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Great Casterton Great Casterton owes its origin to there being a convenient crossing of the River Gwash for the Roman Ermine Street, later the Great North Road, and then the A1. Ermine Street ran through the centre of the settlement until the construction of a bypass in 1960 when the historic route became a B-road. The name means 'farm/settlement at a ceaster', the Latin word used by Anglo-Saxons to refer to the remains of Roman towns. The daughter settlement of Ingthorpe is a short distance west of Great Casterton. But is at the northern end of Tinwell parish so is not formally part of Great Casterton. Great Casterton was in East Hundred (formerly Witchley). In June 1968 clay extraction in the parish revealed the fossilised bones of a dinosaur that lived about 175 million years ago. Known as Cetiosaurus, it is one of the most complete sauropod dinosaurs recovered in Europe. The reconstructed skeleton is now on display at New Walk Museum, Leicester. Soon after the Roman conquest in AD 43 a fort, tucked into a large loop of the river, was constructed to guard the crossing. This was followed by a settlement developing to the east, which by AD 80 had acquired its own defences (unusually for Roman small towns in this region) and the fort was then abandoned. This town seems to have been involved in pottery production and iron working. Substantial sections of the massive defensive ditches of the Roman town can still be seen to the north-east of the present village, parallel to the present day road to Ryhall. The whole fort covered an area of 18 acres (7 hectares); it is the only Roman site in Rutland that was primarily military. And only three other places in Leicestershire were primarily military: Leicester, Mancetter and Wigston Parva. Of those only Leicester and Great Casterton had walls. In 2011 two Roman pottery kilns were excavated, with more suspected outside the excavation area. One was in operation from AD 175 to 225. The 2015 discovery of a skeleton secured at the ankles with a locked set of iron fetters is thought to be evidence of slavery in Roman Britain. Excavations ahead of new buildings in 2020/1 revealed the base of the west defensive wall. It was more than three metres wide. Also revealed was a J-shaped corn drying oven. A small excavation on the street frontage in 2022/3 revealed evidence of a substantial Roman building and a medieval oven or malt kiln. Further to the north-east was a fourth century villa. Nothing is now visible above ground but the finds are in Rutland Museum, Oakham. The Roman cemetery was to the north of the defences, where the primary school now stands. By the fifth century Anglo-Saxons were buried alongside Romans, suggesting that mercenary troops brought from Germany had perhaps settled here. There would have been a market at Great Casterton during the Roman era. However in the early AngloSaxon era trading activities shifted three miles along the road to Stamford, probably because the River Welland was then navigable for small cargo-carrying vessels. With the Danish conquest of this region Stamford became the regional market town and continued to gain in importance, while the status of Great Casterton diminished. There is every reason to suppose that there has been a settlement here continuously since the Roman Conquest. In either the late Saxon or early Norman era stone from the Roman ruins was reused to build a church, situated at the southern edge of the Roman town on the site of a mansio, a government-run 'inn', which had a bath house. In the medieval era a prominent ridge-top to the north was fortified. This was known as Woodhead Castle and the earthworks of the castle still abut an area of wood on the top of the ridge. The castle was ruinous by 1543. For details of St Margaret's Hospital see www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/rutland/vol1/p162. SS Peter and Paul's church   SS Peter and Paul's church in 2002.   The Romanesque font. The font dates from the Romanesque period although the present building is mostly-unrestored thirteenth century; note the attractive round-headed arcades.   A late Romanesque capital in the north aisle. The effigies of three thirteenth century priests survive, two inside and one outside.   One of the effigies of priests. The early clerestory with its circular windows is late thirteenth century. The fourteenth century tower is apparently the most recent phase of building. Of the same century is the ironwork on the south door. In the eighteenth century a pulpit with a sounding board or 'tester' was added, along with the arms of King George II in the tower arch. In the churchyard are many interesting gravestones, including a slate with a rare depiction of the Resurrection. Also look out for one showing the sacrifice of Isaac. The poet John Clare was married to Martha 'Patty' Turner at Great Casterton church in 1820. Victoria County History page for Great Casterton. Back to top of this page     Back to home page   This website does not gather or store any visitor information. Copyright Bob Trubshaw 2026 No unauthorised copying or reproduction except if all following conditions apply a: Copy is complete (including this copyright statement). b: No changes are made. c: No charge is made. www.hoap.co.uk/rutland

Rutland's history home page what's new? glossary bibliography Rutland's geology Rutland's boundaries Rutland's rivers long, long ago prehistoric Rutland Roman Rutland long ago Anglo-Saxon Rutland Rutland's place-names waterborne transport around the sixth century Rutland's early churches Anglo-Saxon sculpture in Rutland The Matter of Rutland what the Normans did for Rutland Romanesque sculpture in Rutland Rutland's royal forests Rutland in medieval times Rutland's scratch dials Rutland's medieval carvings Rutland's sepulchral effigies Rutland's saltways Rutland in Tudor times Dissolution in Rutland not that long ago Rutland in the 17th century pinfolds and pounds in Rutland dovecotes in Rutland Rutland in the 18th century turnpiking Rutland Rutland's springs and wells changes in Rutland's agriculture since 1800 seems like yesterday Rutland's dialect Rutland's folk customs travellers in Rutland watermills and windmills in Rutland breweries in Rutland gasworks in Rutland ironstone quarrying in Rutland Zeppelins over Rutland redundant telephone exchanges in Rutland Second World War in Rutland WWII airfields and pillboxes in Rutland the making of Rutland Water Rutland Weekend Television free online history resources Victoria County History: Rutland volume one Victoria County History: Rutland volume two free PDFs of Rutland Record issues 1 to 50 old OS maps Historic England Listed buildings database Sepulchral Effigies of Leicestershire and Rutland Open Domesday English Place-Name Society database Wikipedia list of places in Rutland (with links to village entries) Wikipedia list of people from Rutland researching and writing local history getting started free advice from 2005 asking curious questions (YouTube video) local history groups in and around Rutland Belton-in-Rutland History Society Cottesmore History and Archaeology Group Langham Village History Group Lyddington Manor History Society Rutland Local History and Record Society with free PDFs of over forty issues of the Rutland Record Uppingham Local History Study Group you may also be interested in free PDFs written by Bob Trubshaw Earliest Churches in Nottinghamshire How Anglo-Saxons Found Their Way Anglo-Saxon Leicestershire Conversations in Churchyards Little-known Leicestershire and Rutland Bob Trubshaw's YouTube channel Introduction to medieval carvings Anglo-Saxon and Romanesque carvings How Anglo-Saxons found their way Anglo-Saxon shrines at fords Meetings at triangles Rota's Land and Franni's Land Reading Romanesque fonts Church and manor The significances of square headdresses Early churches and waterborne trade Charnwood slate gravestones and C18th trade routes Ironstone quarries of Leicestershire Roman roads in north-east Leicestershire Salt ways in Leicestershire Why Melton Mowbray needed to called 'middle town' Evolving Anglo-Saxon agriculture Nottinghamshire's earliest churches Ploughs not piety? Economic regeneration in the C7th Were Anglo-Saxon weaving huts women-only places? Vale of Belvoir Chronicle Barrowby Until Now website