Monument record 2537/1 - Romano-British Villa East of Stanion

Unspecified Roman remains were found here in 1840. The complex was partially excavated in 2002 and 2010 revealing a Roman villa complex occupied between the 1st and 4th centuries. The excavated elements included domestic buildings, barns, corn driers as well as evidence of metal working. Notable finds include part of a marble statuette of Venus. Further elements of the complex are believed to lie to the north of Brigstock Road.

{1} Ordnance Survey 1:10,000 maps mark 'Roman Remains Found in 1840' at SP92478685, but no other records exist of these discoveries.

{3} [SP 92478685] Roman Remains Found A.D.1840. [T.I.]

{4} Northampton Museum have no knowledge of the above finds.

{5} Following the granting of planning permission in April 2002, construction of a composting facility began with the stripping of topsoil from an area of approximately 0.3 hectares. An archaeological inspection of the site was made on April 4th. This found that removal of ploughsoil from the eastern end of the site had revealed the relatively well preserved remains of parts of a Roman villa together with a 'corn drier' and other associated features.

{7} In the course of topsoil stripping prior to the construction of a composting facility, part of a Roman villa was unexpectedly revealed, together with ancillary structures. A pond-like feature beneath the excavated part of the villa contained dumped occupation debris, including carbonised plant remains, dating to the later first century AD, and indicating the presence of occupation on the site from at least this time, while pottery from quarry pits to the north, excavated in 1984, may suggest an origin as early as the mid-first century AD.

The villa remains were made up of a complete wing and part of a corridor measuring approximately 8m x 12m with at least one internal wall. The preservation of intact stratigraphy was variable. Along the southern end of the building, there has been plough damage and only the wall footings survived. However, across most of the building there was intact stratigraphy, including areas of tessellated pavement and at the northern end of the building, stratigraphy was sealed by the remains of collapsed walls. Following a successful application for funding from English Heritage, an excavation was carried out on the exposed remains of the villa, and the associated 'corn-drier'. Construction of the villa wing included a north facing veranda and plain mosaic floors. Domestic occupation of the site appears to be short lived and the latest contexts are hearths, built directly on the mosaic floor. The excavation yielded a total of 4931 sherds of pottery weighing a total of 89,737 grammes. There was a surprisingly large quantity of Amphorae, mainly Dressel 20 type (one rim and two bases) from at least two but possibly three or four vessels - these had originated from southern Spain and would have contained olive oil. Based on the evidence of the pottery present, one can suggest a period of occupation from the late first century AD with the main period of occupation during the early to mid second century. Occupation seems to have ended c. late second century or more likely by the early third century. However, there must have been a small amount of activity sometime during the fourth century but as noted above the evidence seems to have been destroyed.

{9} Excavation of part of the villa complex was undertaken, although it probably did not include the main range. [This excavation was undertaken immediately east of the excavation detailed in {5 & 7} above. The site was continuously occupied from the early C1st AD until the C4th.
Transformation from a late Iron Age settlement to Roman villa estate appears to have been undertaken in a piecemeal fashion.
The position of the villa on a south-facing slope, as well as its proximity to Harper’s Brook and the availability of building stone probably influenced its location, and is a situation favoured by many villas. The slight ridge upon which the buildings were constructed was characterised by a series of shallow ponds, mostly natural in origin, probably formed by springs.
The villa complex was adjacent a local road or track which to the north connected it to the villas at Great Weldon and Prior’s Hall (3.5km and 5km away respectively).The same track may have provided access to the large-scale Roman iron-working industry concentrated in the Rockingham Forest, particularly around Laxton. To the south across Harper’s Brook, the track crossed the Gartree Road, an important thoroughfare dating from the C1st AD. It may then have continued southwards as far as the small Roman town at Kettering.

The excavation revealed a late Iron Age boundary and two timber roundhouses associated with iron smelting. These were succeeded by a small Roman villa in the late 1st to early 2nd century, a building partly excavated in 2002. In the later 2nd century two further buildings, which probably functioned as ancillary ranges, were constructed. The original villa building was demolished during the same period or just afterwards and it seems likely that this was part of a wider expansion and modification of the villa complex, most of which lay to the north. To the east a stone-built roundhouse was constructed. A droveway defined by parallel ditches led to a partially metalled road. In the 3rd century a working yard to the south of the buildings included a post-built aisled barn with oven, a large malting oven, stone-lined wells and water cistern. The ancillary buildings, the processing area and the droveway appear to have gone out of use by the late 3rd century, when a series of ditches, some utilised for animal stock control, were created and an oven was inserted into the demolition deposits of one of the buildings. The site appears to have been abandoned in the 4th century AD.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1979, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.135 (checked) (Series). SNN77380.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP98NW1 (unchecked) (Index). SNN443.

<3> Ordnance Survey Map (Scale/date), OS 6" 1958 (Map). SNN112944.

<4> Colquhoun, FD, 1961, Field investigators comments, F1 FDC 02-AUG-61 (Notes). SNN113017.

<5> Tingle M. (Editor), 2002, Northamptonshire Archaeology, p.148 (checked) (Journal). SNN103872.

<6> Linford, P K, 2002, Stanion, Corby, Northamptonshire: archaeomagnetic dating report 2002 (Report). SNN113117.

<7> Tingle M., 2008, Archaeological Recording of a Roman Villa at Brigstock Road, Stanion, 2002, p.101+106 (checked) (Article). SNN106434.

<8> Clarke J.; Maull A.; Walsh T., 2011, Stanion Roman Villa April to July 2010: Assessment and Updated Project Design, p.6+12 (checked) (Report). SNN108334.

<9> Walker C., 2012, Excavation at Stanion Roman Villa, Brigstock Road, Northamptonshire April to July 2010, p.40 (checked) (Report). SNN109191.

Record last edited

Jul 10 2025 4:00PM