2nd century AD bronze statuette of a legionary British Museum Everyone knows that the Romans lived in villas.  But recent research indicates that many of  these villas were established on the sites of traditional Iron-age homesteads and continued to be occupied by the British elite rather than Romans. Even before the invasion the local rulers adopted the Roman style - a villa must have been a wonderful status symbol.

NW Surrey in the Roman Period The peak of villa building in our part of the world is late compared with the continent; around the 3rd C AD.  By this time Rome itself was already under pressure from warlike tribes.  Maybe south-east Britain was seen as an island of calm and prosperity.  Certainly there was a surplus of cereal production and food was being exported. In prosperous parts of the country, villas were thick on the ground; about one per square kilometre.  Villas tended to be the centre of a thriving agricultural or timber estate.  But in our soil-impoverished area no definite villas have been found. Ordinary farmsteads have been found locally at Egham, Weybridge2 p26 and nearer home along the Windle Brook where 'barns and sheds' have been excavated at Bagshot and in the Windlesham Arboretum.

Phil Stevens writes:

One shard of a 4th century flanged bowl had been excavated at 19-31 High Street, Bagshot and several body shards of Farnham ware pottery had been recovered during excavations at the King's Arms. Excavations at the site adjacent to the Three Mariners revealed, at one of the deepest levels, a rutted trackway of 13th century date which had cut into and virtually destroyed a thin Roman occupation layer of 1st century AD.

Excavations of the 17th century tannery yards at Bagshot in 1992 unexpectedly revealed quantities of Roman pottery some of which were in intact stratigraphy and others which had been disturbed and repositioned due to the 17th century activities. A small length of Roman stone wall was also uncovered. Continued excavations at the site in the following year revealed part of an early 3rd century kiln with part of a potter's kick-wheel nearby and a cobbled floored shed which were above a timber Roman structure dated by its pottery to c.150-220AD. This was the earliest Roman feature on the site but the discovery of a few shards of Later Iron Age pottery together with iron working slag tends to suggest a similar industry to the site at Lightwater. ^{7, p4}

In the Windlesham Arboretum evidence of buildings covering the period 200-300 AD were were found.  But more interestingly, fragments of combed flue tile and wall plaster may indicate the existence of a nearby bath house and hence a small villa. ¹  The 'villa' may  have been in the Iron-age style, wood, lathe and plaster but the bathhouse would have been of brick because it would have contained a furnace.

To the east the main centre of Roman finds is around Chobham Park and Stone Hill.

  The nearby earthwork at Old Slade has certain Roman characteristics.  It is constructed with military precision.  Its corners are rounded in the way typical of Roman works.  And it has internal tracks.  But archaeologists think it is insufficiently eroded to be very old.   See the page on Chobham Common and its archaeology for more information.

In 1962 a Dupondius of Domitian coin was found on the Common 200m south of the Old Slade earthworks.⁽³⁾  In 1772, in a field formerly part of Chobham Park, an earthen pot was ploughed up, containing a large quantity of Roman Coins of the Lower Empire. Amongst them were two silver of Gratian and Valentinian ; on the reverse of both, Virtus Romanorum ; exergue of the first A. Q. P. S. of the other T. R. P. S. Among the copper ones were Theodosius, Honorius, and Valentinian. With these were found a spearhead and a gold ring, weight 4dwt. 10 1/2 gr. ⁽⁴⁾

Apart from the apparent poverty of this area in Roman times, another possible reason why no villas have been found is that local stone is rare and in any case tends to be robbed from ruins.  For example, almost nothing remains of of the buildings of Silchester or Chertsey Abbey.

By the Roman period, the landscape was essentially full.  Even by the Iron Age, population pressures had caused people to expanded into even the poorer soils.  It is likely that the population density in our area was similar to that at Domesday - 1500 years later.  Thus there were approximately 35 families inhabiting the area which we know as Surrey Heath.  They probably lived in about 20 scattered homesteads.

In our area there is place-name evidence for three Romano-British settlements.  In the 673 AD charter granting lands to Chertsey Abbey, the bounds of the Chobham area are described "Sua of Mimfelde to þare greten wich" (so on to the great wick ('wic' = OE dwelling place, camp, abode, etc.  From Latin 'vicus' - settlement.  Perhaps a Roman site or an enclave of Britons?).   This may be the original Romano-British settlement situated on the hill just east of Castle Green.  Was this a small defended site on the hill near Castle Green; perhaps a local trading post?  It is near present day Littlewick just over the Woking border.  And in the bounds for Chertsey and Egham we have "Of þan blaken wiþig on gerihte to Wealas huþe" and "Of þam þrem treouuen andlange depenbrokes on gerihte to Wealagate".  "Wealas" was old english for 'Welsh' or 'Briton'.  So perhaps this refers to surviving British enclaves along the Thames?

Towns in this area were also sadly lacking.  Perhaps because this area was on the border between the territories of the Atrebates and the Cantiaci (of Kent). Towns tended to be located close to the centre of territories.  The nearest Roman town was at Staines on the Thames crossing of the Roman road from London to Silchester - it can probably be regarded as the local Roman centre.  There may have been a settlement at the Wey crossing at Burpham. ^{3 p168}

References:-

1    Reading the Earth at Lightwater, G Cole, Surrey Heath Archaeological and Heritage Trust, 1989

2    Hidden Depths, Surrey Archaeological Society, 2002

3    Surrey County Council Sites & Monuments Record No. 1874.

4    O. Manning and W. Bray's The History and Antiquities of Surrey (1814)

5    Tap slagging furnaces in the Weald, the nearest equivalent industry to Windlesham Arboretum, are not known before the early first century AD (The Iron Industry of the Weald, H Cleere & D Crossley, 1985. Leicester Univ Press).

6    Excavations at Wickham Bushes, Interim Report.  M Corney & V Gaffney, 1985. "iron slag well stratified in fourth century deposits".

7    Surrey Heath in the Dark Ages,  Phil Stevens, 1994.