RM180

This Roman Road runs east to west from Derventio Roman fort in Little Chester, Derby, to the Roman fort in Chesterton, Stoke-on-Trent, via Rocester on the river Dove.

Route

The Roman road leaves Ryknild Street at a point in Derby where North Street meets Duffield Road (A6), about half a mile from the second century fort ofDerventio at Little Chester. It is then followed by the Kedleston Road to Markeaton Brook (SK331379). After crossing the brook the road follows it to the south, climbing to a point at SK307380 near Lane End Farm by the A52. It then crosses the A road and over the fields to reach Moor Lane (the B5020) at its junction with Long Lane.

Long Lane takes up the line of the Roman road for 14 miles to a couple of miles short of Rocester. The lane keeps to the ancient alignment all the way except to 'digress' into Longford and Alkmonton arriving at Great Cubley close by the A515. A mile further at Shaw Lane Farm (SK144382) begins a new alignment to the Roman fort in Rocester. The road makes its way down the valley side and over the river Dove into the village (note the Richard Arkwright corn mill at right). Excavations were undertaken at the fort in 1961 and 1985 but little is to be seen above ground.

West of Rocester the road climbs directly out of the, past the JCB factory, to a hill top (at SK085387) and makes a new alignment on Totmonslow passing though Upper Tean, and crossing the A522, the former A50. The road is unclassified and straight, except for minor excursions through Hollington (to the south) and The Temple (to the north). After leaving Upper Tean it is followed on a new alignment approximately by another unclassified road (the former A50 again) to Blythe Bridge. Through here the road is under the A521 and is joined by the A50 at the bypass end GSJ.

Two and a half miles further the A50 veers east (GSJ) while the Roman road continues through Longton and Fenton on, or near, the A5007 to Stoke Junction (SJ881450). Beyond here the course is lost but the road no doubt crossed the river Trent here and made a new alignment on the Roman fort at Chesterton (SJ831490 four miles on).

Ivan Margary considered that this Roman road would have continued to Middlewich and on to Lancaster (as the RM70), but no trace has been found from Chesterton to Sandbach. It's also possible that Chesterton stood on a crossroads with a route from Wroxeter to Buxton. Margary described a section of this road leading to Buxton number 713 but it is not represented on the current Ordnance Survey Roman Britain map.