THE FIRST PEOPLE to live around St Peter’s Pool were almost certainly the Ancient Britons who had been living in this country since the Iron Age, staying alive by fishing and agriculture, with huts for shelter and speaking their own language. But this early tribal culture began to change with the arrival of the Romans 2,000 years ago.

The conquest of Britain took place in the 100 years between 55 BC and 43 AD, led first by Julius Caesar and then by the Emperor Claudius who appointed a governor of Britain. Their armies swept north, crushing all rebellion as they went, but also enforcing their own laws and building towns and roads, villas and bathhouses while trade and industry flourished under their rule.

By 47 AD, the Romans had reached Bourne, building the main road between south and north that survives to this day and the waterway which can be found to the west, the Car Dyke, which was constructed to move soldiers and supplies on rafts or small boats but also helped drain the land to grow crops.

This historic canal can be seen where it crosses Cherryholt Road, in Bedhouse Bank, Eastgate and Manning Road and then at the village of Dyke which is named after it.

The Romans remained in Britain for almost 400 years but returned to Italy because their homes were being attacked and every man was needed to defend them. But they left behind many features of our lives that we recognise today such as the calendar, the law and legal system, straight roads and aqueducts and, most important of all, our language which is based on the Latin they spoke and wrote.

Signs of their occupation in Bourne have been unearthed around the town in recent years such as coins, weapons, pottery and utensils, and the remains of a mosaic floor, all of which were proof that a Roman settlement once existed here.