The Fylde’s Original Promenade: Part Three

In last week’s posting we provided evidence (well, evidence as far as we see it at least) for two major Roman military routes at opposite ends of the Fylde coast. The first emerged from Dowbridge Fort’s western exit, ran by Wrea Green and onto the beach at St. Anne’s. The second ran from the base of Preesall Hill, across Knott End golf course, over the Wyre by Min End ford, up Poulton Road in Fleetwood to Rossall Point where, once again, it disappeared into the sea.
We also conjectured that these roads were connected along the seafront, as illustrated by our map below, and documentary evidence appears to corroborate this.

The legal report in the case of ‘The Queen versus Bamber’ dated Wednesday 15th November 1843, records: “An indictment in the common form for not repairing a highway.”
As you’ve probably guessed this highway ran along the shoreline: “…leading from the village and hamlet of Blackpool, in the county of Lancaster, towards and unto the hamlet and village of Bispham with Norbreck, in the said county.”
Being accused of leaving the highway: “..very ruinous, broken and in great decay for want of due restoration, reparation and amendment” Bamber pleaded not guilty explaining that his: “…land adjoined the sea,” and “…that anciently a highway went over this land that the defendant’s predecessors had repaired it &c; that within living memory the sea had encroached, and that the ancient highway was covered by the sea; that the defendant’s predecessors had from time to time gradually removed the ancient highway as the sea encroached, and appropriated other parts of the estate for the site of a highway, so as to keep a highway along the sea coast.”
So, to summarize without the legal jargon, an ancient highway dating back to a time long since forgotten, had originally run along the seafront, only to be destroyed time and time again by coastal erosion and rebuilt inland to compensate. It’s a reasonable assumption to make, therefore, that this ancient highway connected the two Roman roads disappearing into the sand at both Rossall Point and St. Anne’s together.
With that in mind, it’s also logical to assume that our retired Romans from Ribchester (Ribchester was a fort designed for army veterans who, by way of a pension, were often granted portions of land in the Fylde and Wyre) would have set up their homes along this stretch of coast, using the highway to conduct their trade.
This explains why the domestic Roman sites at South Shore and the Foxhall are situated where they are.
Er…didn’t we mention the domestic Roman sites at South Shore and the Foxhall? Oh…okay…well, the illustration below (once again courtesy of Phil Barker at http://www.rossallbeach.co.uk) is a 1786 drawing of Blackpool seafront, the most significant part of which, as far as we’re concerned, is the reference to ‘An Ancient Roman Building’ at the Fox Hall.



Many historians have dismissed this idea as bunkum; nothing more than an eighteenth century tourist gimmick. We’re not so cynical, however, especially when you stop to consider that John Porter records in his ‘History of the Fylde’: “…two brass pans and an ancient measure” discovered in the peat not far from the Fox Hall. These artefacts, as you’ve probably gathered, were Roman and were originally used for salt panning.
The process of salt panning was reasonably straightforward. The pans were filled with salt water and placed on top of pedestals firmly stuck into clay. A fire was then lit beneath them, so that the water gradually evaporated leaving a residue of crystals that were scraped into conical-shaped beakers known as ‘augets’. The augets, themselves, were then placed on more pedestals over more, albeit smaller, fires so that the crystals could dry.
Romans considered salt extremely valuable, and were even paid with it (which is where the word ‘salary’ originates).
Meanwhile, at South Shore, in 1907 at the junction of Clifton Drive and Burlington Road West (albeit before those roads existed) a Roman coin horde was discovered buried in the sand dunes. Alongside the coins, as marked on the 1911 Ordnance Survey map, were the remains of an ancient building.
Three of the coins (nobody ever bothered to record exactly how many were excavated so they might be the entire horde) are, once again, housed at the Grundy Art Gallery. We’ve illustrated them below. (On this occasion the coins were too small for our cheap digital camera to get in focus.)


Allen Clarke mentions them in his ‘Story of Blackpool’ in the following manner: “These are three specimens of Roman Coins, now preserved in the Museum at Revoe Library, discovered in the Blackpool district. They are each three quarters of an inch in diameter and one eighth of an inch thick. They were struck at Alexandria, the first two during the reign of Gallienus (A.D. 259), and the third during the reign of Claudius II (A.D. 268)”
Unfortunately, archaeology being low on the political agenda in Victorian Blackpool, to the best of our knowledge no record of the wall against which they were buried was ever made, other than the few lines on the Ordnance Survey.
Again, however, there is enough evidence here to suggest that this was a domestic Roman site. And, because we’re that way inclined, we’ve decided to include the map below showing exactly where these artefacts came to light.

On which note, it’s time for another seven-day break before we conclude this increasingly lengthy set of postings and move onto another subject.