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Sudeley

Spoonley Wood Roman Villa Mosaic

Discover
Places to see

United Kingdom

England

South West England

Gloucestershire

Tewkesbury

Sudeley

Spoonley Wood Roman Villa Mosaic

Spoonley Wood Roman Villa Mosaic

Recommended by 28 hikers out of 29

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: The Cotswolds National Landscape

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    Best Hikes to Spoonley Wood Roman Villa Mosaic

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    1. Winchcombe, Sudeley Castle & Spoonley Wood loop — The Cotswolds

    8.84km

    02:24

    130m

    Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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    Intermediate

    Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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    Expert hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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    October 6, 2023

    Spoonley Wood Roman Villa is the ruins of an ancient Roman villa situated nearby to Sudeley Castle. It was a courtyard-type villa excavated in 1882 with the most prominent visible remains being the mosaic floor viewable from under a corragated iron roof.

      November 29, 2020

      Spoonley Wood Roman Villa is an ancient Roman villa located 2 km south-east of Sudeley Castle near the town of Winchcombe, in Gloucestershire, England. It was a courtyard-type villa excavated in 1882. Some remains of the villa, partly reconstructed, can still be seen in Spoonley Wood, and one mosaic is viewable under a corrugated iron roof.



      The villa lies between two streams on a north-west facing slope. It measured 55 m x 61 m and was a courtyard villa. The remains of a basilican-type building, thought to be a barn or granary were found 15–18 m away. Another Roman villa was discovered 2 km to the west at Wadfield Farm in 1863.



      The building began as a corridor villa, and was later converted by the addition of two wings extending to the north-west which were built at each end. This winged villa was later turned into a courtyard villa by the addition of an enclosing wall to the north-west which connected the two wings. Spoonley Wood villa is often cited as the archetypal example of this sequence as it was the first with this sequence to be discovered, although the dating evidence from the Spoonley Wood villa is poor.



      Structural remains had been noticed in the wood before 1877, but it was only in 1882 that workmen, searching for stone, uncovered one of the rooms of the villa. The site was in the ownership of Emma Dent, the owner of nearby Sudeley Castle, who had a mosaic lifted and moved to the castle. The site was subsequently excavated by the antiquarians John Henry Middleton and William Bazeley. For two years the site lay open, during which time it was damaged by frost, rabbits, and visitors. In response to the damage, Emma Dent chose to partially rebuild the walls, up to 1.8 metres high in places on the east and south sides, and to reconstruct two of the remaining mosaics and cover them with wooden sheds. The huts had become ruinous by 1945, and in 1976 it was reported that "the sheds have now collapsed and the remains are suffering from weather and from the encroaching wood."



      Finds from the excavations included a silver-plated bronze bowl, a large number of 3rd- and 4th-century coins, samian ware pottery, iron knives and tools. Most of the finds are at Sudeley Castle. A column base is in Gloucester Museum and three pottery lamps are in Cheltenham Museum. A marble statue of Bacchus, from a grave, is now in the British Museum.



      As of 2013 the site is obscured by the trees of Spoonley Wood, but the walls are still clearly visible, and one of the reconstructed mosaics can be viewed "protected beneath a small corrugated iron roof and some plastic sheeting held in place with stones". The villa can be reached via a 2 km walk from the car park of Sudeley Castle.

        February 12, 2025

        crazy its not better protected

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          Elevation 200 m

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          Location: Sudeley, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, South West England, England, United Kingdom

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