On a beautiful day in May, some seventeen members of the Roman Studies Group, including appendages, visited the Roman Villa at Chedworth, near Cirencester close to the Fosse Way. Our guide, Dr Richard Reece, known for the way in which he has established a new approach to the study of Roman coinage, a past member of Time Team and author of many works on Roman subjects, kicked off by posing the question “what is a Roman villa?”

A joint visit by coach with the Friends of Guildford Museum, visiting the Abbey in the morning and the Roman site of Verulamium in the afternoon.

Coach departs Guildford North Street, opposite the library, at 9am and Burpham, bus stop opposite the BP garage, at 9.05am.

Surrey Local History Committee Spring Meeting

Saturday 6th March ‘Evacuation’ at Sayers Croft Ewhurst 2.00pm - 5.30pm

The Surrey Local History Committee has arranged a half day meeting at Sayers Croft Ewhurst on the subject of Evacuation during the Second World War. Sayers Croft is now a residential Field Centre owned by Westminster city council, but it was originally built as a result of the Camps Act of 1939 and was used to house evacuees during the war.

Woking Palace Archaeological Project

Come and see the results of the second season of excavations. No Parking is available at the site but a way-marked path leads from a free car park in Old Woking -see www.woking-palace.org for details.

The visit to the National Monument Record Centre & to the Museum of the Great Western Railway
includes introductory talks and guided tours. The cost of £15 includes travel by coach and fees.
Please sign up now with Alan Crocker, alanglen@glfd.freeserve.co.uk, who will keep you posted on details.
The SIHG website will also be updated with any changes.

Professor Mike Fulford has kindly agreed to show us around the current excavations and the site as a whole at Silchester on the morning of Saturday 24 July.

More details to follow.

For more information, please contact Charles van der Lande on charlesjvdl@aol.com

Chedworth Roman villa, occupied from circa AD 140 to the 4th.C, is one of the most important rural Roman houses in the country with over thirty rooms, a mile of walls, two bath houses, hypocausts, water shrine and latrines. It is owned by the National Trust who have agreed to provide a knowledgeable guide for a maximum number of thirty. They will charge £50 for the tour plus the usual entry fee for non-NT members. The proposed date is Saturday 22 May. The Cirencester museum is close by and there is a possibility that we may have a conducted tour there in the afternoon.

On Saturday 24 April, Brian Philp has kindly invited members on a tour of Crofton Roman Villa which is apparently the only one in Greater London, being quite substantial with twenty rooms and opus signium and tesselated floors plus remaining walls up to two feet high. It was occupied from circa AD140 to 400. This will be combined with a visit to Keston Roman tombs, some three miles away plus one to a nearby Iron Age hill fort situated on private land over which Brian has negotiated access for small groups.

More details to follow.

An evening visit guided by Andrew Norris
Meet at the Percy Arms, Chilworth, at 6.50pm. The landlord has kindly allowed us to park on condition we buy a drink or coffee.
Andrew will give a short introduction before we leave for the tour at 7.10-7.15pm. The tour will take approx 1 hour, after which we intend to return to the Percy Arms for a social drink and/or meal.

An opportunity to see the results of the investigations and excavations undertaken at Woking Palace this summer. There will be guided tours of the site from 11am with the last tour departing at 4pm plus displays by various local groups. Unfortunately there is no public parking available at the site. Free parking in gravel long-stay car park beyond tarmac short-stay car park just off Old Woking High Street at the mini roundabout and access on foot or cycle via way-marked route of about 1 mile.