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Richborough is a Saxon Shore fort and Romano-British port site located in Kent, whose remains include a substantial stone fortress wall and associated archaeological deposits spanning the Roman period through the early medieval era. The fort was established in the first century AD as a key military installation and landing place for the Roman invasion and subsequent occupation of Britain, later becoming one of the chain of Saxon Shore fortifications constructed in the third and fourth centuries to defend against maritime raiders. The site's most prominent surviving feature is the massive stone curtain wall, which stands to considerable height and encloses the fort's interior, where excavation has revealed evidence of a settlement with warehouses, administrative buildings, and other structures reflecting its importance as both a military and commercial centre. The monument represents one of the most strategically significant Roman installations in Britain and provides substantial archaeological evidence for Roman military organization, trade networks, and the transition from Roman to post-Roman Britain.
A Saxon Shore fort, Roman port and associated remains at Richborough is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1014642. View the official record →
Richborough is a Saxon Shore fort and Romano-British port site located in Kent, whose remains include a substantial stone fortress wall and associated archaeological deposits spanning the Roman period through the early medieval era. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1014642.
A Saxon Shore fort, Roman port and associated remains at Richborough is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1014642.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Sandwich town walls: section from New Gate to Woodnesborough Gate (2.3 km), Sandwich town walls: section from a point E of gasworks to site of New Gate (including The Bulwark and Mill Wall) (2.4 km), Medieval moated site at Grove Manor Farm (3.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of A Saxon Shore fort, Roman port and associated remains at Richborough's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
A Saxon Shore fort, Roman port and associated remains at Richborough stands on Thanet Sand Formation, bedrock that formed in the Thanetian. The rock here is sand, silt and clay.