Ravenglass - History

History

The town dates back to at least the 2nd century, when it was an important naval base for the Romans now believed by experts to have been 'Tunnocellum' although it is often popularly named Glannoventa. It occupied the most southerly point of the Cumbrian coastal defence system, an extension of Hadrian's Wall, connected by a continuous chain of milefortlets and watchtowers. Ravenglass was occupied by the Romans for over 300 years and had a garrison (castra) of 500 soldiers. The town was a regional supply point for much of north-western Roman Britain, with a Roman road from Ravenglass over the Hardknott Pass to the Roman fort at Ambleside. The location is featured in The Fort at River's Bend, a book in Jack Whyte's A Dream of Eagles (Camulod Chronicles) series, and is also mentioned briefly in Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy under the name Clannoventa. Today, there are few Roman remains, with the notable exception of a bath-house, known locally as Walls Castle. This is one of the largest remaining Roman structures in England, covering an area of 90 feet by 40 feet and with walls up to 12 feet high. The property is now maintained by English Heritage and form the western extremity of the Roman frontier World Heritage Site.

'Renglas' appears in charters and other records of the late 12th century. In 1208 King John granted Richard de Lucy, Earl of Egremont a Charter for a Market at Ravenglass on Saturdays and a yearly fair on the festival of St. James, August 5.