'Wroxeter' (pronounced "Rock-Sitter") is a
village in the county of
Shropshire,
England, on the east bank of the
River Severn, at . It is located on the site of the
Roman town of
Viroconium Cornoviorum, known in
Old Welsh as ''Caer Guricon''. Viroconium was the fourth largest
civitas capital in
Roman Britain. As Caer Guricon it may have served as the early Dark Age capital of the
kingdom of Powys.
Mercian encroachment forced the Welsh to move to
Mathrafal castle sometime before 717.
The main section of the Roman road
Watling Street runs from
Dover to Wroxeter.
Some impressive standing ruins from Viroconium are located just outside the village, where there is also a small
museum. There is a
vineyard in the village
(Wroxeter Roman Vineyard), which is the only commercial one in the county and since
2004 holds the record for growing the most northerly red wine
grapes in the world.
Wroxeter (and
Silchester) are the only large Roman settlements in Britain that did not grow into a large towns or cities. There is considerable debate about why this is. One school of thought is that a major event such as a flood (still a regular occurrence in the area) caused the population to up sticks and move to Shrewsbury. This suggestion is, however, disputed. Another suggestion is that the Roman defences of the city were too demanding (in manpower and to maintain) for the post-Roman era inhabitants and so the site of Shrewsbury was chosen as it is more easily defended.
Wroxeter is about 5 miles south-east of the town of
Shrewsbury and is near to the village of
Atcham. The
Royal Mail postcode begins SY4.
Wroxeter, Ontario
A small village in
Ontario,
Canada is also called Wroxeter.
Wroxeter, British Columbia
A small estate on Cherry Point Road in the village of Cobble Hill, overlooking the mouth of Cowichan Bay. Owned by the Dr. Francis Thomas T. Stanier, whose family originated from Wroxeter, England in the county of Shropshire, and who died in Cobble Hill on December 11, 1957 at the age of 85.