Lagentium to Castleford
Roman Lagentium
The Roman army left the fort in AD 100. Some of the population stayed in Castleford and in fact the vicus prospered after the army left. The vicus was abandoned in about AD 180. A new Romano-British defended settlement was built in about AD 250. It was abandoned again about AD 400, about the time that the Roman occupation of Britain ended.
Anglo-Saxon Ceaster forda
A place called ‘Ceaster forda’ is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles in AD 948. This Anglo-Saxon name means ‘the river crossing near the fort’.
Norman Castleford
Castleford is not mentioned in the Domesday Book but other historic documents refer to a settlement called ‘Castreford’ (or ‘Castelforde’) in about AD 1130. By the 1170s the settlement included watermills and a parish church. Archaeologists have not yet found any evidence for the Anglo-Saxon or Norman settlement.
The Village of Castleford
Castleford was probably a small village in the medieval period. The archaeologists found some fragments of medieval pottery during the dig and some evidence of buildings near to the church.
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1. The archaeologists found medieval pottery in the upper layers of soil, above the Roman remains.
By the early 1800s Castleford was an agricultural village with a population of 800 people. Maps from this time show that the village was centred around the site of the Roman settlement. There were mills, a church and rectory, houses, orchards, ponds, gardens and fields.
Industrial Castleford
Castleford expanded during the industrial revolution. Pottery and glass production began in the early 1800s but coal mining was the main industry from the 1850s onwards. Many people moved to the town to take up jobs. Houses, pubs, schools and hospitals were built. By the 1890s Castleford had a population of 15,000 people.
Today Castleford’s population is about 35,000.
Timeline:
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