A Romano-British Bath-House at Wyck, Near Alton, Hampshire
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Proc. Hampsh. Field Club Archaeol. Soc. 44, 1988, 25-39 A ROMANO-BRITISH BATH-HOUSE AT WYCK, NEAR ALTON, HAMPSHIRE B;GH COLE with contributions by K D GRAHAM, R A MERSON, M MlLLETT, G C MORGAN and V SNETTERTON-LEWIS ABSTRACT Extract from lecture delivered by Rev C S Ruddle, Rector of Durrington, Salisbury, 24th Feb 1891 Prior to the year 1818 a 'Roman Villa' was discovered on the estate of the Right Hon Wm Wickham at Wyck Place, 'The old name of Binstead is BENSTED, i.e. Binstead, Hampshire, and was graphically recorded by W BENESTED or BOONSTEAD - a Benefice or Stevens RMC. A coloured print of the original survey drawing holding at the will of the Lord or for life. In this currently hangs in the Curtis Museum, Alton, Hampshire. parish are several ancient divisions: BINSTED This paper presents the results of the re-excavation of this KING'S BINSTED POPHAM, HAY, WHEATLEY building during 1975 and 1976 by the members of the and WYCK. Wyck from Viscus has its name from Farnham and District Museum Society Archaeological the Roman Mansion (remains of which were found Group, the objects of which were to locate the building and here in the last generation) which was surrounded assess the accuracy of the original excavation plans and by its court, in which the slaves lived; and then by sections. its Viscus inhabited by the Coloni, who had a share in the produce of the farm, and were often those INTRODUCTION who were born on the estate.' The site (Fig 1), situated at SU 757 393 at Extract from particulars of Bins ted, Alton, Hants approximately 137 m OD, is on the southern taken from the Wheeler Deeds and other sources, by edge of a band of upper greensand overlooking Mrs M H Wheeler, 1953 a steep drop onto gault clay and 1 km south 'Roman House at Wyck, Roman burials at Wheat- east of a band of chalk. It is located 0.6 km cast ley, Pottery Kilns in Alice Holt and as recently as of the Roman road from Chichester (Novioma- 1951 a Roman Pot was found at Steen Farm. gus Rignensium) to Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum) ROMAN BURIALS. In or about 1850, two Roman and 1.6 km south of the postulated Roman Sarcophagi were found at Wheatley Farm. Mrs road from Neatham (Vindomi?) to the Roman Louisa Margaret Wheeler of Millcourt stated in potteries in the Alice Holt Forest (Millett & 1889 that they were found between Wheatley and Graham 1986). South Hay. The 6in OS map shows the site to have been about one third of a mile south of the direct The Nineteenth-Century Excavation line between these houses. One of the Sarcophagi Historical notes regarding the original was hewn out of Local Malm rock and contained a discovery in 1818 are sparse and apart from small skeleton and five or six urns. The lid was in the survey drawing by William Stevens (Fig 2) pieces and much marked by ploughs. This one is the following extracts from deeds and manu- now in the Roman Gallery at the BM. scripts are the only known references to the The second Sarcophagi was of different shape nineteenth-century discovery. and was taken to Wheatley where it was used as a 26 HAMPSHIRE FIELD CLUB AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Fig 1. Wyck Bath-house location plans. cattle trough until 1923 when it was removed to a Roman Villa were found at Wyck in the last Binstead Kings. This one is hewn out of a much generation and that the leaden pipes belonging to it harder rock (? Freestone). were long in the possessions of Mr Lowndes, the The BM attribute it to 2nd or 3rd Centuries AD. Rector of Worldham.' (Nothing is known of its contents when found).' The manuscripts and deeds from which these Extract from MSS Notes by C S Ruddle, presented by extracts are taken are in the Wilmer House W H Ruddle (his son) of The Close, Dockenfteld, Museum, Farnham, Surrey. Famham, Feb 1936 Research on the archives of the Royal Mili- tary Academy Sandhurst Collections, by the 'Mr Wickham has informed me that the remains of Curator Dr T A Heathcote has revealed that COLE \ ROMANO BR] I ISH BATH H< HISE A I WYCK, NEAR \I.KiN. HAMPSHIRE •11 ROM S-irri '.. /'\tJ p *MJ 'Ml "J 11 'fill: • if* Fig 2. Plan and sections of the bath-house, drawn in 1818 b\ W Stevens RMC. (Photograph courtesy of Hampshire County Museum Service) 28 HAMPSHIRE FIELD CLUB AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY on the 9th of April 1821 there were two the remains had become overgrown. This Draughtsmen by the name of William Stevens would satisfactorily explain the inaccuracies of working as masters at the Royal Military the perimeter on the 1818 Survey Plan, especi- College (RMC) Sandhurst. ally on the southern wall (Fig 2). They were a William Stevens, described as a Following the original excavation, the Military Draughtsman - Master, born in 1793, building was effectively robbed of pilae, box joined RMC in 1813, one year after it moved flue tiles and lead pipes, probably by 'souvenir from Marlow to Sandhurst, and died on the hunters'. The tessellated floor areas, large 21st of March 1827; and another William paving slabs and stone blocks were removed Stevens described as a Military Draughtsman, perhaps in attempts to discover concealed born in 1771, who was transferred from the features. Senior Department for Staff Officers, located The recent excavation of the building accur- at High Wycombe and moved to Farnham and ately recorded the plan and extant sections. subsequently Sandhurst, finally becoming the This, together with the internal layout derived Staff College Camberley, to the Junior Depart- from the 1818 Survey, enables the phased ment (RMC) on 25th June 1820 and retiring on development of the building to be described. a pension in 1835. It would therefore seem probable that the W Phase I Stevens RMC recorded on the survey drawing The earliest feature consisted of an uncoursed of 1818 (Fig 2) was the first of the two men. clunch rubble mortared wall (1.00 m wide) dressed on the south face and constructed in a trench cut into the natural chalk. The founda- THE EXCAVATION tion width and depth suggest a considerable original height and a substantial enclosure The excavation was limited to the removal of wall. This wall is interpreted as an enclosure the nineteenth-century backfill and associated with buildings elsewhere. The con- uncovering of the building as originally exca- struction trench, to the southern side, had vated. During the progress of re-excavation been re-excavated in Phase II to provide an surviving stratigraphy was revealed in the adequate drainage channel for discharge from Stoke Room (Fig 3, layers 10, 11, 14, 15, 16), baths and roof. the drain passing through the Apodyterium and in the Phase 1 Construction trench (Fig 3, layer 8). All of these layers were excavated and Phase II form the only elements of intact stratigraphy This phase saw the construction of a simple examined. rectangular bath-house inserted into the Phase The nineteenth-century excavations had I enclosure wall utilising in part its founda- been uniformly backfilled with excavated tions and the southern construction trench. material, creating an artificial stratigraphy The surviving walls were in coursed (layers 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 13) but items from it random-size mortared clunch blocks dressed help to illustrate the structure and decoration on the south external face and with double tile of the building. The rammed chalk floor of the coursings at 180 mm centres to the South artificial hollow, in which the building origin- Wall. The exact layout of this phase was not ally been constructed, was overlain by a thin discernible due to the extensive re-modelling layer of humic soil (Fig 3, layer 7), suggesting in Phase III and the limited extent of the that the excavation had been left open for a excavation. It would, however, seem likely that considerable period following its discovery. It the Phase II building incorporated four therefore seems likely that the building was distinct rooms. excavated several years before the time of its Entering from the Apodyterium which had a recording by W Stevens RMC in 1818 when tessellated floor, a passage-way would have COLE: A ROMANO-BRITISH BATH-HOUSE AT WYCK, NEAR ALTON, HAMPSHIRE 2 9 extended along the southern side of the passage along the south wall had been building giving access firstly into a Frigidarium removed by the apsidal rooms. located in the same position as in Phase III (Fig The Phase II cold water basin and water 3). The tessellated pavement area (Fig 2, i) run-off area was abandoned and utilised as a formed the floor to a cold water basin with a floor, whilst a new cold water bath was con- drain through its north wall. The adjacent large structed along the south wall entered by three stone paving slab (Fig 2, e) was utilised as a tile and stone steps. These steps may be the water run-off platform having an independent residual foundation courses of a Phase II wall under-floor drain formed from imbrex tiles. dividing the water run-off area from the Adjacent to the Frigidarium beside the southern passage way. Waste water from this northern wall in the position of the Phase III bath discharged through a pipe in the south Tepidarium, was a sunken bath. The internal wall into the Phase I construction trench. wall surfaces of this bath were plastered but Both the Tepidarium and Caldarium were the Phase III re-modelling had destroyed any rebuilt as apsidal rooms with a bath being surface finish this may have had.