Roman BritainWhittington
Roman Villa · Civilian

Whittington

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 79758
Site type
Villa
Category
Civilian
Latitude
51.8867
Longitude
-1.9808
Overview

History & context

Whittington Court Roman villa lies in the Cotswolds near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and was a modest courtyard or winged-corridor villa active from at least the 2nd century into the 4th century AD. It belongs to the dense cluster of Cotswold villa estates exploiting the limestone uplands and the agricultural hinterland of Corinium Dobunnorum (Cirencester).

Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →

Significance

Historical significance

The site is part of the prosperous late Roman villa economy of the Dobunnic territory, where stone-built rural residences served as estate centres producing grain and wool for regional markets and the supply networks linked to Corinium, one of the largest civitas capitals in Britain.

Archaeology

Archaeological record

Excavations in the 1950s by Captain E. Clifford and others revealed stone foundations, tessellated and mosaic pavements, a bath suite, and finds including coins, pottery, and painted wall plaster, with occupation indicated from the 2nd to late 4th century. A notable find was a lead tank, of a type sometimes associated with late Roman Christian practice, though the interpretation at Whittington remains debated.

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Whittington?

Whittington Court Roman villa lies in the Cotswolds near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and was a modest courtyard or winged-corridor villa active from at least the 2nd century into the 4th century AD. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a villa site from the Roman period in Britain.

What type of Roman site is Whittington?

Whittington is classified as a Roman villa — a civilian site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.

What other Roman sites are near Whittington?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Whittington Court Roman villa and old village (0.4 km), Roman small town at Wycomb (1.6 km), Wycomb (3.4 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.

How can I research the history of the area around Whittington?

Aubrey Research generates detailed historical reports for any location in Britain, incorporating Roman heritage, Domesday Book records, scheduled monument data, archaeological finds and much more. Enter a nearby address to begin.

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