View source for Othona

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2021}}
{{short description|Roman fort}}
{{Infobox castle
|name = Othona
|image = St Peters Way.jpg
|caption = View looking north towards the [[Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall]] on the site of the Roman fort
|location = [[Essex]], [[England]], UK
|pushpin_map = United Kingdom Essex
|pushpin_map_caption = Location in [[Essex]]
|gridref = {{gbmappingsmall|TM031081}}
|coordinates = {{Coord|51.735|0.940|scale:5000|display=inline,title}}
}}
'''Othona''' or '''Othonae''' was the name of an ancient [[Roman Britain|Roman]] fort of the [[Saxon Shore]] at the sea's edge near  the modern village of [[Bradwell-on-Sea]] in [[Essex]], [[England]]. The [[Old English]] name ''Ythanceaster'' for the locality derives from the Roman name.<ref>''CBA Report 18: The Saxon Shore'', p. 8</ref>
==History==
The fort of Othona is in a typical late 3rd century style, and was possibly constructed during or shortly prior to the [[Carausian Revolt]], making it contemporary with the forts at [[Dubris]] ([[Dover]]), [[Portus Lemanis]] ([[Lympne]]) and [[Gariannonum]] ([[Burgh Castle]]).<ref>Fields, p. 24</ref> According to the early 5th-century ''[[Notitia Dignitatum]]'', which is the only contemporary document mentioning Othona, the fort was garrisoned by a ''numerus fortensium'' ("[[Numerus (Roman military unit)|''numerus'']] of the brave ones").<ref>''Notitia Dignitatum, Pars Occ.'', XXVIII.13</ref>
==Location and construction==
Othona's location at the edge of the [[Dengie Peninsula]] was ideal for control of the estuaries of the rivers [[River Blackwater, Essex|Blackwater]] and [[River Colne, Essex|Colne]], the latter leading to the important city of [[Camulodunum]] (now [[Colchester]]).<ref>Fields, pp. 29–32</ref> The fort's shape was roughly [[trapezoid]]al, with rounded corners. The stone rampart was 4.2 metres thick, indicating a tall superstructure, and enclosed over {{convert|2|ha}}. A single exterior ditch surrounded the site. Although some of the Roman building material was reused in the 7th century [[Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall]], enough of the rampart survived until the 17th century, when it was described by the local historian [[Philemon Holland]] as a "huge ruin".<ref>Fields, p. 32</ref> It has since been largely swallowed by the sea, leaving scant remains on view.
==Christianity==
The Othona community is a Christian community and [[Retreat (spiritual)|retreat centre]] based at Bradwell-on-Sea and at [[Burton Bradstock]] in West Dorset. It was founded in 1946 by Norman Motley, a Church of England priest who had served as an RAF chaplain during the [[Second World War]], and after the war as  rector of [[St Michael, Cornhill]], 1956–1980.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Othona Community's Beginnings |url=https://www.othonaessex.org.uk/othona-communitys-beginnings |website=Othona, Bradwell on Sea |access-date=25 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Contact Us |url=https://www.othonawestdorset.org.uk/contact/contact-us |website=Othona West Dorset |access-date=25 March 2019}}</ref>
Othona is a [[titular bishop]]ric of the Roman Catholic Church; on 5 November 1991, [[Vincent Nichols]] was appointed [[Auxiliary bishop]] of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster|Westminster]] and titular bishop of ''Othona'' by [[Pope John Paul II]]. He received his [[Bishop (Catholicism)|episcopal consecration]] on 24 January 1992 at [[Westminster Cathedral]].
[[Bradwell-on-Sea|Bradwell]] is also the name of an episcopal area within the Church of England [[Diocese of Chelmsford]], whose current bishop (2019) is [[John Perumbalath]]. The [[Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall]] is a mid-7th-century chapel and has survived from the period of the evangelisation of the East Saxon kingdom.
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
==Sources==
*{{cite book|last=Fields |first=Nic |title=Rome's Saxon Shore – Coastal Defences of Roman Britain AD 250–500 (Fortress 56) |year=2006 |publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-84603-094-9 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Johnston  |first=David E. |display-authors=etal |year=1977 |title=The Saxon Shore |journal=CBA Research Report |issue=18 |url=http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/cbaresrep/pdf/018/018tl001.pdf |access-date= 2007-08-20 }}
==External links==
{{Portal|Ancient Rome}}
{{Commons category inline|Othona}}
*[http://www.roman-britain.co.uk/places/othona/ Othona | Roman Britain]
{{expand German|Kastell Othona|date=April 2020}}
{{Saxon Shore}}
[[Category:Saxon Shore forts]]
[[Category:Roman fortifications in England]]
[[Category:Coastal Essex]]