Chedworth Roman Villa

Chedworth is the remains of a large country house of the Roman period, one of the largest Roman Villas in the country, and was initially discovered in 1864 by accident when a game keeper of the local estate found fragments of paving and pottery. It is considered to be one of the largest villas in Britain. Originally it was owned by Lord Eldon and within the grounds he built a small picturesque building as a museum to hold the recovered objects. Today it is owned by the National Trust who continue to preserve and protect it and on a visit you can see:-

Two bathhouses one Hot and one Cold, and the hypocausts (underfloor central heating in the Hot Bath). The Romans appear to have liked their baths. The Hot Bath was sauna-like and designed to make the pores sweat. You can see the remains for the circular sweating chambers and hypocaust which kept the room hot. Then there is the cold plunge bath which was used to cleanse.   Inside the north bathhouse looking  across to one of the plunge pools
Hypocaust (Underfloor heating) of Living Room	Entrance for hot coals into Bath House
a water-shrine - which is spring-fed pool in one corner of the site. Water still runs down a narrow 4th century channel into the pool and many through coins into it hoping it will bring them luck. museum - with some of the finds such as pots, nails, hinges and more, many that were found on site or in the surrounding area.	mosaic floors - within 5 rooms are protected by shelters and on display. The most interesting is probably the ones in the Dining room as there are more here in one place. The designs contain figures, geometric patterns, animals and mythical figures depicting the seasons. But there are also mosaics on the floors in the bathhouses as well.
	latrine - today a hole in the ground, but originally would have been a building with a wooden bench with a row of holes cut in. These were earliest flushing toilets with fresh water being carried through a stone channel through the area. They didn't have toilet paper then but they did use sponges on sticks which were kept in salt water when not in use and once used washed in the water channel before it entered the toilet area.   Picture of Museum building with Roman re-enactors in front.
Click on images to see larger versions

This is a 1700 year old stately home, which is believed to have been first build around 120AD and over the course of nearly three centuries it evolved into the 4th century mansion that the ruins depict today.

It is set in a wooded combe, surrounded by trees, although the main site is open and is a sun trap, so make sure you are covered when visiting in the summer months. As well as the physical items you can see many of the areas around the buildings and structures have been left to grow wild so there is an abundance of wild flowers to photograph, and if visiting at the end of July beginning of August large numbers of butterflies.

Within the main building as you enter there is a 18 minute audio visual presentation which tells you about the site, who found it and what sorts of things they have found. It has been a tourist attraction since nearly when it was first found due to the fact that the original owners opened it up in this way to raise capital to continue their excavations and allow others to marvel at what was being found.

Throughout the year there are also a range of events put on by Living History groups demonstrating some of the processes of Roman crafts as well as re-enactments put on by Roman Soldier re-enactment societies to help give a better understanding of Roman life. Be aware if you visit on one of these event days it will be busier and the roads leading to Chedworth, once you leave the main A429 road, are mainly single track with passing places, and the drive leading to the villa is two cars wide, but they do allow parking along it so can be tricky getting out again.

Roman Snails - larger than the average. Believed to have been brought in by the Romans who liked to eat them, they were fed on a diet of milk to fatten them up and so they couldn't get back in their shells. The Romans would then cook and eat them as a delicacy. They can still be found in the area so keep a look out.
Roman Snail by  Fred Dawson  This picture taken at Westcott nr Dorking Surrey	Roman Snail taken at Chedworth

There are audio tour wands available and a different ones for Adults and Children, that explain the story of the villa and tell you about the 12 main focal points of the villa.

Further information Grid   Location: Chedworth Roman Villa, Chedworth nr Cheltenham Ceremonial County: Gloucestershire Grid Reference: SP053135 Map Link: Multimap Aerial photo: Multimap Aerial    Google Aerial Map  Route(s):   Best Times to Visit:   E-mail: chedworth@nationaltrust.org.uk Website: www.chedworthromanvilla.com Other useful websites: Wiki, National Trust Nearby Locations: Great Witcombe Roman Villa Gloucestershire Cirencester Amphitheatre, Gloucestershire     Corinium Museum, Cirencester, Gloucestershire Other Relevant pages: Roman Britain Gloucestershire Attractions

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