Crosby Garrett Roman Helmet

Crosby Garrett is a hamlet with some very old houses and a part Anglo-Saxon church perched high up on a hill.

There are old stone houses on either side of a stream and overlooked by the church.

Over the church’s 15th-century chancel arch are remains of a narrow arch which was here perhaps before the coming of the Normans.

The Normans built the north arcade with massive pillars and capitals carved with leaves and heads.

The chancel has a 13th-century piscina and a doorway a century younger; the nave roof is over 300 years old, and a carved chair is 17th-century.

One or two old bells here may be from the 13th century.

Archaeological finds within the parish boundaries have proved that man has inhabited the area from at least Stone Age times.

One such find, in 2010, was a copper alloy Roman helmet that may have belonged to a cavalry officer.

It is possible that the Roman ‘cavalry sports’ helmet belonged to an armoured auxiliary who wore the mask and helmet and would have participated in tournaments of complex manoeuvres and mock battles riding an armoured horse in a parage ground or amphitheatre.

The helmet was discovered by metal detector enthusiasts and sold at Christie’s for £2.3m to an unidentified private bidder, who has allowed it to go on public display at the Tullie House Museum in Carlisle.