Roman Town House, Dorchester
| The Roman Town House | |
|
Dorset | |
|---|---|
 The Roman Town House ruins | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SY68969096 |
| Location: | 50°43’3"N, 2°26’28"W |
| Town: | Dorchester |
| History | |
| Address: | Colliton Park |
| Built 307 AD | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Ruins |
The Roman Town House is a Roman ruin within Colliton Park, Dorchester, in Dorset.
The local council acquired Colliton Park in 1933 as the site for the construction of County Hall: the Town House was then discovered in 1937/38 during an archaeological investigation carried out by the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society prior to the construction of the new building. Plans for County Hall were modified so that the Town House could be retained on site.
The Town House is a scheduled ancient monument[1] and a Grade I listed building.[2] It is bounded on the north and west sides by North Walk and West Walk which are also scheduled monuments having the remains of the Roman ramparts of the town just below surface level.
The house built around 307 AD and extended in 341. The Town House has two principal ranges of rooms. The South Range comprising rooms 1–7 survives in the plan form of flint and stone walls on the grass covered site. The West Range comprising rooms 8–18 was mosaic floored. This range was re-excavated and provided with a steel and glass cover building with a stone tiled roof all perched on the original foundations between 1996 and 1999.
See also
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Roman Town House, Dorchester) |
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1002721Colliton Park Roman House: Park Roman House Roman Town House, Dorchester (Scheduled ancient monument entry)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1210098: Roman Town House (Grade I listing)
