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The Great Britain Guide

Roman villas · South East England

Bignor Roman Villa

RomanFree admission

West Sussex Roman villa with the Medusa mosaic, in original thatch-roofed shelters.

Bignor Roman Villa MMB 10

mattbuck (category) — CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
1 h–2 h
  • Free entry
  • Dog-friendly

About

Bignor in West Sussex preserves some of the finest Roman mosaics in Britain — 4th-century floors of the Medusa, Venus and Ganymede still in situ under purpose-built thatched-roof viewing huts. Discovered 1811 by a ploughman; in private hands since.

Photo gallery

From the Wikipedia article

Bignor Roman Villa is a large Roman courtyard villa which has been excavated and put on public display on the Bignor estate in the English county of West Sussex. It is well known for its high quality mosaic floors, which are some of the most complete and intricate in the country. It is managed by the Bignor Roman Villa Charitable Trust, a registered charity.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

The existence of a Romano-British farmstead on the site by the end of the 1st century is indicated by finds, A four-roomed stone building was built in the middle of the 3rd century AD, and this was extended between c.240 and 290 AD by the addition of a few new rooms, a hypocaust, and a portico that faced east towards Stane Street. This building became the western wing when north and south wings were added at the turn of the fourth century. In its final form, the villa consisted of some sixty-five rooms surrounding a courtyard, with a number of outlying farm buildings. The latest phase of building involved additions to the north wing between c.300 and 350 AD, and it is here that most of the…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
50.9242, -0.5931
County
West Sussex
District
Chichester
Parish
Bury
Postcode
RH20 1PG
Parliamentary constituency
Arundel and South Downs
Established
350

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Bignor Roman Villa?
Bignor Roman Villa is in West Sussex, South-East England, United Kingdom (postcode RH20 1PG), in the parish of Bury.
When was Bignor Roman Villa built?
Built or established in 350.
How do I get to Bignor Roman Villa?
Drivers can navigate to postcode RH20 1PG. It sits within the Arundel and South Downs parliamentary constituency.