Lullingstone Roman villa and Saxon church

Reasons for Designation

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.

Lullingstone Roman villa survives well containing remains of the full extent of the dwelling-house as well as the foundations of associated ancillary buildings. Partial excavation has demonstrated that the site contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the construction and use of the villa as well as the later reuse of the mausoleum. Along with the other Roman villas located along the Darent Valley, Lullingstone villa will contribute to an understanding of the local economy, social structure and general way of life of the Romano-British inhabitants of the area. The monument also survives as a good example of how villas were later reused, in this case as the site of a Saxon church.

Details

The monument includes a Roman villa and later Saxon church situated on an east facing slope on the west bank of the River Darent; the villa is one of at least five located along a 9km stretch of the river. The villa complex comprises the foundations and other buried remains of the main dwelling house, aligned north-south and facing east towards the river, a separate kitchen, a mausoleum and a circular building further west, as well as a granary with other associated agricultural remains. The main building is situated on a terrace cut into the slope of the valley, located c.50m west of the river, and measures 32m north-south by 20m east-west. It survives as visible foundations, floors and walls, which were left uncovered after excavation so that they could be displayed to the public, as well as other below ground features which remain buried. The building includes heated rooms, a cellar, verandahs, kitchens, baths, a dining room and audience chamber (both with mosaic floors), bedrooms and store rooms. To the rear of the main villa building are the remains of a separate kitchen, 9m east-west by 6.5m wide, dated to the early second century AD. This too is constructed on a terrace cut into the hillside. Six metres to the north are the remains of the mausoleum. Constructed in the early fourth century on a terrace 6m above the main house it became incorporated into Lullingstone church in the Late Saxon period. This is no longer upstanding and has previously been recorded as "the remains of the lost church of St John the Baptist, Lullingstone". Ten metres further north are the foundations of a circular building, c.5m in diameter, the purpose of which is presently unclear. Between the villa and the river the remains of a courtyard are believed to survive. On the north side of this the foundations of a large granary building have been excavated which measure 24.4m east-west by 10.7m north-south. The villa was discovered in 1939 although the presence of a Roman building in the vicinity had been suspected since the late 18th century. Excavations began in 1949 which revealed the various phases of construction and history of the building. Originally built in c.AD 75 from timber-and-daub it was rebuilt in the second century using flint and tile and although it underwent constant change it retained a winged corridor plan. This comprised a rectangular range of rooms, aligned north-south, fronted on the east side by an open verandah which to the north and south led into large rooms projecting forward from the verandah wall. Between AD 200 and AD 275 there was serious decay to the villa which led the excavator to conclude that the house may have been abandoned. Coins and pottery recovered from the villa, however, do not indicate a break of occupation, only that the buildings suffered neglect. It was at this time that the kitchen was converted to use as a tannery. At the end of the third century the north side of the villa was remodelled and in the mid fourth century the large apsed dining room was built and mosaic laid. In about AD 360 the north rooms were converted into a Christian chapel while occupation continued until the fifth century when a serious fire gutted much of the house. The villa was abandoned in about AD 420. Excluded from the scheduling are the cover building, toilets, signs, wooden seats, bins, fences, gates, tarmac road surface and carpark surface although the ground beneath all these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

23025

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Neal, D S, Lullingstone Roman Villa, (1991), 19-20
Neal, D S, Lullingstone Roman Villa, (1991)
Meates, G W, Lullingstone Roman Villa, (1955)
Meates, G W, Lullingstone Roman Villa, (1979)
Gentleman's Magazine in Gentleman's Magazine, (1823)
Gentleman's Magazine in Lullingstone Roman Villa, (1823)

Other
Ordnance Survey, TQ 56 NW 57,

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