Roman Castleford - A Brief History
In the fifties, long before computer games, tablets and round-the-clock TV, children of Castleford amused themselves by playing cowboys and cowgirls, games of taws, and digging deep holes. Digging deep holes? Yes, because there were looking for treasure in their back gardens and those of neighbours’ or even public spaces. The treasure being a Roman artifact, usually a piece of pottery. They didn’t find any, but was that chipped piece of brick a remnant of a Roman villa? Teachers and parents told them about modern Castleford being on the site of a Roman fort. This was a spark to the imagination of young Castlefordians. But why did the people of a far-off country decide to come to this area? The Roman Emperor Claudius ordered the invasion of Britain, partly to restore the full power of the emperor, which had suffered under his predecessor, Caligula. The expansion of Roman power in Britain began in 43 CE. As the Romans moved northwards, they met fierce resistance. The expansion of th...