The History Of

Rocester Football Club

A protective fort was founded on the site of the village by the Romans somewhere around 69 AD, when Queen Cartimandua, an old and trusted client of Rome, was forced to flee for her life from the followers of her estranged consort Venutius. The Queen had to be rescued by a legion sent specifically to help by the Roman governor Suetonius Paulinus, and a police garrison was placed at Rocester on the borders of the hostile Brigantian state.

Situated at the extremity of a southward-jutting spur of land lying between the Rivers Churnet and Dove, the spot provided an excellent site from a defensive point of view with the rivers affording protection on all sides except the north. The only means of approach was along the narrow ridge between the two rivers, which was likely to have been deforested by the Roman military to deny intruders a covered approach from this direction.

Although it was the Romans who initially established Rocester as a permanent settlement serving as an intermediate point between Derby and Newcastle-under-Lyme, there is evidence of an earlier occupation. A decorated Bronze Age pot was found in Northfield Avenue and aerial photographs have shown barrows just south of the village, while just to the north a small Iron Age hill fort is believed to have stood on Barrow Hill.

Evidence suggests that Rocester was probably the most important township in the area at the time of the Roman occupation. With its wooden barracks, military personnel and supporting civilians the population is likely to have exceeded 1000.

After the Romans left the settlement in about 400 AD the fort was dismantled, however the civilians remained and Rocester continued as a busy trading centre throughout the Anglo Saxon period until the middle-ages.

Remains of the earthworks surrounding the fort can still be seen today, and many items have been recovered over the years including a brass spear-head, copper coins, human bones and fragments of pottery.