A Roman Welcome Break
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- The Roman road network in Britain was extensive and long distance travel became commonplace, but without Volvos, journey times could be in days. So where did the Romano Britons stop for a break, a bath and an overnight stay?
In this video we look at the Roman equivalent to a modern day motorway services. The town is Letocetum - now called Wall - in the West Midlands on that most important of Roman roads, Watling Street, which ran from the Kentish coast to London and then on up through the Midlands to Wroxeter.
Leteocetum is also close to Ryknield Street and there's a tale about a lost Roman milestone at the crossroads.
#romanroads #letocetum #wall #lichfield #westmidlands #welcomebreak #motorwayservices #romanbaths #romanmansio #wc21 #watlingstreet #ryknieldstreet
Credits (Where due)
WC21 (UK) Productions Ltd theme tune: Keygenerator - Freesound
Roman Gazette theme tune: 8-bit Win - Velda - Epidemic Sound
For Serious Rambling Hikers & Scramblers theme tune: 514178 danlucas - Freesound
Compendium of Curiosities: Underbelly - Epidemic Sound
Coastal Catalogue theme tune: Just Like Magic - Epidemic Sound
The Time Tunnel theme tune: Micro - Epidemic Sound
The Almanac theme tune: Rush - DJI Mimo
All other music: Epidemic Sound
Main “Broadcaster”: Darren Spratt
Cameras
DJI Pocket 3 Creator Combo
GoPro Hero 12 Creator Edition
DJI Pocket 2 Creator Combo
HoverAir X1
iPhone 13 / DJI Osmo 6
Outstanding work Mr WC21! I very much enjoyed those sublime to the ridiculous parallels between the mansio and the Welcome Break, and fascinating to think this was something like the Roman equivalent of a coaching inn, albeit not open to all and sundry.
I think Allotment Fox has touched on this subject a little while back also - it's all very well having these ancient roads which allowed the people of the time to traverse vast distances across the country, but it's not very practical if there aren't some kind of facilities along the route to provide people with all the basic necessities - food, water, shelter, mobile phone accessories, and so on.
So thank you very much for covering this in your usual inimitable informative but humorous style!
Thank you, Tweedy! I imagine there was a lot of sleeping under leather tarps in ditches for the all and sundry. You might have quite liked it! In that hindsight type of enjoyment you've referred to.
I feel a need to find out more about what type of old crap they were selling to the weary travelers, from those retail units. I bet it was a lot of over-priced old toot, don't you?!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Larks' tongues. Wrens' livers. Chaffinch brains. Jaguars' earlobes. Wolf nipple chips...?
@@tweedyoutdoorsand ladies of the night with a 2 for 1 happy hour.😮
Hi Darren. Entertaining, informative and engaging from beginning to end. Brilliant idea to compare modern day motorway services with the Roman equivalent. In effect, little has changed. I wonder if in 2000 years time your great great great ……………. ancestor will be standing at the archaeological remains of a Welcome Break romanticising about the virtues of such a sophisticated establishment for the road weary. Great outro by the way. 👏👏👍😀
Thanks Andrew. Yes, I expect some future Managing Director of this channel will visit the remains of Keele Services and romaticise them! The past is always so much more alluring!
Ace. Passed here a thousand times but never knew of its existence.
Thanks Paul. A really interesting place. Upsetting about the destruction of the milestone in modern times, but well worth a visit.
hello again Darren, another great and very interesting video, well done and thank you 😊
Thank you Davie - it was an interesting place to research and visit. Glad you enjoyed it.
Nice to see the Roman Gazette is still going strong! I'm from Newcastle-under-Lyme, and yes even our decrepit town has some Roman history! The Romans were everywhere.... Nearly!
Thanks Peter! I will have to check out Newcastle-under-Lyme and see what Roman goodies you have there. I'll probably get called an "idiot" again by that white van man, but I'm committed to my art! Thanks for watching and commenting.
I'd wager the cursus publicus were still faster than the Royal Mail. Being serious however, it reminds me of how difficult life must have been back then. I recall one of the Vindolanda tablets that was discovered was about some poor guy freezing his assets off up on Hadrian's wall asking his family to send him underpants. I expect by the time he received the package, his package had fallen off. As ever Darren, a gem of a vid. Thank you good sir.
Thanks Phil! Yes, luxury was reserved for the officials, I suspect. Roman underpants might be a good idea for a future video - cheers!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd I wonder if the guy wanted XL undies, size 40 ...Sorry, could not resist the awful dad joke.
@@philcollinson328 jokes like that are at home here!
Really enjoyable 👍
Thank you Giles - much appreciated. An interesting place along the course of the mighty Watling Street.
Voiceover of "bad" and "wrong" haha. There was on of these I believe on Knap Hill in Wiltshire too - a plateau enclosure for Roman travellers.
Yes, I think that's right. Nothing to see on the ground today?
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Depends whether you look at it from above or not. I visited with Alex Langlands and he was sussing the site out, with both historic maps and live view from my drone.
"I'm an antiquarian, get me out of here!" - superb
Cheers, Hedley! There might be a series in that idea? Dump a load of UA-cam antiquarians in some ghastly modern retail park and see how they survive!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd I was going to say a cage of tigers, but yes that is morally just as painful.
😂😂😂😂
That is a top notch channel concept
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd 5 minutes ..Then I can sell tickets to cage fights...
Excellent! I think this stuff is getting more and more packed with well researched information and - dare I say it - polished in presentation, while still retaining your unique style. Please don't ever change that! The constant motorway hiss, serving as a reminder of where we have got to would have driven me to distraction. Thanks again!
Thank you Matt, that's very gracious feedback.
The noise of the M6 and A5 was horrendous. I just couldn't live with that! It always gets me when I see people demanding bypasses for their town or village, because that always means much more road noise and further building. The comparison between the old maps and the modern for this location was stark.
Hi Darren, Your outros always give me a laugh, nothing awkward about them at all!!
I guess the remains that we see will probably only every depict how the elites lived and boy did they live well in Roman Britain.
Motorway services are terrible places wherever you are. When travelling the motorways here always worth seaking out a "venta" an Inn you will often find them nearby.
What a shame about the milestone that went missing would have been fascinating to see what indications were inscribed on it, perhaps it gave the distance to the Little Chef at Wall and the next one at Litchfield?
Last weekends snow has turned into late spring sunshine with temperatures well into the 20s.
All the best!!
Cheers David! Yes, to see that stone marked on the Victorian OS maps and then to know it was ruthlessly ploughed out of existence in the 1970s when they grubbed up all the lovely hedges, is a double whammy.
I've tried to find out where the plebs stayed on long distance travel in Roman Britain and can't find anything. I suspect they just had to sleep under a leather tarp in the ditch!
Winter is still winning in the battle with Spring here!
A leather tarp? Luxury!! I used to travel Britain in the boot of an Austin Allegro ......
Sorry just can't do the Yorkshire accent when typing!!
A superb reflection on the history of this Romano-British Travelodge and (Welcome) scrutiny on the darker side of such places. Who knows but White Van Man may be a distant ancestor of one of the original hypocaust-stokers local to the area, generationally programmed to direct a congenital ire at anyone wandering these ruins, in the belief that they too must be seeking the caldarium and a late prandium?
Thank you! Yes that must be it. The West Midlands White Van Man - who seems to know whenever I'm in the area - must be confusing me with one of those callous Roman officials!
The name Lenny Henry and the word ‘comic’ don’t pair at all!! Tom, Dick and Julius are classic though!! Fascinating info on the bath house and the mansio. I wonder is White Van Man actually the ‘Phantom Disliker’ and he’s jealously following you around in his van roaring expletives?!!!! Great video as usual. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you and yours! ☘️
Cheers Oscar! I think there might be a Half Man Half Biscuit song that hits the nail on the head with regards to Lenny's comic skills!
Hopefully, if I keep calling him out, that White Van Man might come forward and say what his grudge is. Last time, Tweedy pointed out that it might just be a West Midlands thing. Perhaps they dislike anyone who doesn't dress in the standard uniform of the times? Although, it has to be said, that's something I encounter in other places too!
Brilliant....top class entertainment
Thank you kindly, Steve!
Interesting set up. The Romans sure knew how to make roads and vertical structures. Must have had great engineers. Thanks for your great work 🇬🇧 🇳🇿
Thank you. Yes, it’s difficult to be anything other than impressed. To think we had infrastructure and organisation like this and then lost it. For 1500 years!
Totally with you on farming improvements and phones 4 u. Well done
Thank you kindly! I was devastated when I compared the old maps to the current at this location - so many fields ploughed into one. So painful to think they ploughed out a Roman milestone in the 1970s.
Thank you for watching and commenting.
What a treat! Thank you🎉. As an American, feel I should apologize for Burger King, Krispey Crème, McDonalds, Starbucks, etc etc 😂. Among our most unfortunate exports.
Thank you and apology accepted, although clearly it’s not your fault! I only ever go to these awful places when I make a film about Roman Mansios, so it’s fine now and I won’t ever have to go to one again! Thanks for watching.
Another superb video! Very entertaining and informative two words that often don’t go hand in hand! Well done father!
Thanks son. That is very much appreciated and means a lot! Tell all your friends!
PS surely they would have had Mc Donald's ?
In the far flung outreaches of this rock in the sea ,namely Cornwall when passing vehicles acknowledges your patience in letting him pass he/she/it gives you a kindly 🖕gesture. Wall obviously has connections to Cornwall infact I know of a Wall there also.
@@slave2damachine there must be a connection! Whenever I go to the West Midlands, I get that gesture! Will get to Cornwall at some stage, but it’s an awful long way to go. Cheers.
In the lands of the Sornovii & Soritani...
Active site before the Roman conquest, I believe.
DEEPLY unsettling music when viewing the bath house - I had enjoyed 2 coffees prior to watching though! That said, great to discover this channel and I have subscribed.
Hi Darren - thank you for subscribing and sorry if the music unsettled you. Completely inappropriate and dated music is one of the hallmarks of this channel, but we do try to keep it in moderation!
I really enjoyed making this video - it's a great site with some atmosphere. Hope you enjoy the channel. Cheers.
Well obviously they ate at Burger King every day whilst building the roads
Probably even Little Chef back in those days
Quite partial to a Pret too, I imagine! Thanks for watching.
Why were you lane-hogging? You had no reason whatsoever to be in lane 3. Lane 2 was totally empty except for the car undertaking you.
It was purely for artistic reasons! Thanks for watching and commenting.
What an excellent presentation, and I am most impressed with your wardrobe. Always very interesting entertainment, well done Gentlemen .
Thank you Phil, that’s very nice of you and I’m glad you enjoyed it. It was fun doing this!
Thank you. It led me to find out about stationes and mutationes as well and a day when you learn something is a day well spent. Loved the photo-bombing labrador. Thank you again
That’s great, Chris! Glad you were inspired. Perfect timing with that Lab!
So good to see a YT presenter showing respect for his audience by being properly dressed for the occasion.
Thank you kindly!
I’m an antiquarian get me out of here sounds like a good idea!
Yes, I reckon it’s got legs!
Thank you, another great episode 😊
Thank you - much appreciate your ongoing support! Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers.
Brilliant, and I can visualise the scene as it must have been back then. Where did they get their water supply? Was there once a spring or were they connected to the mains? I am actually curious to know. It didn't appear to be at a low elevation.
Glad you liked this one - I also found it easy to imagine this busy stop off on a main road - especially with those shops. Some things haven't changed much.
I think I'm right in saying there were wells there. At its peak, it was a good-sized town.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd No Tesco club card or extra points for each chariot mile covered. I guess that wells were the answer but it makes you wonder how they knew water was there. I seriously think that they had their own geologists/hydrologists, experts in that.
@@RonSeymour1 they had some smart cookies onboard, that’s for sure. I think the site was in use in the Iron Age too. A tribal meeting place, I believe.
Hi Big D, if you are antiquarian, where is your pick axe, shovel and 12 inch ruler? Just because you have the costume and “not let facts get in the way of a good story” attitude. I would say your accent is too common to be taken as an antiquarian, more like a grave digger. The funky music always tickles my perinenum. There would have been hundreds of these Maisons littered across the countryside. Looking forward to the next Roman Rant.
Thanks Andrew! I know my accent lets me down, but my excuse is that I'm a "UA-cam antiquarian" - that's how I qualify and justify it!!
Thank you for acknowledging the music - I suspect many don't appreciate how much effort goes into finding music as bad as this!
How do you know he doesn’t have a twelve inch ruler? 🤔 I reckon he has a pick axe and shovel in the boot of his car!
@@tasmania1111 thanks for the vote of confidence, Tasmania!
@@tasmania1111 Sorry for being so obtrusive. If you have watched as many episodes of Time Team as I have, you would know the modern day archeologists were not impressed with the Antiquarians. Archeologist use the metric system to make measurements and use less intrusive instruments. The trowel and the ground penetrating radar is what they use. Less intrusive, and they describe everything in detail.
@andrewbarnett5542 totally agree! The old school antiquarians did many terrible things. The good thing about UA-cam antiquarians today, is that we only talk nonsense and don’t damage anything! Far better than rogue metal detectorists!
How many WH Smithicus' would the site have had ? I always feel one is never enough, as expensive snack goods and clay tablets would have been in high demand!
That’s brilliant! If they were around then, the logo would have been exactly the same and there would be plenty of “buy one, get one free” deals on strigils!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Its a shame they had not invented refrigeration yet as Phallis shaped fridge magnets would have been a "big" seller!
Perhaps instead of modern tat such as Phones4U and Gambling Machine dens, franchises of Todgers-R-Us and Phallis-U-Like would have there wares on show in the kiosk areas. Grabbing the passing trade, its all about footfall!
Personally I think where you thought a phallic statue would have sat, I think there would have been a coin slot controlled slave, "ride on todger" type of thing, like the vomit inducing rocking car things we have these days.
I'm always interested in the what ifs in history. What if Roman conquest had failed, and what if they'd conquered Britain and never left? ...I imagine lots of mumbo jumbo theories dwell healthily therein ....
Oh therein lies the seeds for endless mumbo jumbo! My big fascination is the sub Roman period in Britain. How long did a Romano British life cling on? Why did it seem to disappear more quickly in some parts of the country than others? And why wasn’t more use made of the Roman built heritage by those who arrived next?!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd My only thought at this time is the east and north of England were more prone to 'Saxon' possibly invasions once the legions left. Whereas the west country had more time to consolidate and build up better defences during the troubles, staying more Romanic ..Hence the legend of a supposed king Arthur. Who knows? I'd love a Tardis to find out. Regardless, the Normans came along a long time later and sorted the nonsense out.
@@philcollinson328 I think that is possibly a big part of it. The east faced the brunt in terms of the incomers. A really fascinating period.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd I am fascinated with the pre, during and post Roman age in Britain ...That gap post Roman - Norman meticulous records kept age ...AKA the dark ages, will it seems, forever be an enigma.