Battlefields›Battle of Watling Street
Roman Period

Battle of Watling Street

61
Staffordshire, England
Era
Roman Period
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Staffordshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
British coalition led by Boudica (Iceni, Trinovantes and others)
VS
Victor
Roman Empire (Gaius Suetonius Paulinus)
Forces involved

Ancient sources give Roman forces at roughly 10,000 troops; British forces are given in ancient sources as 230,000-300,000, but modern historians consider these figures extravagant and unreliable.

Outcome
Decisive Roman victory; the Boudiccan revolt was crushed and major armed resistance to Roman rule in southern Britain ended until AD 410.
The Battle

History & Significance

Battle of Watling Street was a Roman pitched battle between opposing field armies, fought in the area of Staffordshire, England in 61. Roman Empire (Gaius Suetonius Paulinus) prevailed over British coalition led by Boudica (Iceni, Trinovantes and others). Decisive Roman victory; the Boudiccan revolt was crushed and major armed resistance to Roman rule in southern Britain ended until AD 410.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Watling Street lies on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.

Casualties & Losses
  • Ancient sources (Tacitus) record around 400 Roman dead and just over 400 wounded,
  • roughly 80,000 Britons killed in the battle, with further deaths among Britons in destroyed settlements previously sacked by Boudica's forces.
Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Watling Street

This page covers Battle of Watling Street. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Watling Street

Grendon Bridge
Grendon Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~2.4 mi

Grendon Bridge is a medieval stone bridge crossing the River Avon near Grendon in Warwickshire. The structure dates to the fourteenth century and represents an important example of medieval bridge engineering in the region. The bridge features characteristic pointed arches typical of its period a…

Robin Stott / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Hartshill Castle
Hartshill Castle
Scheduled monument · ~2.6 mi

Hartshill Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortification located in Warwickshire, dating to the Norman period following the conquest of 1066. The castle comprises an earthwork mound surrounded by a ditch, typical of early Norman military architecture, with evidence of timber fortifications that would…

Brett Lees-Smith from Nuneaton, Warwickshire,, United Kingdom / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Remains of Polesworth Abbey
Remains of Polesworth Abbey
Scheduled monument · ~3.9 mi

Polesworth Abbey is a Benedictine nunnery founded in the tenth century in Warwickshire, established under the patronage of the Anglo-Saxon royal house. The surviving remains consist principally of the gatehouse and sections of the conventional buildings, including fragments of the abbey church, w…

JohnArmagh / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
The Benedictine priory and precinct of St Mary, Nuneaton
The Benedictine priory and precinct of St Mary, Nuneaton
Scheduled monument · ~4.7 mi

St Mary's Priory at Nuneaton is a Benedictine priory founded in the eleventh century, originally established as a cell of the English monastery of Fontevraud Abbey before becoming independent. The priory operated as a major religious and economic centre in medieval Warwickshire until its dissolut…

JohnArmagh / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Kingsbury Hall: a medieval enclosure castle and post-medieval house
Kingsbury Hall: a medieval enclosure castle and post-medieval house
Scheduled monument · ~6.3 mi

Kingsbury Hall is a medieval enclosure castle and post-medieval house located in Warwickshire, England. The site comprises the earthwork remains of a medieval defensive enclosure, with evidence of occupation and modification extending into the post-medieval period when domestic structures were co…

David Godfrey / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Motte and associated earthworks at Shackerstone
Motte and associated earthworks at Shackerstone
Scheduled monument · ~6.5 mi

The motte and associated earthworks at Shackerstone is a Norman fortification located in Leicestershire. The monument comprises a substantial mound, characteristic of motte-and-bailey defensive architecture, which dates to the Norman period following the Conquest of 1066. The earthwork remains vi…

Roger Kidd / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Moat and fishponds at Ratcliffe Culey
Scheduled monument · ~1.1 miles
Roman camp
Scheduled monument · ~1.1 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Battle of Watling Street

Battle of Watling Street 61 AD (Boudicca Defeated) - Mancetter
61
~0.4 miles away
Battle of Bosworth (Field) 1485
1485
~5.1 miles away
Dudley Conspiracy Arrests 1556
1556
~5.5 miles away
Battle of Chelsea Creek
1775
~6 miles away
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