Chesters Roman Fort and Museum

About the museum

Chesters is the best-preserved Roman cavalry fort in Britain. Known to the Romans as Cilurnum, it was built around AD 124, straddling Hadrian's Wall above the North Tyne, and housed about 500 cavalrymen. It was occupied until the Romans left Britain in the 5th century. Visitors can still see all four main gates, the headquarters building, the commanding officer's house and, beside the river, one of the finest military bath houses in Britain.

The site as it looks today is largely the result of excavations by John Clayton, a wealthy landowner and antiquarian whose estate included the fort. He dug here from 1843 until his death in 1890, and helped to save a central stretch of Hadrian's Wall. His nephew Nathaniel George Clayton carried out the last major excavations in the 1890s and began the site museum, which opened in 1896 to house the antiquities found at Chesters and elsewhere along the Wall.

The fort and its baths came into state guardianship in 1954. Today English Heritage cares for the remains and runs the museum together with the Trustees of the Clayton Collection. The museum keeps its Victorian layout and holds about 2,000 Roman finds, including an outstanding group of altar stones.

Highlights

• Roman cavalry fort with all four gates, headquarters building and commanding officer's house
• Riverside military bath house, one of the best in Britain
• Clayton Museum with about 2,000 Roman finds and altar stones
• Chesters Roman Trail and World Builder family trail
• Coffee House with indoor and outdoor seating

Permanent exhibitions

• Clayton Museum – About 2,000 Roman finds from Chesters and along the Wall, including a fine group of altar stones, in a museum that keeps its Victorian layout.
• Roman cavalry fort and bath house – The fort's gates, headquarters building and commanding officer's house, and the riverside military bath house.

Founded

1896

Operated by

English Heritage (museum with the Trustees of the Clayton Collection)

Admission & discounts

Prices for online tickets bought in advance (without Gift Aid) vary by day: adult £9.26 off-peak, £10.79 standard and £12.32 peak, with concessions £8.50 to £11.56, children £4.59 to £6.12 and family £23.12 to £30.85. Tickets bought on the day cost more (adult £10.90 to £14.50). Admission is free for English Heritage members. Travelling by the AD122 bus gives 20% off the walk-up ticket.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Ramps lead into the shop and museum, and the site is generally flat. The path from the shop to the fort is gravel and the fort itself is mown grass; there are historic steps into the enclosures and the bath house, which has restricted access and a handrail. Visitors can be set down at the shop entrance. A free wheelchair is available on request, accessible toilets and an adult changing area are provided, and a portable hearing loop is held in the shop. Braille guides, torches, tour transcripts and subtitled films are available. Assistance dogs are welcome and dog bowls are at the shop. The museum lights run on motion sensors and may be dark on entry.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Baby changing facilities

Families can follow a trail to find the rubbing stones hidden around the fort, take the World Builder trail about building a fort, and use takeover trail sheets for young children. Activities run in half-term. Baby changing is in both toilets, high chairs are in the tearoom, and there is plenty of open space for running and kites; ball games are not permitted.

Getting there & parking

The fort is a quarter of a mile west of Chollerford on the B6318. Satnav postcode NE46 4EU. There are bike racks on site.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

The Coffee House serves sandwiches, ice cream and hot and cold drinks, with seating inside and out, and can cater for dietary needs if called in advance. The shop sells English Heritage gifts, toys and food. Picnic benches are near the tearoom.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit