Monument Number 359278 |
| Hob Uid: 359278 | |
Location :
Hertfordshire
Dacorum
Non Civil Parish
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| Grid Ref : TL0503008670 |
| Summary : A Roman villa was discovered during road operations in 1962. Seven periods of occupation were uncovered:- PERIOD 1; the earliest buildings on the site were probably a timber house dated c.AD 75, with an isolated three-roomed bath-house. An area of farmland immediately to the south of the villa was bordered by ditches. PERIOD 2; no structural changes have been detected in the Period 1 villa, but additional services were added to the bath-house (date not known). PERIOD 3; in the Antonine period, Building A was constructed in stone over the site of the Period 1 occupation. The building was of the winged-corridor type with corridors all the way around. The south-east wing was of two storeys, the lower level being a semi-basement. A new wing was constructed on the west side of the bath-house. PERIOD 4; in the late second or early third century additional wings were constructed enclosing an outer courtyard (Building B and C). The bath-house was also enlarged. PERIOD 5; building C was demolished and by c.AD 300 Building A had undergone major alterations. The wings were extended and extra rooms added to the north side of the building. Building D, E and F were also constructed. The outer courtyard was transferred to the north side of the villa. PERIOD 6; by c.AD 325 a large bathing pool was built on to the bath-house, and a massive heated room built on to the west side of Building A. The scale of rebuilding on the bath-house suggests the possibility that the bathing establishment new became the primary attraction of the settlement. PERIOD 7; in the mid-fourth century the baths and villa appears to have been deliberately demolished. Stockades or cattle pens were built into the northern courtyard and over Building A and the earlier site of Building C. Occupation continued in Building E until the late fourth century and may have extended into the early fifth cent. The site is now under a modern arterial road, no visible remains. |
More information : A Roman villa was discovered in Gadebridge Park, Hemel Hempstead (TL 05030867 during road operations in 1962. The site was excavated between 1963-7 by D.S Neal and the Hemel Hempstead Excavtion Society revealed occupation divided into seven periods as follows:-
PERIOD 1. The earliest buildings on the site were probably a timber house dated c.AD 75, with an isolated three-roomed bath-house. An area of farmland immediately to the south of the villa was bordered by ditches.
PERIOD 2. No structural changes have been detected in the Period 1 villa, but additional services were added to the bath-house (date not known).
PERIOD 3. In the Antonine period, Building A was constructed in stone over the site of the Period 1 occupation. The building was of the winged-corridor type with corridors all the way around. The south-east wing was of two storeys, the lower level being a semi-basement. A new wing was constructed on the west side of the bath-house.
PERIOD 4. In the late second or early third century additional wings were constructed enclosing an outer courtyard (Building B and C). The bath-house was also enlarged.
PERIOD 5. Building C was demolished and by c.AD 300 Building A had undergone major alterations. The wings were extended and extra rooms added to the north side of the building. Building D, E and F were also constructed. The outer courtyard was transferred to the north side of the villa.
PERIOD 6. By c.AD 325 a large bathing pool was built on to the bath-house, and a massive heated room built on to the west side of Building A. The scale of rebuilding on the bath-house suggests the possibility that the bathing establishment new became the primary attraction of the settlement.
PERIOD 7. In the mid-fourth century the baths and villa appears to have been deliberately demolished. Stockades or cattle pens were built into the northern courtyard and over Building A and the earlier site of Building C. Occupation continued in Building E until the late fourth century, and may have extended into the early fifth century. (1)
No visible remains. Site under modern arterial road. (2)
(TL 050087) Roman sttlement in Gadebridge Park. (3)
Details of damaged mosaic found in Room 27. (4)
A C2nd corn drying kiln and C3rd agricultural building are included in a gazetteer and discussion of agricultural buildings. (5)
The Roman pottery from the site includes a single rim-sherd of Romano-Saxon ware of the C3rd-C5th. Gazetteer and corpus of this fabric type. (6)
HT 31 Listed as the site of Roman winged-corridor villa. (7)
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