Romano-British settlement remains 300m and 750m north east of Narrow Meadow Farm

Reasons for Designation

Romano-British aggregate villages are nucleated settlements formed by groups of five or more subsistence level farmsteads enclosed either indivdually or collectively, or with no formal boundary. Most enclosures, where they occur, are formed by curvilinear walls or banks, sometimes surrounded by ditches, and the dwellings are usually associated with pits, stock enclosures, cultivation plots and field systems, indicating a mixed farming economy. In use throughout the Roman period (c.43-450 AD), they often occupied sites of earlier agricultural settlements. Romano-British aggregate villages are a very rare monument type with examples recorded in the north of England and on the chalk downlands of Wessex and Sussex. Their degree of survival will depend upon the intensity of subsequent land use. In view of their rarity, all positively identified examples with surviving remains are considered to merit protection.

The Romano-British settlement remains 300m and 750m north east of Narrow Meadow Farm survive well and demonstrate a variety of settlement forms, including farmsteads and more formal roadside settlement, suggesting that the settlement developed over time. Building remains are expected to include farmsteads, shops and workshops as well as a number of associated roads, courtyards and enclosures. These remains will provide evidence of a variety of lifestyles during the Roman period including information about the different living standards, housing, commerce and farming methods of the Romano-British population. Artefactual evidence will provide dating material as well as information about trading contacts, fashions and craft production in the area. Environmental evidence from pits, wells and buried ground surfaces, may provide information about the diets, farming practices and surrounding natural environment during the Roman period.

Details

The monument includes the buried remains of a Romano-British settlement complex lying to the south of Evesham adjacent to the A46 Cheltenham to Evesham Road. The remains are visible on aerial photographs as cropmarks (areas of variable crop growth which indicate buried archaeological features). The settlement lies in two areas of protection. The settlement includes a series of small enclosures and building remains aligned either side of a Roman road and in the first area of protection which runs from north to south, parallel to the A46, on its eastern side. At the northern end of the Roman road is a complex of irregular enclosures surrounded by a curvilinear feature believed to be a ditch or bank enclosing a number of buildings and their associated courtyards. Additional courtyards and buildings lie to either side of the Roman road visible as smaller and more regular enclosures, whilst further east are several linear features believed to be banks and ditches enclosing small fields and allotments associated with the buildings. Towards the southern end of the Roman road is a junction with a second Roman road which runs east to west, thus forming a crossroads. To the west of the A46 and lying to the south of the second Roman road are the remains of at least two rectilinear enclosures with hut circles, which are believed to be small farmsteads. All modern post and wire fences and modern surfaces are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them 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:

30098

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.