Guides for Chedworth Roman Villa

(1981)

Chedworth Roman Villa was acquired for the National Trust in 1924. The site is located in the Cotswolds.

Sir Ian A. Richmond prepared a 15 page guide in 1966. This was revised (‘in the light of recent work on the site’) by Roger Goodburn in 1981 guide (16 pages, paper). A reconstruction was placed on the cover, and there is a double page plan of the villa in the centre showing the sequence of construction, and then a second set of plans for the bath complex in the northern range. Essentially the guide introduces the concept of the villa and then described the ‘discovery, situation and plan’ (pp. 3-4). The rest of the guide consists of a room by room guide, with a short section on the Museum (pp. 14-15).

(1979 [2002])

Goodburn prepared a more detailed illustrated guide in 1979 (my revised copy dates to 2002). This is illustrated with black and white images as well as plans. The main sections are:

• The exploration of the site and a brief history of the villa
• The Chedworth region in the Roman period
• The growth of the house
• The mosaics
• The Museum (including a section on the coins by Richard Reece)
• Buildings in the locality probably associated with the villa
• The life and economy of Chedworth
• The fate of Chedworth and its neighbours

There is a bibliography for the site.

(2012)

The 2012 guide is by Simon Esmonde Cleary. It is fully illustrated in colour and has a fold out plan at the front.

The sections are:

• Rise and fall and discovery
• A golden age
• The decline of the Empire
• Springing from the earth
• Preserved for the public
• Landscape and layout
• The villa’s layout
• Life in the villa
• Decoration
• Religion
• Conserving and learning
• Open to public view
• Concerning conservation
• Nature conservation
• The story so far

The rooms appear in double page spreads with plans and reconstructions, e.g. The west range, the dining room, the west bath house, the north wing, the north bath house, room for interpretation (a wonderful bit of honesty!), the south wing, the kitchen, and the latrine.

There is a section on the Museum.

There is a note about the room numbers that were assigned in the Victorian period.

I particularly like the stress on a heritage site as a home for nature conservation with lizards and a distinctive type of snail (see here).

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