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Letocetum

Archaeology of the United KingdomEnglish Heritage sites in StaffordshireEngvarB from May 2016Former populated places in StaffordshireHistory of Lichfield
Museums in StaffordshireMuseums of ancient Rome in the United KingdomNational Trust properties in StaffordshireRoman towns and cities in EnglandRoman waystationsTourist attractions in Staffordshire
Letocetum Title
Letocetum Title

Letocetum is the ancient remains of a Roman settlement. It was an important military staging post and posting station near the junction of Watling Street, the Roman military road to north Wales, and Icknield (or Ryknild) Street (now the A38). The site is now within the parish of Wall, Staffordshire, England. It is owned and run by the National Trust, under the name Letocetum Roman Baths Site & Museum. The site is in the guardianship of English Heritage as Wall Roman Site. The Romans came to Letocetum in 50 CE to establish a fortress during the early years of the invasion of Britain. The land could not support large numbers of soldiers and Letocetum, at an important cross-roads, became a large scale posting station. The settlement developed with successive bath houses and mansiones built to serve the official travellers as well as the growing civilian population. It is known mainly from detailed excavations in 1912–13, which concentrated on the sites of the mansio and bath-house, but there is evidence of a substantial settlement with possible basilica, temples, and amphitheatre. The remains visible today are those of the stone bath house and mansio, built in approximately 130 CE after Letocetum ceased to have a military function and became a civilian settlement. The settlement reached its peak during the 2nd and 3rd centuries and at this time occupied 8.1–12 hectares (20–30 acres). At the end of the 3rd century, the town relocated within high defensive walls astride Watling Street. After the Romans left early in the 5th century the settlement went into decline. The modern village of Wall emerged in the land once occupied by Letocetum.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Letocetum (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Letocetum
Watling Street, Lichfield

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N 52.6569 ° E -1.8565 °
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Letocetum Roman Baths and Museum

Watling Street
WS14 0AW Lichfield
England, United Kingdom
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Maple Hayes
Maple Hayes

Maple Hayes is late 18th century manor house, now occupied by a special needs school, near Lichfield, Staffordshire. It is a Grade II listed building. In 1728 a farmhouse stood at Maple Hayes. When the owner William Jesson died in 1732 the estate was shared by his daughters. In 1786 his great nephew sold the estate to George Addams a wine merchant of Lichfield. Addams built a new manor house on the site in 1794. In a plain Georgian style the house was of three storeys, five bays and a central porched entrance, and with single-storey wings. Addams sold in 1804 to John Atkinson (High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1828) and thereafter the house had a series of owners and tenants including Sir Thomas Fremantle Bt, his brother in law Sir James Fitzgerald Bt, and from 1851 Samuel Pole Shawe (High Sheriff in 1855). In 1884 Henry Cunliffe Shawe sold the house and 450 acres (1.8 km2) of the estate to Albert Octavius Worthington ( High Sheriff in 1889) of the Burton on Trent brewery company Worthington & Co. Worthington extended the estate and enlarged and improved the house about 1884. The wings were raised to two storeys and bay windows added, and new a southern wing and a northern service wing were created. The estate was broken up and sold in 1950. In 1951 the house was acquired by Staffordshire County Council as a boarding facility for King Edward VI School (Lichfield). In 1981 it was sold to become, and remains occupied by, the Maple Hayes School for Dyslexics.