Ambleside Roman Fort

Audio Guide to Ambleside Roman Fort

Join Andrew Roberts, English Heritage Properties Historian, in conversation with Jess Freeland, Interpretation Manager, at Ambleside Roman Fort in Cumbria. Together they explore some key locations around the site, as Andrew explains what we know about the fort and what life might have been like for the community that lived here.

The guide is designed so you can listen whether you are at the fort or elsewhere. For on-site listening, it’s best to download the guide before you go.

   

Image gallery

Scroll through these images to view the key locations explored in the audio guide.

East gate

East gate

East gate
The main (east) gate of the fort, showing the foundations of the square towers that flanked the double gateway
Principia

Principia

Principia
The headquarters building (principia), looking west across the entrance doorway towards the courtyard and basilica beyond
Strongroom

Strongroom

Strongroom
This pit at the heart of the principia was a sunken strongroom, or treasury, where the garrison’s funds and the soldiers’ money were stored. (© Simon Burchell, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Granary

Granary

Granary
One of the two granaries at Ambleside. The short buttresses projecting outwards from the external walls provided support for the walls holding up the heavy slate roof
Praetorium

Praetorium

Praetorium
The partially excavated remains of the praetorium (commander’s house), where the commander lived with his family
South gate

South gate

South gate
The remains of the south gate, showing (in the foreground) one of the pivot holes in its outer threshold stone, for the gate’s immense wooden doors. (© Miles Russell 2022)

Before you go