Monument record 726/17 - Roman building, possibly a bathhouse or mansio, beneath St Lawrence's Church

An extensive building, in part comprising a substantial bath-house, may have been the town baths or a mansio. The building was constructed in the 2nd century. Although a period of decline is indicated by the building’s partial use for metalworking in the 3rd century AD, the building was refurbished again in the 4th century AD .

{1}Features noted in 1937, hypocaust said to have been seen on south side of church under porch. Information J Alexander.

{2} On the 15th September [1983] workmen uncovered the remains of a substantial Roman floor of herringbone brick, which must relate to a similar floor observed and sketched by Sir Henry Dryden. The floor measured 12x4 feet, still continuing under the church and beyond the edges of the trench. It was substantially built on a pitched stone footing, covered with opus signinum over which was laid the brick floor. The dimensions of the brick averaged 5"x2 3/8" x 1 1/8". Some 40 were still in place and impressions of another 25 were visible. The bricks were laid on edge. Some 15 pieces of box-flue tile as well pilae and roof tiles were also found. These all indicated a building of about 160 AD repaired and re-roofed up to perhpas the 370s. Probably the baths or mansio.

{3} Plan and section of excavation area showing the herringbone brick floor in relation to walls noted by Dryden. It seems that in the mid 3rd century neither the authorities nor private benefactors could any longer afford to maintain this amenity (the large building) and it was, whether in whole or in part, leased out to light industry. A bronze workers rubbish pit, complete with crucible fragments and metallic waste, was dug through the expensive herringbone floor, this never being put back over the pit.

{4} In 1883 two pavements, one plain and the other herringbone, of tesserae cut from tiles, were found when a heating system was installed in the south aisle of the church. A hypocaust is said to have been seen in 1937 on the south side of the church under the porch.

{7}Bath house C2 opus spicatum floor. 9 fragments of flue tile (with Mrs G's 1885 rare hollow box voussoirs also from churchyard.); 1 thick piece of opus signinum from bath?;3 colour prints of opus spicatum herring bone brick floor, bath voussoirs, and pilae stacks; sub floor tile; 2 limestone tessarae, large, plus two small enough to be from a decorative mosaic. (Reported David Neal for forthcoming Mosaic volumes.); 4 grey ware rims and rouletted red ware; 1 late Romand counter?

{8}A possible mansio with associated bath house, the fragmentary remains of which survive beneath St Lawrence Church and graveyard, was built in the second century and subsequently rebuilt or refurbished with a brick herringbone (opus spicatum) floor. Although a period of decline is indicated by the building’s partial use for metalworking in the 3rd century AD, the building was refurbished again in the 4th century AD .

(Ref 3.3.1)An extensive stone founded building (A on Figure 3), clearly in part hypocausted (a bath-house?) is known from a range of finds recovered from St Lawrence's church yard, notes made by Dryden during the installation of a church heating system in 1883, and an evaluation in 1983. Floored initially with opus signinum and later opus spicatum it was clearly a substantial building expensively furnished. Though insufficient of its plan is recorded to be sure the likely presence of a bath house and its location within the town defences on Watling Street near the core of the town would indicate that it was probably a mansio for travellers or possibly and unusually for a small town a public baths.

(Ref 2.3)There is some evidence to suggest that the major public building under St Lawrence’s Church remained in use into the 5th century AD.

{10} This building is known from work carried out to install heating systems under the south aisle and recorded by Sir Henry Dryden in 1883 and again in 1983 and a treasure hunting episode of 1938. This last, Canon Ford's unsuccessful and dangerously deep search for the church silver under the south porch, fell into a hypocaust.

{11} Watching brief undertaken during drainage works around west door of church in 1995. Although the trenches did not go deep enough to disturb archaeological levels, an area of black ashy material in the topsoil was interpreted as the disturbed fill of a nearby stoke hole disturbed by later grave digging. Finds from this deposit included a number of tiles (flue tile, imbrex and tegula and those deriving from pilae). Some 45% of the tile was from heating systems.

{15, 16} Article identifies a previously unknown observation in 1905 during restoration of the church crypt and reported in the Northampton Herald in 1912. 'The foundations [of the church] rested on huge blocks of local sandstone which looked older, and that there were arches on either side. There was also a stone wall reaching halfway up the excavations “as exposed at each end of it” which extended beyond the chancel in a northerly and southerly direction. This suggests that the east wall of the chancel was built on top of this earlier wall.'

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1982, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.154/Site 3 (checked) (Series). SNN77382.

<2> Woodfield C., 1983, TOWCESTER DEANERY MAGAZINE (Discussion). SNN47599.

<3> Woodfield C., 1984, Letter and plans relating to excavation at St Lawrence Church (Note). SNN47600.

<4> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1982, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p. 153/site 3 (Series). SNN77382.

<5> Dryden H.E.L., 1842-1895, Dryden Collection (Archive). SNN115.

<6> Burnham B.C.; Wacher J., 1990, The 'Small Towns' of Roman Britain, 152-8+160 (Book). SNN60720.

<7> Woodfield C., 1999, CORRESPONDENCE, (unchecked) (Notes). SNN43862.

<8> Taylor J.; Foard G.; Laughton J.; Steadman S.; Ballinger J., 2002, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Towcester, Section 3.3.1, 2.3,2.2 (Report). SNN103132.

<9> 1883, The Antiquary, 8/87 (Journal). SNN18439.

<10> Towcester & District Local History Society, 1995, Towcester: The Story of An English Country Town (Book). SNN72341.

<11> Woodfield, C., 1995, Parish Church, Towcester: Drainage works outside west door, watching brief, 1995 (Note). SNN111069.

<12> 1938, Journal of Northants. Nat. Hist. Soc. & Field Club, p.60 (checked) (Journal). SNN11575.

<13> Taylor J.; Foard G.; Laughton J.; Steadman S.; Ballinger J., 2002, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Towcester, Section 3.4 Commerce and Industry (Report). SNN103132.

<14> COTSWOLD ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST, 1993, Towcester Retail Development, (unchecked) (Report). SNN60089.

<15> Giggins,B, 2021, The Roman building beneath Towcester Parish Church (Article). SNN112638.

<16> Giggins, B, 2023, Old Towcester: The Roman building below Towcester parish church (Article). SNN116707.

Record last edited

Jan 18 2025 3:11PM