Subscribe now for full access and no adverts
Built to help guard Dere Street, the main Roman road from York to Hadrian’s Wall, Vinovia (today known as Binchester Roman Fort) was once the largest military installation in north-east England, housing up to 1,000 cavalry soldiers and accompanied by a thriving civilian settlement.
Today, its remains are mostly preserved under rolling open fields, but the site’s long history of antiquarian exploration and modern archaeological research (including a visit from Time Team in 2007, and major excavations involving Durham University, Durham County Council, Stanford University, and the Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland between 2009 and 2017; see CA 263, 291, and 315) have brought illuminating elements to light once more. Visitors to the fort can see the exposed remains of the Praetorium (Commanding Officer’s house), a section of road, and two remarkably well-preserved bathhouses, one of which was discovered by accident in 1815, while the other (pictured below) was uncovered rather more methodically during the recent long running excavations.
Until recently, the site was in the care of Durham County Council, but earlier this year custodianship of the Scheduled Ancient Monument was transferred to The Auckland Project, who have been supporting the Council’s guardianship since purchasing the land at the fort in 2014. The Auckland Project is one of two sister-charities working to regenerate Bishop Auckland by transforming the town into a leading cultural attraction (the other organisation, 11Arches, runs the nearby historically inspired spectacle Kynren; see here). Within the town itself, since 2016 The Auckland Project has renovated Auckland Palace and its gardens and opened both to the public, adding an atmospheric Faith Museum to its grounds in 2023 (CA 403). Tracing 6,000 years of Britain’s religious history from the Neolithic to the present day, the museum’s displays include a silver ring from Binchester Roman Fort, thought to represent rare early evidence of Christianity in Britain (CA 295).
The initiative has also opened two galleries in the town: the Mining Art Gallery (in 2017), which displays artworks and artefacts relating to this distinctive aspect of Co. Durham’s heritage, and the Spanish Gallery (in 2021), which contains 16th- and 17th-century works by the likes of El Greco, Zurbaran, and Velazquez. The Auckland Tower offers both a lofty panoramic view of the town and a central visitor centre/ticket office, and the charity is also constructing a 59-bedroom hotel in the Market Place (complementing the 39-bedroom Park Head Hotel on the outskirts of town). The Auckland Project also operates Weardale Railway (which it saved from administration in 2020), an 18-mile heritage line connecting the historic market towns of Bishop Auckland, Wolsingham, and Stanhope. These eclectic offerings are described on the charity’s website as ‘a slightly bonkers day out’ – and visitors are certainly spoiled for choice.
As for Binchester Roman Fort, the site reopened to the public under this new management in June, and the impact of the project’s investment is already clear: the attraction has a smart new visitor centre, and interpretative material across the site has been revamped, adding elements to entice younger visitors, as well as interactive aspects including QR codes that you can scan with your smartphone to view recreated Roman scenes or access additional information. The charity also intends to fund essential conservation of the exposed remains, and it is hoped that further research might follow.
Further information: Binchester Roman Fort is open 10.30am-4pm Wed-Sun and Bank Holiday Mondays. For more details, see https://aucklandproject.org/attraction/binchester. Our grateful thanks to brilliant Binchester Visitor Assistant Mark Rowland for showing us around the site.
