ROMAN ROADS LED HERE!

Many Roman soldiers would have once pounded the streets of Willington. With what was once one of the largest Roman military installations in northern Britain, Binchester Fort (Vinovia) just a few miles away, Willington was very much on the map.  Two Roman roads intersected at what is now the top of the High Street.

Dere Street, the main Roman road from York to Scotland passed along Willington’s western edge and then followed the course of Hunwick Lane southward to Hunwick.

And just north of the burn, Dere Street was joined by another Roman road that headed northeast towards Durham. It followed the course of a lane along the edge of fields in the direction of Brancepeth.