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RAVENGLASS ROMAN FORT BATH HOUSE

ALTERNATIVE NAME:

WALLS CASTLE

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The remains of the bath house at Ravenglass Roman Fort, situated just outside the north-east corner of the fort. The remains of the bath house of the fort, established in AD 130, are among the tallest Roman structures surviving in northern Britain: the walls stand almost 4 metres (13 feet) high. Domestic use of the building in the Middle Ages led to the substantial preservation of the site. The site lay in Muncaster Castle Park in the post-medieval period, and was described as 'the ancient dwelling place of the Penningtons' by John Denton in 1610. Excavations in the late nineteenth century and survey work in the 1980s indicated that the bath house was a substantial structure extending beyond the present field boundary, as well as to either side of the existing structures. At least two rooms contained under-floor hypocausts (heating systems). The walls are of regularly coursed sandstone bonded with mortar and rendered internally with pink cement. One of the doorways has a worn threshold and a broad groove to receive a timber doorframe. There are also the remains of windows. The bath house was for use both by Roman soldiers and for civilians who lived in the settlement outside the fort, which extended over much of the present field. The building offered facilities for exercise and sport, as well as for swimming, bathing and socialising. It is now in the care of English Heritage.

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(SD 0882 9592) Walls Castle (NAT) (Ruins of) (1)

(SD 0882 9592) Walls Castle (NAT) ROMAN BUILDING (R) (remains of) (2)

The history of research into the bath house is summarised by Collingwood in 1928 who described it as the best preserved Roman building in thE north of England (3) and by Birley in 1958 (4). The first known literary reference is about 1610 (5) when it is described as an old castle of the Pennington family. It was first considered to be Roman in 1876 (6), and this was confirmed by excavation in 1881 when it was thought to be a villa (7). These excavations demonstrated that the building had originally extended a considerable distance eastwards; coins and pottery from the site date from the 2nd to the 4th century AD. The building seems to have been recognised as a bath house in about 1919 (8).

A deailed survey and fabric analysis was carried out in May 1983 on behalf of the Department of the Environment prior to its consolidation and placement under guardianship. (9)

Under guardianship. (10)

The bath house was surveyed at 1:1000 scale in 1998 by RCHME as a part of the survey of the Roman fort; the plan and report are held in NMRC Swindon. It is unchanged since the analysis of 1883 except that tree cover has been removed from its immediate vicinity and the remains have been fenced. (11)

An English Heritage Property. (12)

Lies within the Registered Park and Garden of Muncaster Castle. On the east side of Walls Drive, c 1.5 km south-west of the Castle, is the site of the Roman fort of Glannaventa (scheduled ancient monument), which includes a bath house which is said to be the best-preserved military bath house in the country (Pevsner 1967). This was described as 'the ancient dwelling place of the Penningtons' by John Denton in 1610. (13)

A brief history and description. (14)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 1st edition map of c. 1861.

( 2) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 1:2500 1971

( 3) Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society

Collingwood, R.G. 28, 1928 Page(s)353-366

( 4) Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society

Birley, E. 58, 1958 Page(s)14-30

(5) General reference

John Denton's Accompt [stet] c. 1610.

(6) Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society

Knowles and Jackson 3, 1878 Page(s)23-26

(7) Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society

Jackson, W 6, 1883 Page(s)216-24

(8) Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society

Mc Gilchrist, C.R.B. 19, 1919 Page(s)17-29

(9) Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society

Brann, M.L. 85, 1985 Page(s)81-5

(10) Scheduled Monument Notification

24-JUN-1992

(11) General reference

Keith Blood/ RCHME: Ravenglass Roman Fort Survey/07-JUL-1998.

(12) English Heritage 1998 The English Heritage visitors' handbook 1998-99

Page(s)173

(13) English Heritage Register of parks and gardens of special historic interest in England

Cumbria, 01-JUL-1985

(14) English Heritage 2002 Heritage Unlocked: Guide to free sites in the North West

Page(s)42-43

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