The A5 is Watling Street, a notable Roman Road, and another Roman road passes through Stretton from Mediolanum (Whitchurch), forming a junction with Watling Street near to the bridge over the River Penk.
At the end of the 4th century, Ausonius enumerated Aquileia as the ninth among the great cities of the world, placing Rome, Mediolanum, Constantinople, Carthage, Antioch, Alexandria, Trier, and Capua before it.
It was built in 18 or 19 by a rich citizen of the town (then known as Mediolanum Santonum), C. Julius Rufus, and dedicated to the emperor Tiberius, his son Drusus Julius Caesar, and his adoptive son Germanicus.
It is named after William Bennet (4 March 1745 - 1820), Bishop of Cork and Ross (1790–1794) and subsequently Bishop of Cloyne (1794–1820), who carried out detailed surveys of roman roads including those between Deva (Chester) and Mediolanum (Whitchurch).