Ribchester

[poliphilo]

Most of Lancashire is urban, but there's a tranche of it to the north that is rural shading off into wilderness- and Ribchester is where it begins. There used to be a Roman fort on the river there- the 18th century pub has a portico supported by what may well be Roman columns- and if you look eastwards you can see Pendle Hill- where the witches used to meet. There are two medieval churches- one of then containing the secret grave of the catholic martyr St Margaret Clitherow (or so they say) and the other with a 17th century sundial in the churchyard.

Around the base of the dial it says

I am a shadow
So art thou.
I mark the time.
So do'st thou.

The Roman museum has lumps of lovely carved masonry and the soles of shoes and fragments of a leather tent and brooches and pins in the shape of phalluses. This is Ailz trying on the replica of a legionary helmet.