Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The remains of a winged villa were exposed by bulldozers levelling the playing fields of the new Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in 1965. This villa had been remodelled at least three times between c. AD 70 and 300.

Monument Types

• FIELD SYSTEM (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
• VILLA (Roman - 75 AD? (at some time) to 300 AD? (at some time))

Associated Finds

• SHERD (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• TESSERA (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• COIN (Roman - 260 AD to 400 AD)

Full description

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[TR 0208 6172] A winged corridor villa, showing four periods of construction and dating from 75 to 300 A.D., was excavated in July 1965 by the Reculver Excavation Group. The site overlay a Belgic enclosure, probably a farmstead, and a field system probably dating from 50-70 A.D. (1) Excavation report.

This previously unknown site had been exposed by bulldozers. The walls and floors had been totally destroyed but foundations survived and the ground plan was recovered. Four phases of construction were detected. The first villa, probably of late 1st century date, consisted of a simple range with penthouse on the east side; this was extended and corridors added. The third phase consisted of the additions of wings, the south one containing an apsidal dining-room with at least one mosaic floor heated by a channelled hypocaust. At about 200 A.D., the south end of the villa had been rebuilt. Much painted wall plaster was found, and several of the rooms contained hearths.

A complex of post holes in front of and under the Faversham villa (PH 1-12 on Authority 2 plan) were partly interpreted as forming a timber veranda. Rodwell, however, could not altogether accept this view on the limited evidence, and as at Lockleys, Herts (TL 21 NW 2), he saw the posthole complex as possibly representing part of a late Iron Age or early Roman building, ante dating the villa. (2)

[TR 0208 6172] ROMAN VILLA [R] (site of) [NAT] (3-4) [TR 021 617].

Additional bibliography (5-11)

From the National Heritage List for England:
Details
The monument includes the below-ground remains of the medieval Royal Abbey of St Saviour, a first century AD Iron Age farmstead and of the Faversham Roman villa, where these have not been the subject of modern development. The Iron Age farmstead and Roman villa are situated within and towards the eastern edge of the later abbey precinct. The site lies to the north of the modern settlement of Faversham Creek and Abbey Street. A first attempt at excavation was made by Edward Crow c.1855-1861. His work in Sextry Orchard revealed `chalk and flint foundations, much stone and broken tile...'. In addition to revealing the plan of the abbey, the 1965 excavations also revealed the remains of a first century AD farmstead and ditch system, which is thought to have fallen into disuse in the later part of that century, and a Roman villa. ...

The first Roman building was constructed partly over the ditch system c.AD 70- 100. It had a range of four rooms, with a passage from back to front and a verandah on the east side. The villa increased in size and complexity during the second and third centuries, including the addition of various refinements, such as a hypocaust heating system and a mosaic floor, indicating a period of prosperity and success. The absence of any material dating from the late third or early fourth centuries on the site has been taken to indicate that the villa was abandoned in the late third century AD. The villa is thought to have formed the centre of a farming estate, possibly extending as far as Watling Street and covering c.300 acres.

All surface features such as goal posts and fences are excluded from the scheduling, as are the surfaces of any paths, the garages to the south west of the playing fields and the sign post in front of the western wall of the playing fields; also excluded are all standing buildings on the west side of the monument including Nos 63 and 64 Abbey Street which are listed Grade II, Arden's House which is listed Grade II* and the wall on the north side of the garden of Arden's House (Grade II); also excluded is the southern end of a barn on the west side of the monument; the ground beneath all these features is, however, included in the scheduling. (12)

Photographs (13-20)

<1> Philp, B. J., 1968, Excavations at Faversham, 1965: The Royal Abbey, Roman Villa and Belgic farmstead (Monograph). SWX7188.

<2> BAR Supplement Ser 11 1976 - Oppida in Barbarian Europe (ed B Cuncliffe and T Rowley) 235 (W Rodwell (OS Card Reference). SKE37599.

<3> Bar Int Ser Supplementary 48 1978 - Lowland Iron Age Communities in Europe (ed B Cuncliffe and T Row (OS Card Reference). SKE37592.

<4> KAR 2 1965 23 (B Philp) (OS Card Reference). SKE45251.

<4> Philp, B. J., 1998, Roman Villas in the Swale Area (Article in serial). SWX7651.

<5> F1 CFW 18-NOV-69 (OS Card Reference). SKE42635.

<6> BAR Supplement Ser 11 1976 - Oppida in Barbarian Europe (ed B Cuncliffe and T Rowley) 235 (W Rodwell (OS Card Reference). SKE37599.

<7> Bar Int Ser Supplementary 48 1978 - Lowland Iron Age Communities in Europe (ed B Cuncliffe and T Row (OS Card Reference). SKE37592.

<8> OS 1:10000 1976 (OS Card Reference). SKE48161.

<9> Supp Gaz Celtic Coins 1977 - London Univ Occ Paper 11a 46 (C Haselgrove) (OS Card Reference). SKE49722.

<10> Field report for monument TR 06 SW 40 - November, 1969 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5305.

<11> Philp, B. J., 1998, Roman Villas in the Swale Area (Article in serial). SWX7651.

<12> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

<13> 1998, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX11422.

<14> 1998, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX11423.

<15> 1998, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX11422.

<16> 1998, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX11420.

<17> 1998, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX11421.

<18> 1998, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX11421.

<19> 1998, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX11423.

<20> 1998, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX11420.

Sources and further reading