Built to control the River Tees crossing, the fort at Piercebridge ** in County Durham was a key strategic point on Dere Street, the Roman road linking York (Eboracum) with Hadrian's Wall. Some of the fort can be seen in the modern village, while the foundations of the bridge over the River Tees now sit in a field to the south of the river.
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| Piercebridge - bridge abutment, south of the River Tees |
Location and Access
The village of Piercebridge (here) lies 7 miles (11 km) north of Scotch Corner, where the A66 leaves the A1(M). The approach from the south along the B6275 follows the dead-straight line of the Roman Dere Street, only turning west to descend to the modern Tees river crossing just south of the village. Parking (free) for the bridge abutment is on the north side of the road (here) just after the bend (there is a small signpost), before reaching the George Hotel. A well-surfaced path leads to the bridge abutment, but note that a stone stile must be crossed to reach it directly from the car park. (The alternative route is through a gate leading off the B6725, which is a longer way round - not ideal.)
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| Piercebridge - layout of fort and bridge (photo of on-site Durham County Council signage) |
To reach the fort you need to cross the Tees using the bridge west of the George Hotel. Most of it lies buried under the modern village. The largest visible area sits behind houses on the east side of the village green (entry free of charge: no facilities on site apart from some signage). It is reached by a path (here) between two houses just south of the church; there is a small brown sign, but it's not obvious. There is limited roadside parking in the village, although (obviously) avoid the yellow-lined sections.
Neither of the fort's other visible remains can be inspected close-up. You can just about see the north-east angle tower foundations from a footpath that runs along the east side of the excavated area: go through the wooden gate beyond the fort's east gate and turn left (north) along the footpath. Earthworks marking the fort's northern defences can be seen in the field south of the old A67; turn left at the T junction at the north end of the village, walk a short distance and look over the left hand hedge (but be careful as there is no footway).
There is a regular bus service to Piercebridge village from Darlington (from a bus stop by the Town Hall).
Background and Context
Like Binchester (Vinovia), Piercebridge is one of a chain of forts established along the Dere Street, the main Roman road through north-east England, although unlike Binchester its Roman name is unclear: Morbium has been suggested from the Notitia Dignitatum, but this is not certain.
The crossing of the River Tees was an important point on the route north, and Piercebridge would always have been a key strategic location, especially as it lay close to the Iron Age oppidum of the Brigantes tribe at Stanwick. The earthwork defences of this local power centre are also worth a visit.
A campaign in the north was mounted during the reign of Vespasian by governor Petillius Cerealis during 71-74 CE, and it seems almost certain that a fort would have been built here at that time to secure the river crossing. However, its location has yet to be found. The most likely place is on land to the east of the fort that we can now see (below), which probably dates from around 260 CE - much later than the other Dere Street strongholds. Like Binchester, this would have been occupied by auxiliary cavalry. At a later date a small civilian settlement (vicus) grew up outside the fort, although only cropmarks are now visible.
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| Piercebridge fort - commander's house looking north |
Two Roman bridges are known from Piercebridge - the existing remains are from a later structure built after the first timber bridge (near the present George Hotel) was wiped out by a flood after 150 CE. The bridges were investigated by Time Team in 2009; timber piles in the river bed from the first bridge were dated to the 1st century CE.
Little is known of Piercebridge's post-Roman history, although the absence of '-chester' in the name of village (unlike the forts further north along Dere Street at Binchester, Lanchester and Ebchester) suggests that its Roman past was not well-known in Saxon times. Excavations have taken place sporadically since the 1930s, most notably on the eastern side of the fort in 1979-1981.
Date of Visit
The photos in this blog post date from my visit in 2026.
The Bridge
At first sight, the remains of the Roman bridge (below) are confusing. The absence of any obvious river doesn't help and the two metal information boards are now almost unreadable.
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| Piercebridge Roman Bridge - looking north. The present course of the River Tees lies just beyond the trees. |
It makes more sense if you walk to the far (southern) end of the site (above). Here, we see the bridge's substantial southern abutment, which was made from large, dressed stones. This would have supported the wooden framework of the bridge itself; its angled posts would have been held by slots in the north side of the stonework (below).
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| Piercebridge Roman Bridge - slots in abutment to hold wooden supporting posts |
A reconstruction drawing (on a sign by the car park) gives an idea of what the overall structure might have looked like:
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| Piercebridge - CGI impression of Roman bridge (my photo of on-site Durham County Council signage) |
The bed of the river was paved with flagstones at this point, presumably to ease its flow beneath the structure. Several stone supports would have carried the bridge over the river, only one of which is visible (below), although other scattered blocks remain.
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| Piercebridge Roman Bridge - remains of bridge supports and river paving |
The River Tees was probably more active in Roman days than it is now, and its course moved during the bridge's period of use. An embankment with stone revetment (visible on the eastern side) was built out from the southern abutment to link with the rest of the structure. Part of this is still visible. In time, the entire northern bridge abutment was lost, while the southern structures were covered by river silt until excavation in the 1970s.
The Fort
On entering the excavated area of the fort the (rather scanty) remains of the east gate lie in front of you (below) along with a section of the fort's eastern wall. The gate would have had two arches with guard rooms at either side, a pattern repeated at many Roman forts in Britain (see for example Brecon Y Gaer in Wales where the defences are better preserved than here at Piercebridge).
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| Piercebridge Roman Fort - east gate |
Outside the fort wall were defensive ditches (below), one of which contained an 'ankle-breaker' gully at the bottom, along with pits that may have held sharpened stakes.
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| Piercebridge Roman Fort - ditches by east gate |
An unusual circular structure - presumably post-Roman - sits outside the east gate (below). I can't find any reference to its purpose; please let me know if you can shed any light on this.
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| Piercebridge Roman Fort - east gate (north side) in foreground, circular structure back right. |
A road ran inside the east wall, the drainage ditch of which can still be seen. Next to this lie the remains of the east wing of a substantial courtyard dwelling, thought to be the commander's house (praetorium). The other three wings lie under the nearby modern houses and gardens, but enough is visible to give a sense of the scale of the dwelling. One of the rooms would have been heated by a channelled hypocaust (below).
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| Piercebridge Roman Fort - channelled hypocaust in commander's house |
If this was the commander's house then its siting within the fort was unusual; such buildings usually occupy a more central location. One idea is that its position near the east gate reflects the importance of the fort's main link to Dere Street which, unlike at Binchester, ran to the east of the fort rather than straight through the middle.
That concludes this brief overview of the fort's main visible remains. As mentioned above (under 'Location and Access') you can just about see the north-east angle tower from the footpath alongside the nearby farmyard (below) ...
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| Piercebridge Roman Fort - north-east angle tower |
... and earthworks marking the western side of the fort's northern defences are visible from the old A67 to the north (below). Both appear to be on private land with no public access.
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| Piercebridge Roman Fort - earthwork marking the northern fort defences |
If you have access to a car, you may also want to consider visiting the fort at Binchester which is a 25 minute drive north along the B6275 and A688, which largely follow the line of Dere Street.
References
Fitzpatrick, A. P., and Peter R. Scott (1999) 'The Roman Bridge at Piercebridge, North Yorkshire–County Durham.' Britannia 30 (1999): 111-132.
Wessex Archaeology (2010) Piercebridge, County Durham. Archaeological Evaluation and Assessment of Results. Salisbury: Wessex Archaeology. - link
See also the general References page of this blog.
Text and photographs (c) Mike Hetherington. Visits to sites described in this blog are at your own risk.
