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Alchester (Roman town)

Cherwell DistrictFormer populated places in OxfordshireHistory of OxfordshireRoman fortifications in EnglandRoman fortified camps in England
Roman legionary fortresses in EnglandRoman sites in OxfordshireRoman towns and cities in England

Alchester is the site of an ancient Roman town. The site is not included in any ancient references; hence, the Roman name is not known. However, Eilert Ekwall contended that it appears as Alavna in the Ravenna Cosmography, with the addition of the Old English ceaster to signify a Roman fort. It lies about 2 miles (3 km) south of Bicester, in the northwest corner of the civil parish of Wendlebury in the English county of Oxfordshire.Alchester had a strategic location in Roman Britain at a crossroads on the Silchester–Dorchester on Thames–Towcester road and the Cirencester–St Albans road (Akeman Street). Recent excavations have shown that it was the site of one of the earliest legionary fortresses in Roman Britain after the invasion of 43 AD. The site has been the subject of investigation since 1996, firstly under the auspices of Oxford University Archaeological Society, then under those of the University of Leicester and the University of Edinburgh.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Alchester (Roman town) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Alchester (Roman town)
Wendlebury Road, Cherwell District Chesterton

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N 51.877537 ° E -1.170986 °
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Alchester Roman Fort

Wendlebury Road
OX25 2PE Cherwell District, Chesterton
England, United Kingdom
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Bicester
Bicester

Bicester ( BIST-ər) is a historical market town, garden town, and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in south-central England that also comprises an eco town development at North West Bicester and a self-build village at Graven Hill. Its local market continues to thrive and is now located on Sheep Street, a very wide pedestrian zone in the conservation area of the town. Bicester is also known for Bicester Village, a nearby shopping centre. Bicester has expanded rapidly in recent generations due to the town's picturesque historical town centre, garden town, independent and high-street shops, restaurants, and excellent rail connections to Oxford and its imminent connection to Cambridge, as well as rail links to Birmingham and London. It is similarly proximate to Brackley, Buckingham, Banbury, Milton Keynes, and Aylesbury. A considerable volume of high quality and environmentally friendly housing stock has been constructed recently, in particular at the Elmsbrook eco-town and the self-build homes at Graven Hill. Its flat topography and compact size is suited to walking and cycling, which, together with an active cycle campaign, has attracted a significant focus on developing improved active travel infrastructure, including the majority of a recent £14 million central government award to Oxfordshire County Council dedicated to safer walking and cycling.Bicester has its own town council. In 2014 the government, in concert with the local planning authority, planned for Bicester to become a garden city on the basis of the size of its buffers, and distance from the Metropolitan Green Belt as well as to accommodate the demand of commuters to London and Oxford. Up to 13,000 new homes will be built.