Brough-under-Stainmore
About
This fort held the western end of the Stainmore Pass, the main Roman road linking the legionary fortress at York with the frontier post at Carlisle, from around 79 CE. Its garrison remained through Trajan's reign and for centuries after, with occupation continuing even past the official Roman withdrawal in 410 CE. The fort's control of the only viable Pennine crossing for wheeled traffic made it one of the most consistently garrisoned sites in northern England. A medieval castle keep now stands within its earthwork perimeter.
What happened here
Five hundred men, sometimes a thousand, recruited from a province rather than from citizens, and often stationed a long way from where they were raised. Cavalry units get a bigger fort and far more stabling; the smell tells you which kind you are in before the plan does. The layout copies a legionary fortress at a quarter of the size — headquarters, commander's house, granaries, barracks, a bath house usually built outside the walls because of the fire risk. Duties are patrolling, escorting, customs, and policing rather than pitched battle. After twenty-five years a man is discharged with citizenship for himself and his children, recorded on a bronze diploma he keeps for life. A village grows outside the gate within a decade.
Sources
Nearby
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