The Jewry Wall |
| Hob Uid: 867010 | |
Location :
City of Leicester
Non Civil Parish
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| Grid Ref : SK5820504472 |
| Summary : The above ground and buried remains of a Roman bath house and palaestra (exercise hall) constructed circa AD 154-60 in the northern half of Insula XXI of the Roman town, Ratae Coritanorum. The visible remains of the bath house are represented by a mixture of consolidated surviving masonry, reconstruction and the delineation of robber trenches by modern kerbs. In the post-Roman period the buildings were partially demolished and an Anglo-Saxon church was built on the site of the palaestra. In the 18th and 19th centuries the only standing piece of Roman masonry surviving above ground was a fragment of the west wall of the palaestra, against which a succession of domestic and industrial buildings were erected. In 1920 this fragment, known as the Jewry Wall, was taken into state care and in 1936 the site of the bath house was cleared of modern buildings. Archaeological excavations between 1936-9 uncovered the remains of the bath house. The excavated remains lie on the east side of the Jewry Wall museum and take the form of a series of stone foundations, partially restored and consolidated for public presentation. They include the remains of three large rectangular halls representing caldaria (hot baths). Attached to the east are the remains of three smaller rectangular rooms representing tepidaria (warm baths) and including the remains of a hypocaust. The bath house is joined to the palaestra on the east by two blocks of rooms. Between the two blocks is an open rectangular area, believed to have been the frigidarium. The remains of the west wall of the palaestra, known as the Jewry Wall, is constructed of coursed stone and brick and survives to a height of over 9 metres. In its entirety the palaestra was a rectangular building over 50 metres x 25 metres with a colonnade on two sides. The remains of the greater part of the building now lie beneath the present church of St Nicholas. The Jewry Wall is in the care of English Heritage. |
More information : SK 582044. Baths, 2nd century (incorporating length of Roman wall known as 'Jewry Wall') first thought to be the West Gate then the Basilica and Forum, now the Baths. Now preserved. (1-3)
Sites confirmed by Leicester Museum. (4)
Jewry Wall. St Nicholas Street - said to be west side of basilica AD 125-30, approximately 25 feet high, Roman masonry of freestone and brick, with two arches in alcoves with niche between on east side. It is situated on the east side of an excavated site showing remains of Roman Forum and baths etc. A.M. (5)
Roman public bath-house, of which only The Jewry Wall is now standing, was excavated by Dr Kenyon between 1936-39 (a).The building was from the first intended as a bath-house, started about 145-50 AD but temporarily halted before completion in circa 155-60 AD. (6)
Additional reference dewcribing a new store at the Jewry Wall Museum. (7)
Scheduled. (8)
Source 9 is a re-assessment of 10 pits orinially excavated by K. Kenyon, suggesting two phases of use with a gap between the two phases, indicated by galo-belgic wates of AD 25 or later and from the earliy period after the Romans had conquered the area. There is also material from the 1st century BC. (9)
Adjacent to the remains of the Jewry Wall is the Jewry Wall Museum, run by Leicester City Council. The council's web guide to its museums notes that the origin of the name "Jewry Wall" is unclear: it is unlikely to relate to the location of the Medieval Jewish community and may in fact may be a corruption of the word "jurats" meaning senior Medieval town councillors who were thought to have met at the neighbouring churchyard. (10)
This source includes a brief accessible account of the history and physical remains of the Jewry Wall for visitors. (11)
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