Roman cities in Britain facts for kids

This map shows how the Roman provinces were set up in Britain.

This article lists cities in Great Britain from when the Romans arrived in 43 AD until the 5th century. The Romans called their cities civitas. These were often strongholds where local tribes lived, ruled by Roman officials. Many of these cities were once important places for Iron Age tribes. Others were built along main Roman roads or were busy trading spots.

Some Roman cities were completely new settlements. A famous example is Aquae Sulis, which we now call Bath. At least 26 of today's 63 cities in England and Wales were Roman civitates. Camulodunum (modern Colchester) was the first capital of Roman Britain. Later, Londinium (modern London) became the capital. Today, London is still the capital of England and the UK.

This list covers cities across Great Britain. It does not include Cornwall or Scotland, as the Romans had less control there. The list shows the modern names, the old Brythonic names, and the Roman names. Brythonic names often started with "Caer," meaning "stronghold" or "fortress." This word later became "-caster," "-cester," or "-chester" in English names.

An author named Nennius wrote about 28 civitates in the 8th century. Most of the cities on this list are from his writings. Many Roman civitates continued to be important towns or cities after the Romans left. Others became ruins, with only small villages nearby today.

What Was a Roman City Like?

Roman cities, or civitates, were important places. They were usually protected by walls. These cities were centers for local tribes, but they were governed by Roman officials. This helped the Romans control the areas they had conquered.

How Did Roman Cities Start?

Many Roman cities began as places where local tribes already lived. These were often tribal capitals. Other cities grew up in important locations. Some were built along the main Roman roads for easy travel and trade. A few were new settlements built by the Romans themselves.

What Happened to Roman Cities?

After the Romans left Britain in the 5th century, many of these cities changed. Some continued to grow and became the cities we know today. Think of places like London or Chester. However, other Roman cities were abandoned. They slowly fell into ruin, and now only their remains can be seen, often near small villages.

List of Roman Cities in Britain

This table shows many of the important Roman cities in Great Britain. It includes their modern names, their older Brythonic and Roman names, and which tribe was linked to them. You can also see if they were mentioned by Nennius, the old Welsh writer.

Modern Name	Brythonic Name	Roman Name	Associated Tribe	Historic County	Flag	Current Status	Image	Mentioned by Nennius
Alcester	Caer Alen	Alauna	Local Tribe	Warwickshire		Town		No
Aldborough	Caer Isurion	Isurium Brigantum	Brigantes	West Riding of Yorkshire		Village		No
Bath	Caer Baddon	Aquae Sulis	Roman Settlement	Somerset		City		No
Brough	Caer Petuar	Petuaria	Parisi	East Riding of Yorkshire		Town		No
Builth Wells	Caer Peris	Unknown	Ordovices & Silures	Brecknockshire		Town		Yes
Caernarfon	Caer Segeint	Segontium	Ordovices	Caernarfonshire		Town		Yes
Caistor (Thancaster)	Caer Correi	Caistor	Corieltauvi	Lincolnshire		Town		No
Cambridge	Caer Grauth	Duroliponte	Catuvellauni	Cambridgeshire		City		Yes
Canterbury	Caer Ceint	Durovernum Cantiacorum	Cantiaci	Kent		City		Yes
Cardiff	Caer Teim	Tamium	Silures	Glamorgan		City		No
Carlisle Capital of Britannia Valentia	Caer Ligualid	Luguvalium	Carvetii	Cumberland		City		Yes
Carmarthen	Caer Merddyn	Moridunum	Demetae	Carmarthenshire		Town		Unlikely
Catterick	Caer Catarauc	Cataractonium	Brigantes	North Riding of Yorkshire		Village		Yes
Chepstow (Caerwent)	Caer Guent (possibly)	Venta Silurum	Silures	Monmouthshire		Town (Village)		Yes
Chester	Caer Legion	Deva Victrix	Cornovii (Midlands)	Cheshire		City		Yes
Chichester	Caer Cei	Noviomagus Reginorum	Regni	Sussex		City		No
Cirencester Capital of Britannia Prima	Caer Ceri	Corinium Dobunnorum	Dobunni	Gloucestershire		Town		No
Colchester Early Capital of Britannia	Caer Colun	Camulodunum	Trinovantes	Essex		City (2022)		Yes
Conwy (Caerhun)	Caer Canovion (Informally)	Canovium Deceangorum	Deceangli	Denbighshire		Town (Village)		No
Doncaster	Caer Daun	Danum	Roman Settlement	West Riding of Yorkshire		City (2022)		Yes
Dorchester	Caer Durnac	Durnovaria	Durotriges	Dorset		Town		No
Dunster	Caer Draitou	Unknown	Dumnonii	Somerset		Village		Yes
Durham (Binchester)	Caer Weir	Vinovia	Brigantes	County Durham		City (Village)		No
Exeter	Caer Uisc	Isca Dumnoniorum	Dumnonii	Devon		City		No
Gloucester Capital of Britannia Secunda	Caer Glout	Glevum	Dobunii	Gloucestershire		City		No
Hereford (Kenchester)	Caer Fawydd	Magnae Dobunnorum	Dobunni	Herefordshire		City (Village)		No
Ilchester	Caer Pensa vel Coyt	Lindinis	Lendinienses, part of Durotriges?	Somerset		Village		Yes
Leicester	Caer Lerion	Ratae Corieltauvorum	Corieltauvi	Leicestershire		City		Yes
Lichfield (Wall)	Caer Luit coyt	Letocetum	Cornovii (Midlands) & Corieltauvi	Staffordshire		City (Village)		Yes
Lincoln Capital of Britannia Flavia	Caer Lind-colun	Lindum Colonia	Corieltauvi	Lincolnshire		City		No
City of London Later Capital of Britannia	Caer Londein	Londinium	Catuvellauni & Trinovantes	Middlesex		City		Yes
Manchester	Caer Maunguid	Mamucium	Roman Settlement	Lancashire		City		Yes
Monmouth (The Doward)	Caer Guorthigirn	Blestium	Silures	Monmouthshire / Herefordshire		Town (Village)		Yes, Probably
Norwich (Caistor St Edmund)	Caer Guin Truis (possibly)	Venta Icenorum	Iceni	Norfolk		City (Village)		No
Newport (Caerleon)	Caer legion guar uisc	Isca Augusta	Silures	Monmouthshire		City (Town)		Yes
Portsmouth (Porchester)	Caer Portus	Portus Adurni	Belgae	Hampshire		City (Village)		No
Rochester	Caer Dourbruf	Durobrivae Cantiacorum	Cantiaci	Kent		Town		No
Salisbury (Old Sarum)	Caer Sallwg	Sorbiodunum	Atrebates	Wiltshire		City		Yes
Shrewsbury (Wroxeter)	Caer Guricon	Viroconium Cornoviorum	Cornovii (Midlands)	Shropshire		Town (Village)		Yes
Silchester	Caer Celemion	Calleva Atrebatum	Atrebates	Hampshire		Village		Yes
St Albans	Caer Municep	Verulamium	Catuvellauni	Hertfordshire		City		Yes
Whitchurch	Caer Meguidd	Mediolanum	Cornovii (Midlands)	Shropshire		Town		Yes
Winchester	Caer Guent (possibly)	Venta Belgarum	Belgae	Hampshire		City		Yes
Worcester	Caer Guiragon	Vertis	Dobunii & Cornovii (Midlands)	Worcestershire		City		Yes
York Capital of Britannia Maxima	Caer Ebrauc	Eboracum	Brigantes	North Riding of Yorkshire		City		Yes