Details

The monument includes a Roman camp visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs
taken in 1990. The camp is one of a group of five within a square kilometre to
the west of Upton Grange Farm. Since there are so many of these camps grouped
together it is suggested that they were constructed as practice camps by
troops from the garrison at Chester.
The camp is enclosed by a ditch which has rectangular sides and rounded
corners in the shape of a playing card. It measures 100m by 120m with the
longer sides east to west. The area enclosed is 1.2ha.
Excavations of other Roman camps have revealed that the ditch will be V-cut
with a rampart within the ditch circuit. The rampart and ditch have been
ploughed level so that no trace is now visible on the ground. The rampart will
be about 6m wide at the base and the ditch 1.45m deep and 2m wide.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 10 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Roman camps are rectangular or sub-rectangular enclosures which were
constructed and used by Roman soldiers either when out on campaign or as
practice camps; most campaign camps were only temporary overnight bases and
few were used for longer periods. They were bounded by a single earthen
rampart and outer ditch and in plan are always straight-sided with rounded
corners. Normally they have between one and four entrances, although as many
as eleven have been recorded. Such entrances were usually centrally placed in
the sides of the camp and were often protected by additional defensive
outworks. Roman camps are found throughout much of England, although most
known examples lie in the midlands and north. Around 140 examples have been
identified and, as one of the various types of defensive enclosure built by
the Roman Army, particularly in hostile upland and frontier areas, they
provide an important insight into Roman military strategy and organisation.
All well-preserved examples are identified as being of national importance.

The Roman camp at Upton survives as a well defined cropmark visible on aerial
photographs. It survives as a ditch and rampart buried under ploughsoil on
what was once open heathland. It is one of a group of five camps within a
square kilometre to the west of Upton Grange Farm. These appear to have been
made as practice camps by troops from the garrison at Chester. Examples of
these are unusual and they will provide evidence for the construction and
function of camps throughout the British Isles. The monument will retain
important evidence about the construction of its defences and the interior
will contain traces of any temporary buildings or pits for latrines and
refuse.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Higham, N, A Cropmark at Upton Grange, (1987)
Ainsworth, S, 'Journal of the Chester Arch. Soc.' in Two Rectangular Enclosures at Stamford Heath, (1988)
Other
Collens J and Philpott R, Cheshire County Council SMR, (1990)

Source: Historic England