour - for the last time?, Nomina 8, 73-78. Link
Condron, F. (1997). Iron Production in Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire in Antiquity. Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, 71, 1-20. Link
Cox, B., 2019. The Place Names of Leicestershire, part 8. English Place Names Society, Nottingham, 287 pp.
Curtis, J. (1831). A Topographical History of the County of Leicestershire. W. Hextall, Ashby-de-la-Zouch. 227 pp. Link
Edwards, J.F. (1987). The Transport System of Medieval England and Wales - A Geographical Synthesis. PhD Thesis, University of Salford. Link
EPNS. English Place-Name Society. Survey of English Place-Names. Link
Goadby Marwood History Group. Roman Goadby. Link
Green, C. R. (2014). Anglo-Saxon archaeology, Late Roman provinces & the landscape of post-Roman eastern Britain. Link
Heritage Gateway, Historic England research records, Causennae Roman Town.
Link
Jones, E. (1996) Transport Systems in and Around the East Midlands c.1300-1550. A working paper written for the Leicester and Birmingham University, E.S.R.C. financed project: Urban Heirarchy and Functions in the East Midlands in the Late Middle Ages: A Pilot Study. The Centre for Urban History, University of Leicester.
Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer. Link
Records for: MLI123711, MLI33290, MLI33293, MLI33919, MLI33941, MLI33968, MLI60706, MLI60730, MLI83146
Margary, I.D. (1955). Roman Roads in Britain, Volume 1, South of the Foss Way - Bristol Channel. Phoenix House Ltd. (London). Link
Note: The description of Margary's Route 58a/58b is unchanged in his 1973, 3rd Edition of this book (My thanks to Stamford Library for access to this)
Peachey, M. and Taylor, G. (2013). Archaeological Evaluation on the Route of the Grantham Southern Quadrant Road. Archaeological Project Services Report 70/13. Link
Powell-Smith, A. Open Domesday, Lincolnshire, page 20. Link
Trubshaw, B. Barrowby Until Now, The Three Queens Inn. Link
Trubshaw, B. Six Hills, Leicestershire - an Anglo-Saxon moot site. Link
University of Nottingham. Key to English Place-Names. Link
Vernon, B. A1 - The Great North Road, Sewstern Drift. Link
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