Catterick

Catterick is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of Northallerton just to the west of the River Swale. It lends its name to nearby Catterick Garrison and the nearby hamlet of Catterick Bridge, the home of Catterick Racecourse where the village Sunday market is held. It lies on the route of the old Roman Road of Dere Street and is the site of the Roman fortification of Cataractonium.ToponymyThe etymology of the name is derived from the Latin place name, "Cataractonium" looks like a Latin/Greek mixture meaning "place of a waterfall", but it might have been a Roman misunderstanding of the Celtic name Catu-rātis meaning "battle ramparts", as partly supported by the spelling Κατουρακτονιον on the Ptolemy world map.HistoryThe place is mentioned in Ptolemy's Geographia of c. 150 as a landmark to locate the 24th clime. It dates back to Roman times, when Cataractonium was a Roman fort protecting the crossing of Dere Street over the River Swale.