| Summary : The Roman bath house at Wall (Letocetum), built to serve official travellers and couriers as they passed along Watling Street, and also the townspeople. The bath house is not aligned with Watling Street, and was situated on the hillside alongside a route running to the forts on the hilltop, a route which may have had an Iron Age origin. Its water supply came from a spring above the guest house.The remains of the bath house visible today include the furnace room (praefurnium), hot room (caldarium) and warm room (tepidarium), exercise hall (palaestra), cold room (frigidarium) and changing room (apodyterium). The bath house was first built in circa 100 AD of stone, and was maintained for over 150 years with several phases of alteration and repair. Phase 1 of the bath house had an exercise hall attached; this would have been the town's main covered space, and would also have functioned as a meeting place and was probably used for entertainment, trade, and school lessons. Phase 2 saw the baths extended in the AD 130s during the reign of Hadrian. Phase 3 included a larger exercise hall, surrounded by a colonnade with a paved or tiled floor, and further rooms, built in the AD 170s. The furnace was converted into a warm room in Phase 4, dated to the early 3rd century AD. During Phase 5 in the later 3rd century AD, the baths were reduced to a small number of rooms. Following this decline many of the doors were blocked and the building may have become a house prior to its abandonment and ruin. |
More information : (SK 09790656) Roman Baths (R) (Rems of) (1)
Roman bath building at Letocetum excavated in 1872 and 1912, with five main phases of construction beginning towards the end of the 1st.century AD. In the guardianship of the Dept. of the Environment and open to the public. (2-4)
1:2500 Survey revised. (5)
No change since reports 15.4.58 and 25.2.74. (6)
ST 8 Group of building west of Forts at Wall, including baths and a building formerly described as a villa or mansion. 'The Butts', a large area north of these buildings, is also scheduled. (7)
The Roman bath house at Wall (Letocetum), built to serve official travellers and couriers as they passed along Watling Street, and also the townspeople. The bath house is not aligned with Watling Street, and was situated on the hillside alongside a route running to the forts on the hilltop, a route which may have had an Iron Age origin. Its water supply came from a spring above the guest house.
The remains of the bath house visible today include the furnace, hot room and warm room, exercise hall, and cold room/changing room. The bath house was first built in circa 100 AD of stone, and was maintained for over 150 years with several phases of alteration and repair. Phase 1 of the bath house had an exercise hall attached; this would have been the town¿s main covered space, and would also have functioned as a meeting place and was probably used for entertainment, trade, and school lessons. Phase 2 saw the baths extended in the AD 130s during the reign of Hadrian. Phase 3 included a larger exercise hall, surrounded by a colonnade with a paved or tiled floor, and further rooms, built in the AD 170s. The furnace was converted into a warm room in Phase 4, dated to the early 3rd century AD. During Phase 5 in the later 3rd century AD, the baths were reduced to a small number of rooms. Following this decline many of the doors were blocked and the building may have become a house prior to its abandonment and ruin. (8)
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