Wall Mile 55

Hadrian's Wall stretches from the east to west coast of England and was an important frontier of the Roman Empire. Building of the wall began in AD 122 and took six years to complete it’s 84 mile (80 Roman mile) length. Soldiers were garrisoned along the line of the wall in large forts, smaller milecastles, and intervening turrets. The Vallum, a large ditch with mounds on either side, ran along the south side of the wall, protecting the rear of the frontier. Hadrian's Wall was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1987.

Wall mile 55 was originally a turf wall, later replaced by stone. From Milecastle 49 to the western end of Hadrian's Wall on the Solway Firth, the wall was originally constructed from turf, possibly due to the absence of limestone. Subsequently, the turf wall was demolished and replaced with a stone wall.

Wall Mile 55:

• Milecastle 55 (Low Wall) - only visible as a low turf platform 
• Turret 55A (Dovecote) - no visible surface remains
• Turret 55B (Townhead Croft)

Hadrian's Wall survives as a buried feature in Wall Mile 55, with few traces visible on the ground. Between Howgill and turret 55a the Wall survives as a substantial turf covered bank, up to 1.4m high. West of Dovecote Bridge a section of Wall 20m long stands to an average height of 1m. It is now covered by a protective mound of earth.

Scheduled Monument (#1010982): Hadrian's Wall between the road to Garthside and The Centurion Inn, Walton, in wall miles 54 and 55

Hadrian's Wall survives as a buried feature throughout this section with few traces visible on the ground. Between Howgill and turret 55a the Wall survives as a substantial turf covered bank, up to 1.4m high, which is surmounted by a fence and hedge. West of Dovecote Bridge a section of Wall 20m long stands to an average height of 1m. It is now covered by a protective mound of earth, and it is in the care of the Secretary of State. Between this section of Wall and Walton the Wall was trenched in 13 places by Haverfield in 1902. The Wall was found to be substantially robbed along its course. Its line here is visible on the ground as an intermittent slight rise in grassland. Elsewhere in this section the Wall survives as a buried feature with no remains visible above ground except for the occasional rise seen in a hedgeline.

The wall ditch survives as a feature visible on the ground as a slight depression, averaging 0.5m deep, throughout most of this section. It is best preserved to the east of turret 55a where it is 2.4m deep. The ditch upcast mound, usually referred to as the glacis, which lies to the north of the ditch has been ploughed out in this section. The only visible remains of this feature are to the east of turret 55a where it survives as a slight mound.

Milecastle 55 survives as a low turf covered platform visible as a slight rise in the hedgeline. It measures 22m east to west but its north-south length is indeterminate because its extent to the south is unclear. The milecastle was located and partly excavated by Haverfield in 1900 who recovered late fourth century AD pottery.

Turret 55a is situated about 170m to the north of High Dovecote. It survives as a buried feature with no remains visible above ground. This turret was also located by Simpson in 1933 who considered it to be of the original Turf Wall series.

Turret 55b is situated about 40m west of Dovecote Bridge. Its exact location has not yet been confirmed as it survives as a buried feature with no remains visible above ground. The turret was located by Miss Kate Hodgson in 1959 but it has not been located since. 

The exact course of the Roman road known as the Military Way, which ran along the corridor between the Wall and the vallum linking turrets, milecastles and forts, has not been confirmed in this section. However, it is expected to be situated parallel to the Wall about 20m-30m south of it.

Scheduled Monument (#1010983): The vallum between the road to Garthside and the track east of Castlesteads in wall miles 54, 55 and 56

The vallum survives as buried feature throughout most of this section. It is best preserved to the west of Low Wall where the ditch is visible as a slight depression which deepens as it descends to the stream. Otherwise the only surface traces are slight rises and dips in hedgelines where they cross the ploughed down mounds and ditch of the vallum. Elsewhere the vallum mounds have been reduced by ploughing leaving no trace above ground. Similarly the vallum ditch has been entirely silted up leaving no obvious remains on the surface. Where there are no surface traces the course of the vallum is known from excavations by Haverfield during 1900-1901. His trenches revealed the course of the vallum west of Howgill farm and to the south of Walton. About 30m east of the track to the east of Castlesteads, Haverfield's excavation in 1901 showed that there was a major realignment in the course of the vallum here. This sharp southward turn was made to encompass the Roman fort at Castlesteads within the military corridor between the Wall and vallum.