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Monument details

HER Number:TQ 76 SW 23
Type of record:Monument
Name:Snodland Roman Villa

Summary

Site of a Roman corridor villa which includes a number of buildings arranged around a courtyard. Apart from the main villa building, a bath house and a free standing aisled barn have been identified. Finds have also included a tessellated floor, hypocaust, 2 stone coffins, fragments of pottery, a terracotta mask, a bronze buckle, coins dated from 87 AD to 383 AD, painted wall plaster and a number of tiles. Occupation is likely from late 1st century AD to the 4th century.


Grid Reference:TQ 7075 6201
Map Sheet:TQ76SW
Parish:SNODLAND, TONBRIDGE AND MALLING, KENT

Monument Types

  • AISLED BARN (Roman - 80 AD to 399 AD)
  • BATHS (Roman - 80 AD? (at some time) to 375 AD? (at some time))
  • HYPOCAUST (Roman - 80 AD (at some time) to 375 AD? (at some time))
  • MOSAIC? (Roman - 80 AD? (at some time) to 375 AD? (at some time))
  • TESSELLATED FLOOR (Roman - 80 AD? (at some time) to 375 AD? (at some time))
  • VILLA (VILLA, Roman - 80 AD (at some time) to 399 AD? (at some time))

Associated Finds

  • BUCKLE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • MASK (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • SHERD (Roman - 67 AD to 399 AD)
  • TILE (Roman - 67 AD to 399 AD)
  • COFFIN (Roman - 80 AD to 399 AD)
  • COIN (Roman - 87 AD to 383 AD)
Protected Status:Scheduled Monument 1007466: ROMAN VILLA 200M NORTH OF CHURCH

Full description

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(TQ 7073 6203) ROMAN BUILDING [R] (Site of) (1) The existence of a Romano-British building in Church Field, Snodland, has been known for many years and Roach Smith in 1844 noted tesserae, fragments of pottery and roof and flue tiles. He also recorded walls, a floor and other features exposed in the river bank. Later in 1844 Thomas Wright noted that the adjoining field was significantly called "Stone Grave Field", and uncovered part of a floor composed of large tiles. He also learned that circa 1800 a bath had been discovered in this field, but covered up without further investigation. Circa 1900 a gas-works was built on the site, and in 1927 during extensions to the works a number of finds were made, including a terracotta mask, a bronze buckle plate, late C1st, C2nd and C4th pottery and five coins ranging in date from AD 87 to 375-83. Structural remains comprised a length of wall and some undetermined foundations. In 1933-5, during construction of a new factory for the Lead Wool Company, several foundations and two stone coffins were found. Excavations commencing in 1964, forced to take place in several isolated sections due to modern development, revealed occupation extending from the end of the C1st into the C4th (and suggest that the site is that of a villa). One area, described as the "lower level" revealed part of a hypocaust, an apsidal structure that may have represented the lower part of a hypocaust or part of a bath, and the floor of what could have been a cold plunge bath. Associated finds dated the latter to the middle or late C2nd. The E end of the "upper level" revealed rooms of three building phases with tessellated floors and painted wall plaster, including a corridor of phase 3, also probably with a mosaic floor. Further rooms and a hypocaust were uncovered at the western end of the"upper level", assumed to be associated with the other remains, although this could not be proved because of intervening modern detail. More traces of Roman buildings have been found 400 feet to the N, close to the river. (2-7) The features excavated in 1964 by the Lower Medway Research Group have been left exposed and are centred at TQ 7075 6203 (surveyed at 1:2500). A series of trenches at TQ 7071 6202 has uncovered several short lengths of wall foundations. (8) Snodland, traces of a building were noted here in 1844 and very cursorily uncovered in two fields called Church Field and Stone Grave Field, a site now occupied by Gas Works. The remains consisted of a floor of large tiles, another of concrete of lime, sand, pounded tile and stones, some walling with alternate layers of red and yellow tiles. There were also some walls in the bank of the river. Much debris of a house lies scattered about the site, and the walls of the church contain many Roman tiles. (9) Two fragments of Samian ware, Type Dr 18/31 and Dr 31 from the Roman villa at Snodland, are in the BM, Acc No 1948.4-2.3. (10)

During August 1994 two further areas were excavated C & D. In Area C a single robbed out wall trench was exposed the remainder of the area being havily disturbed by the demolition of the former gas works. Area D contained no archaeological features. (18)

Additional Info(19)

A wall was identified under Hendy Road, before the running to Watts Close. Sighted by P.MacDonald during the cutting of a drain trench in 1994, he stated that the wall appeared to be aligned with the rest of the villa (20).

According to the English Heritage Scheduled Monument description the villa has its origins in the late iron age though no reference for this is provided.

From the National Heritage List for England:

"The monument includes a Roman villa and associated remains situated on the west bank of the River Medway. The villa includes a number of buildings which survive as buried foundations and other below ground features. These include the main villa building which comprises at least three ranges set around a central courtyard and is aligned north east to south west. Remains of the bath house and a free-standing aisled hall have also been identified. The north west facing range of the main villa building includes two square rooms with massive foundations linked by three parallel walls. The south western range has a series of narrow rooms terminating in an open fronted shed or lean-to, while the north eastern range includes a small bath building. To the south and west of the south western range is a chalk rubble surface, while further south of this are the foundations of an ancillary building. This takes the form of an aisled hall which may have served as accommodation for farm workers. The site was first noted in 1844 and various materials and artefacts have been recovered over the years, including several stone coffins in 1933-35. The site was then partially excavated in the 1960s and 1980s when the plan of the main part of the villa buildings was revealed. The site is believed to have its origins in the Late Iron Age and was occupied until the fourth century AD. Excluded from the scheduling are all structures and buildings constructed in this area, although the ground beneath them is included.
Romano-British villas were extensive rural estates at the focus of which were groups of domestic, agricultural and occasionally industrial buildings. The term "villa" is now commonly used to describe either the estate or the buildings themselves. The buildings usually include a well-appointed dwelling house, the design of which varies considerably according to the needs, taste and prosperity of the occupier. Most of the houses were partly or wholly stone-built, many with a timber-framed superstructure on masonry footings. Roofs were generally tiled and the house could feature tiled or mosaic floors, underfloor heating, wall plaster, glazed windows and cellars. Many had integral or separate suites of heated baths. The house was usually accompanied by a range of buildings providing accommodation for farm labourers, workshops and storage for agricultural produce. These were arranged around or alongside a courtyard and were surrounded by a complex of paddocks, pens, yards and features such as vegetable plots, granaries, threshing floors, wells and hearths, all approached by tracks leading from the surrounding fields. Villa buildings were constructed throughout the period of Roman occupation, from the first to the fourth centuries AD. They are usually complex structures occupied over several hundred years and continually remodelled to fit changing circumstances. They could serve a wide variety of uses alongside agricultural activities, including administrative, recreational and craft functions, and this is reflected in the considerable diversity in their plan. The least elaborate villas served as simple farmhouses whilst, for the most complex, the term "palace" is not inappropriate. Villa owners tended to be drawn from a limited elite section of Romano-British society. Although some villas belonged to immigrant Roman officials or entrepreneurs, the majority seem to have been in the hands of wealthy natives with a more-or-less Romanised lifestyle, and some were built directly on the sites of Iron Age farmsteads. Roman villa buildings are widespread, with between 400 and 1000 examples recorded nationally. The majority of these are classified as `minor' villas to distinguish them from `major' villas. The latter were a very small group of extremely substantial and opulent villas built by the very wealthiest members of Romano-British society. Minor villas are found throughout lowland Britain and occasionally beyond. Roman villas provide a valuable index of the rate, extent and degree to which native British society became Romanised, as well as indicating the sources of inspiration behind changes of taste and custom. In addition, they serve to illustrate the agrarian and economic history of the Roman province, allowing comparisons over wide areas both within and beyond Britain. As a very diverse and often long-lived type of monument, a significant proportion of the known population are identified as nationally important.

Despite damage caused by industrial development, the Roman villa 200m north of the church at Snodland survives comparatively well. Partial excavation has demonstrated the survival of remains of both the main villa building as well as ancillary buildings and other associated archaeological remains and environmental evidence. It is one of a group of Kent villas which overlie Iron Age predecessors and which developed early in the Roman period. The site can therefore give an insight into the development of rural estates from the Iron Age into the Roman period." (21)


<1> OS 6" 1968 (OS Card Reference). SKE48376.

<2> Arch J 1 1844 164 (C Roach Smith) (OS Card Reference). SKE36515.

<3> Wanderings of an Antiquary 1854 (J Wright) (OS Card Reference). SKE51265.

<4> Arch Cant 40 1928 79 (N Cook) (OS Card Reference). SKE35092.

<5> Arch Cant 46 1934 202 (OS Card Reference). SKE35183.

<6> Ocock, M. A. and Syddell, M.J.E., 1967, The Romano-British buildings in Church Field, Snodland, Arch Cant 82 1967 192-217 plan illust (Ocock and Syddell) (Article in serial). SKE24005.

<7> Kent Arch Review No 11 1968 8-9 (Ocock and Syddell) (OS Card Reference). SKE45864.

<8> F1 ASP 20-JAN-65 (OS Card Reference). SKE42206.

<9> VCH Kent 3 1932 124 (OS Card Reference). SKE51009.

<10> Guide to the Antiquities of Roman Britain 1951 30 (British Museum) (OS Card Reference). SKE43645.

<11> Britannia 14 1983 335 (S Frere) (OS Card Reference). SKE38367.

<12> Kent Arch Soc NL 3 Spring 1983 6 illus (A C Harrison) (OS Card Reference). SKE45889.

<13> BAR 24 The Religions of Civilian Roman Britain 1976 229 (M Green) (OS Card Reference). SKE37520.

<14> Eng Heritage Record Form plan 3.3.89 (OS Card Reference). SKE41588.

<15> Field report for monument TQ 76 SW 23 - January, 1965 (Bibliographic reference). SKE4181.

<16> Not applicable, SMR Kent uncatalogued index entry, Arch Cant CXV 1995 Excavatuons at Churchfields, Snodland (V Birbeck) pp71-120 (Miscellaneous Material). SKE6440.

<17> Wessex Archaeology, 1994, Excavations on a Romano-British villa at Churchfields, Snodland, Kent: 1992 (Unpublished document). SKE6935.

<18> Wessex Archaeology, 1994, Excavations on a Romano-British villa at Churchfields, Snodland, Kent 1992-1994 (Unpublished document). SKE6938.

<20> KCC, 2007-9, EKPO/HERO pers comm (Miscellaneous Material). SKE13005.

<21> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>OS Card Reference: OS 6" 1968.
<2>OS Card Reference: Arch J 1 1844 164 (C Roach Smith).
<3>OS Card Reference: Wanderings of an Antiquary 1854 (J Wright).
<4>OS Card Reference: Arch Cant 40 1928 79 (N Cook).
<5>OS Card Reference: Arch Cant 46 1934 202.
<6>Article in serial: Ocock, M. A. and Syddell, M.J.E.. 1967. The Romano-British buildings in Church Field, Snodland. Arch Cant 82: 192-217. Arch Cant 82 1967 192-217 plan illust (Ocock and Syddell).
<7>OS Card Reference: Kent Arch Review No 11 1968 8-9 (Ocock and Syddell).
<8>OS Card Reference: F1 ASP 20-JAN-65.
<9>OS Card Reference: VCH Kent 3 1932 124.
<10>OS Card Reference: Guide to the Antiquities of Roman Britain 1951 30 (British Museum).
<11>OS Card Reference: Britannia 14 1983 335 (S Frere).
<12>OS Card Reference: Kent Arch Soc NL 3 Spring 1983 6 illus (A C Harrison).
<13>OS Card Reference: BAR 24 The Religions of Civilian Roman Britain 1976 229 (M Green).
<14>OS Card Reference: Eng Heritage Record Form plan 3.3.89.
<15>Bibliographic reference: Field report for monument TQ 76 SW 23 - January, 1965.
<16>Miscellaneous Material: Not applicable. SMR Kent uncatalogued index entry. Arch Cant CXV 1995 Excavatuons at Churchfields, Snodland (V Birbeck) pp71-120.
<17>Unpublished document: Wessex Archaeology. 1994. Excavations on a Romano-British villa at Churchfields, Snodland, Kent: 1992.
<18>Unpublished document: Wessex Archaeology. 1994. Excavations on a Romano-British villa at Churchfields, Snodland, Kent 1992-1994.
<20>Miscellaneous Material: KCC. 2007-9. EKPO/HERO pers comm.
<21>XYScheduling record: English Heritage. Register of Scheduled Monuments. [Mapped feature: #350 Roman villa, ]