27/08/2026
A Northumbrian Pilgrimage: Corbridge Roman Town
The next stop on my Northumbrian pilgrimage was English Heritage’s Corbridge Roman Town.
We were incredibly lucky to have the whole site to ourselves, and the weather was perfect. It gave us the chance to take our time and properly look at the buildings, roads and structures that are still visible.
We were each given an audio guide, which was very helpful in understanding how people lived and worked there at the time.
Roman Corbridge began as a military fort around AD 85, several decades before Hadrian’s Wall was built. Its position close to the River Tyne and at the meeting point of two important Roman roads made it a valuable military and trading centre.
The Stanegate ran east to west towards Carlisle, while Dere Street travelled north towards Scotland. Soldiers, traders, craftspeople and travellers would all have passed through Corbridge.
Over time, the settlement developed from a military base into a busy civilian town known as Coria. It supplied the forts and communities along Hadrian’s Wall, just a few miles to the north. The remains include military compounds, workshops, a public fountain and two remarkably well-preserved granaries with raised floors and underfloor ventilation to help keep food dry.
You can also walk along the original surface of the Roman main street, following the same route used by the people who lived and worked here nearly two thousand years ago.
The museum contains an extraordinary collection of objects found at Corbridge, including pottery, tools, jewellery, armour and carved stone figures connected with the many gods worshipped there. The pottery shows how widely goods were traded across Roman Britain and the wider Roman Empire.
One of the most striking objects is the Corbridge Lion, carved during the second or third century. It originally formed part of a wealthy person’s grave monument and was later adapted into a fountain, with water flowing from its mouth.
The museum also displays the Corbridge Hoard, discovered inside a buried wooden chest in 1964. It contained military equipment, personal possessions and some of the best-preserved Roman segmented armour ever found.
This visit had another personal connection for me because my dad was born in Corbridge. The modern town, obviously. He isn’t quite Roman! 🤣
The maternity home where he was born has since been demolished, although we visited the site where it once stood.
Two very different parts of Corbridge’s history, connected through the same landscape and now part of my own Northumbrian pilgrimage.
Until next time, follow the threads that connect you to the past.
Nikki x
🫶 Please Follow The Dragon Compass to read more about my Northumbrian Pilgrimage.
Images © Nicola Beard.
Photographed 17th June 2026
Location: Corbridge Roman Town, Northumberland.
