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Horncastle has made no mark on the history of Lincolnshire or, indeed, of the country, as the setting for a bloody battle or even some grisly murder. It isn't famous for treachery or as the source of mayhem. The Horse Fair, however, must have provided much local excitement of the partying kind.
A farmer did disappear during the fair one year. His body -- skeleton, really, -- was not found till some 30 years later, during some redecoration and hidden away between two walls. The riddle of his being there was partially solved only because one old-timer remembered his disappearance. Who had killed him and why were and still are questions never resolved. Horncastle is quite simply a small town with a population that has never been larger than now at about 4,900; indeed for much of its existence, Horncastle has likely been inhabited by perhaps no more than a 100 souls, sometimes by half that number; with some more in surrounding groups.
The purpose of the Roman fort here is not quite clear. Although walled defensively, it is not on any of the important Roman roads. For instance, one road running north from Lincoln passes north of the town, ending on the coast near to Grainthorpe. In effect roads from the coast to Lincoln miss Horncastle.
Going north, however, there is the Caistor High Street which continues north, changing name on the way, to South Ferriby on the Humber. The fort here shares a late date for construction with Caistor, it northwards neighbour; as they share a peculiar lack of connection to a major road.
From this it would seem that Horncastle was not a posting station which featured at regular intervals on Roman roads. Yet it was walled and from the evidence of coins was manned until almost the end of Rome's direct rule of the country.
By the end of the third century there was much instability throughout the Empire which continued on and off till AD 410 when they left chaos behind, -- denying pleas for assistance -- much as the Americans when they fled Saigon in March of 1973. Indeed, in AD 343, the Emperor Constans come to the province to sort out an uprising in the north in which the Picts, Scots [from Ireland] and the Attacotti [from no one knows where] took part.
However, 24 years later something similar happened but far more dangerous for the Romans. The emperor of the time, Valentinian, sent the Count Theodosius with four regiments to sort things out. It would seem that not only were the Picts, Scots and the mysterious Attacotti attacking but the Saxons were taking advantage of Roman troubles by mounting attacks on their own behalf.
It is from this time that what is thought to have been a bastion was added to the north corner of Horncastle's wall. Such a construction, projecting from the corner would have given superior angles of fire for defenders. Similar additions are thought to have been at both Caistor and Ancaster, as well as Horncastle.
In fact, it is entirely possible that these bastions were the platforms for Roman artillery, eg the ballistae which threw rocks or even iron bolts with remarkable accuracy and lethal effect. These weapons were manned by specialist troops and their inclusion here suggests the seriousness with which Rome and Valentinian took events.