128 



Roman Embankment at Cricklade. 



thrco inches square. The colours of the pieces were white, black, 

 and red. Pieces of brick, which are supposed to be of Roman 

 manufacture, were also discovered in 1862 in the restoration of 

 St. Mary's Church. 



It is, however, certain that Cricklade was a fortified town, and 

 the seat of important military operations at a date long subsequent 

 to the Roman era, namely, in the time of King Stephen. Those 

 who will refer to the " Gesta Stepbani," or to " Waylen's Plistory 

 of Marlborough," will find that William of Dover erected there 

 "an inaccessible castle, surrounded on all sides by water, and by 

 marshes." From his head-quarters at Cricklade, he furiously 

 attacked all the followers of King Stephen within a radius of many 

 miles. He was succeeded as Commander there by Philip, son of 

 the Earl of Gloucester, who was even more violent than his pre- 

 decessor. Stephen, however, either by flattery or bribery, converted 

 his enmity into friendship, and so secured the important post of 

 Cricklade. Prince Henry, afterwards Henry II., returning from 

 Normandy, A.D. 1153, captured Malmesbury,but was ignominiously 

 repulsed by King Stephen, when he made an attack upon Crick- 

 lade. 



It is clear that the fortifications which were in existence in the 

 time of Stephen were not of recent construction, although the 

 castle itself seems to have been so ; the wall was not erected by 

 William of Dover, but was probabty at that time several centuries 

 old. We know at least that it must have encircled or rather 

 environed the town for 150 years ; for by the laws of the Saxon 

 Kings the privilege of minting was only conceded to walled towns, 

 and from the time of Canute, and possibly long before, Cricklade 

 was honoured by being one of the places set apart to manufacture 

 the coin of the realm. I trust that some future student of the 

 history of Cricklade may be able to discover additional links to 

 connect the walls and fortifications which existed there in the time 

 of the Saxons, and of the Norman invaders, with the Roman era, 

 and to strengthen the opinion which tradition has handed down as 

 to the Roman origin of the embankment. It would be interesting 

 also if the latest date could be ascertained when remains of the 



