Ghost
The Strood Centurion
When the tide covers the road, a Roman stands guard.
See it clearly
- What's there
- Tidal causeway across saltmarsh to Mersea Island
- Legend from
- Roman ghost, modern lore
- Best time
- Dusk at low tide
- Tone
- Eerie
The Strood, Mersea: at high tide the road vanishes, and a Roman soldier is said to keep watch.
The Strood is the causeway that links Mersea Island to the mainland and disappears under the highest tides. Local legend says the ghost of a Roman centurion guards it, his footsteps or his horse's hooves heard on the marsh. The tale owes much to the belief that the causeway is Roman, and a Roman barrow does lie half a mile south-east. Mersea Museum notes the Strood was actually built around 700 AD. Wikipedia places the centurion on nearby Ray Island, alongside a drowned drunkard whose shouts are heard and a bear that once killed fishermen.