All of Kent

You will need Adobe Flash Player v9.0.115 to watch this film

Click here to download the latest flash player

If your system prevents flash updates, click here to watch with Windows Media Player

Richborough Roman Fort

« Previous Next »

Vast Roman fortress with earthworks, defensive flint walls, museum, shop and car park.

Evocatively sited amid the East Kent marshes, Richborough is perhaps the most symbolically important of all Roman sites in Britain, witnessing both the beginning and almost the end of Roman rule here. The site is now two miles from the sea; in AD 43 it overlooked a sheltered lagoon harbour. Here, all but certainly, the invading Roman forces first landed and established a bridgehead. This event was later commemorated by a mighty triumphal arch, whose cross-shaped foundations still survive here. Proclaiming that the Roman conquest of Britain was complete, this fortress also provided an impressive gateway for arrivals at what became the province's main entry port. English Heritage manage the site.

Daily 10.30-6pm, April to September.

English Heritage Members Free. Family ticket £10.30.

Further information

You can choose to reach the fort as the Romans would have done, by boat. Boats sail from Sandwich, but not every day: please contact the site to check times. Access to fort and grounds: all parts accessed via uneven ground, steps and banks. Parking is 100m from entrance; loose gravel surface. Disabled drivers can drive to museum building; gates will be opened. For Hearing Impaired Visitors and others there is an audio tour with hearing loop included in admission price.