Wall, Staffordshire
Encyclopedia
Wall is a small village and civil parish
in Staffordshire
, England
, just south of Lichfield
. It lies on the site of the Roman
settlement of Letocetum
.
The nearby junction of the A5 and A5127 roads and the M6 Toll
motorway is often referred to as Wall junction.
The parish includes the small villages of Pipehill, Hilton, Chesterfield and the tiny hamlet of Aldershawe, which is about half a mile north of the village of Wall.
period found in the upper part of Wall village.
The first detailed evidence of human settlement comes in the 1st century. A Roman
fort named Letocetum was established at Wall in or soon after AD 50 to accommodate Legio XIV
, then advancing towards Wales
. A fort was certainly built in the upper area of the village near to the present church in 50's or 60's and Watling Street
was constructed to the south in the 70's.
A bath house
and mansio
was built on the lower ground south west of the fort in the late 1st century for use by its soldiers. It was later used by the inabitants of a civilian settlement which grew up around Watling Street. It the 2nd century the settlement covered approximately 30 acres west of the later Wall Lane. By the 1st or 2nd century there was a burial area beyond the western end of the settlement.
In the late 3rd or early 4th century the eastern part of the settlement of approximately 6 acres between the present Wall Lane and Green Lane and straddling Watling Street was enclosed with a stone wall surrounded by an earth rampart
and ditches. Civilians continued to live inside the settlement and on its outskirts in the late 4th century. The settlement appears to have declined rapidly soon after the Romans left Britain in AD 410 and the focus of settlement shifted to Lichfield
.
The upper part of Wall village lies at 114m on the edge of a plateau; the lower part to the south of Watling Street lies 16m lower. At Aldershawe the land lies at 130m, and it is the same level at Pipehill and Muckley Corner.
Geology
The north of the parish including Pipehill, Aldershawe and east parts of Wall are underlain with Bromsgrove Sandstone. The south of the parish including west Wall, Hilton and Chesterfield are underlain by Wildmoor Sandstone. A narrow gravel terrace runs north west from Wall to a point south of Pipehill where it merges into an area of Boulder Clay. South of Wall glaciofluvial deposits overlie the area including, Hilton and Chesterfield.
Hydrology
Black brook runs below the gravel terrace west of Wall. A spring south of Pipe Grange feeds a stream which flows east to Leamonsley Brook. A spring rising in Aldershawe was used for centuries as the source for drinking water for the city of Lichfield. Conduits were dug from Aldershawe to Lichfield where they supplied water from various conduits around the city.
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, just south of Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
. It lies on the site of the Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
settlement of Letocetum
Letocetum
Letocetum is the remains of a Roman settlement. It was an important military staging post and posting station near the junction of Watling Street, the Roman military road to North Wales , and Icknield Street . The site is now within the parish of Wall, Staffordshire, England...
.
The nearby junction of the A5 and A5127 roads and the M6 Toll
M6 Toll
The M6 Toll , connects M6 Junction 4 at the NEC to M6 Junction 11A at Wolverhampton with of six-lane motorway. The weekday cash cost is £5.30 for a car and £10.60 for a HGV...
motorway is often referred to as Wall junction.
The parish includes the small villages of Pipehill, Hilton, Chesterfield and the tiny hamlet of Aldershawe, which is about half a mile north of the village of Wall.
Letocetum
The earliest evidence of settlement in Wall have been the discovery of flints dating to the NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
period found in the upper part of Wall village.
The first detailed evidence of human settlement comes in the 1st century. A Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
fort named Letocetum was established at Wall in or soon after AD 50 to accommodate Legio XIV
Legio XIV Gemina
Legio quarta decima Gemina was a legion of the Roman Empire, levied by Julius Caesar in late 58 B.C. The cognomen Gemina suggests that the legion resulted from fusion of two previous ones, one of them being the Fourteenth legion that fought in the Battle of Alesia, the other being the Martia ...
, then advancing towards Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. A fort was certainly built in the upper area of the village near to the present church in 50's or 60's and Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
was constructed to the south in the 70's.
A bath house
Public bathing
Public baths originated from a communal need for cleanliness. The term public may confuse some people, as some types of public baths are restricted depending on membership, gender, religious affiliation, or other reasons. As societies have changed, public baths have been replaced as private bathing...
and mansio
Mansio
In the Roman Empire, a mansio was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or via, maintained by the central government for the use of officials and those on official business whilst travelling.-Background:The roads which traversed the Ancient World, were later surveyed,...
was built on the lower ground south west of the fort in the late 1st century for use by its soldiers. It was later used by the inabitants of a civilian settlement which grew up around Watling Street. It the 2nd century the settlement covered approximately 30 acres west of the later Wall Lane. By the 1st or 2nd century there was a burial area beyond the western end of the settlement.
In the late 3rd or early 4th century the eastern part of the settlement of approximately 6 acres between the present Wall Lane and Green Lane and straddling Watling Street was enclosed with a stone wall surrounded by an earth rampart
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
and ditches. Civilians continued to live inside the settlement and on its outskirts in the late 4th century. The settlement appears to have declined rapidly soon after the Romans left Britain in AD 410 and the focus of settlement shifted to Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
.
Modern Wall
Development of Wall since the Romans has been slow and never developed past a small village. The earliest medieval settlement may have been on the higher ground around Wall. Wall House on Green Lane although dating from the 18th century is probably on the site of the medieval manor house. Wall Hall to the south also dates from the mid 18th century but replaced a house which existed in the 17th century. By the late 18th century several dwellings were built on Watling Street west of Manor Farm and formed the lower part of the village. The Trooper Inn existed by 1851. In the 1950s ten council houses were built on a road called The Butts. Construction of the A5 in 1965 relieved the village of traffic preserving its quiet nature.Geography
TopographyThe upper part of Wall village lies at 114m on the edge of a plateau; the lower part to the south of Watling Street lies 16m lower. At Aldershawe the land lies at 130m, and it is the same level at Pipehill and Muckley Corner.
Geology
The north of the parish including Pipehill, Aldershawe and east parts of Wall are underlain with Bromsgrove Sandstone. The south of the parish including west Wall, Hilton and Chesterfield are underlain by Wildmoor Sandstone. A narrow gravel terrace runs north west from Wall to a point south of Pipehill where it merges into an area of Boulder Clay. South of Wall glaciofluvial deposits overlie the area including, Hilton and Chesterfield.
Hydrology
Black brook runs below the gravel terrace west of Wall. A spring south of Pipe Grange feeds a stream which flows east to Leamonsley Brook. A spring rising in Aldershawe was used for centuries as the source for drinking water for the city of Lichfield. Conduits were dug from Aldershawe to Lichfield where they supplied water from various conduits around the city.