An attraction on Hadrian's Wall had a record year in 2022, with its visit numbers seeing the third biggest increase across all English Heritage attractions.
Across the country, English Heritage had a "bumper year" with domestic tourism said to have returned at "full strength" in 2022, and international visitors at 70% of pre-pandemic levels. The charity found that it had a total membership of almost 1.2 million in 2022, its highest ever level - and one Northumberland site recorded its best year since records began.
Corbridge Roman Town saw a 41% increase in visitor numbers from 2021. The site on the outskirts of one of 2022's staycation hotspots was the most northerly town in the Roman Empire and has two "star" attractions, the Corbridge Lion and the Corbridge Hoard, a "time capsule" thought to be from the second century, with well-preserved objects of a Roman soldier's worldly goods including armour and tools.
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Despite this, it is often missed off a lot of tourist itineraries, according to English Heritage curator for Hadrian's Wall who is based at Corbridge Roman Town, Frances McIntosh. Frances says that in the past, many visitors have preferred to visit an entire Roman Fort such as Housesteads, Vindolanda or Chesters; or visitors have simply not known about the existence of Corbridge Roman Town.
However, that has all changed in the last year. Frances said: "2022 was just a brilliant year at Corbridge, my office is at the end of the museum and I get to see the visitors walking past my window or hear them in the museum - the staff were overrun throughout the year it was so busy!"
Frances believes that there were a couple of "hooks" that saw its popularity increase dramatically in 2022. One was the 1900 Festival, which celebrated 19 centuries of Hadrian's Wall, while the other was a temporary exhibition about Edwardian excavators who discovered many of the artefacts seen in the museum.
While English Heritage found that domestic tourism had returned in full force, it's not just staycationers who have been coming in their droves. Tourists from France, Germany and the Netherlands regular park their camper vans up at Corbridge, and Frances suspects they are taking advantage of the DFDS ferry routes into North Shields - which she says is great for the environment too.
She added: "Corbridge is a hidden gem and if I had a penny for the number of times people said to me or the guys on the front desk that they didn't realise we were here and how big the site was, I'd be very rich! I think a lot of people are surprised at what's survived on site as well as a collection in the museum."
Though the popular exhibition on the Edwardian excavators has now finished, Frances and her team are looking at ideas for another temporary exhibition at the end of the year. She finished: "We'd love to keep the numbers up and keep people coming back, this is the most northerly town in the Roman Empire and it's just on people's doorsteps, really."
Not only has Corbridge Roman Town enjoyed a record year, but English Heritage also have further plans to open a new museum for Lindisfarne Priory this month and to re-launch Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens in summer 2023.
Kate Mavor, chief executive of English Heritage, said: "Last year was a year of recovery for English Heritage, with domestic tourism once again picking up to pre-pandemic levels and, in many cases, exceeding it. Many of our most recognisable attractions enjoyed their best-ever years in 2022, which is a clear indication that homegrown tourism is flourishing once again in areas such as Cornwall and Yorkshire.
"However, it is notable that many of our smaller sites, situated away from traditional tourist destinations, have also reported record years. We know that the public took advantage of the pandemic’s ‘stay at home’ mandate to rediscover the heritage on their doorstep and this newfound enthusiasm for history and culture has shown no sign of diminishing over the ensuing year."
She added: "As we prepare to reopen our sites for the season this weekend, everyone at English Heritage is looking forward to an exciting 2023. Just last week, we added the fascinating Thornborough Henges in Yorkshire to the collection of sites in our care and this year also sees us launch a new museum at Lindisfarne Priory in Northumberland, re-create a Roman gateway at Richborough Roman Fort in Kent, and revive one of the great historic sites in the North East – Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens outside Newcastle."
To find out more about Corbridge Roman Town, including opening times and how to book tickets, visit the site's page on the English Heritage website.
Full list of English Heritage sites which had record years in 2022
- Aldborough Roman Site, North Yorkshire. 30% increase in visitors on 2021, 2022 best year since 1999.
- Boscobel, Shropshire. 22% increase in visitors on 2021, 2022 best year ever.
- Clifford's Tower, York. 31% increase in visitors on 2019.
- Corbridge Roman Town, Northumberland. 41% increase in visitors on 2021, 2022 best year ever.
- Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire. 15% increase in visitors on 2021, 2022 best year since 2009.
- Marble Hill, Twickenham. 900% increase on 2019 (prior to conservation), 2022 best year ever.
- Mount Grace Priory, North Yorkshire. 47% increase in visitors on 2021, 2022 best year ever.
- Okehampton Castle, Devon. 14% increase in visitors on 2021, 2022 best year ever.
- Pickering Castle, North Yorkshire. 18% increase in visitors on 2021, 2022 best year since 1997.
- Portland Castle, Dorset. 21% increase in visitors on 2021, 2022 best year since 2004.
- Richmond Castle, North Yorkshire. 16% increase in visitors on 2021, 2022 best year since 1997.
- Tintagel Castle, Cornwall. 5% increase in visitors on 2021, 2022 best year ever.
- Wenlock Priory, Shropshire. 14% increase in visitors on 2021, 2022 best year since 1998.
- Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire. 25% increase in visitors on 2021, 2022 best year ever.
- Wrest Park, Bedfordshire. 5% increase in visitors on 2021, 2022 best year ever.
- Yarmouth Castle, Isle of Wight. 28% increase in visitors on 2021, 2022 best year ever.
Have you been to Corbridge Roman Town? Let us know!
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