Southwell's Roman Villa - Southwell, Nottinghamshire - UK Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

An information board at the site of a 1st - 4th century Roman villa complex and remains of an 8th century Anglo-Saxon cemetery, Southwell.
Beneath part of this Site lies a section of an important Roman Villa, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, which is at the heart of Southwell’s historic core - (visit link)

The board reads -
"This land, known as The Orchard, was purchased
by Southwell Town Council with the help of
generous donations in November 2012. The land
and the adjoining gardens contain the remains of
part of a substantial and important Roman villa that
were first noted in the eighteenth century. In the
1950s a major excavation took place in preparation
for the building of the former Minster School that
was erected on the adjacent land. It became clear
that this is a significant Roman site with a building
containing many rooms; the south wing alone had
at least six rooms, with the remains of mosaics
found in four of them.

The villa bath-house, which is situated near Church
Street, was an impressive structure with a cold
plunge bath measuring 24’ x 1[5’ 6”. The walls
were decorated with splendid painted plaster and
the surviving image of Cupid (opposite) is displayed
in Southwell Minster.

Archaeological investigations in 2008-9 revealed
a monumental wall, constructed with massive
sandstone blocks, which is very unusual in a British
villa. A more recent investigation has revealed
evidence of further Roman buildings on the school
site, demonstrating that the villa extended -down
towards the Potwell Dyke, showing that it was an
important legacy of the Roman period.

The various investigations of the former school
site, in addition to finding Roman remains, have
unearthed evidence of burials relating to the Anglo-
Saxon period. Carbon dating shows that these
are from the period prior to the foundation of the
Minster. This could suggest that there was an earlier
church on this site.

Adjoining the site can be seen the remains of the
Archbishop of York’s Palace that was completed
circa 1436. The surrounding land was part of the
Archbishop's Deer Park."

Type of Historic Marker: Information board Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Southwell Heritage Trust Give your Rating: Age/Event Date: Not listed Related Website: Not listed

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