1725
A visit by Stukeley
In the 1700s many more people took an interest in visiting sites and publishing what they saw. William Stukeley visited Castleford in late 1725. He described what he saw in more detail than Leland and Camden:
‘ … The place where the Roman ford was, is a little above the cascade: the stones are in great part left, but the mill-dam lays it too deep under water. Hence the paved road goes up the bank to the east side of the church, and forward through the fields, where innumerable coins are ploughed up: One part is called Stone Acre. A man told us he had formerly ploughed up a dozen Roman coins in a day: urns are often found: there are stone pavements, foundations etc. South of the church is a pasture, called Castle-garth: here were buildings of the city: but the Roman castrum was where the church now stands, built probably out of its ruins … ‘
A visit in 1780
There was still plenty to see in 1780. When Thomas Whitaker first visited Castleford he could see what Stukeley had described and he acquired some Roman finds for himself:
‘ … When I was there … besides a pretty intaglia on a cornelian, I procured a scarce denarius of Caracalla, reverse a lion. The principal scene of these discoveries lies in the orchards and enclosures south of the church, which was probably the ground on which the city stood. The church itself unquestionably stands within the Roman castrum … ‘
;)
1. Â’ 1775 map is more like a Roman fort than a medieval castle. Jefferys was usually accurate in his recording of visible archaeological sites.
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