Details

The monument includes a minor Romano-British villa situated on a sandstone
hill which forms part of the Sussex Weald, a location which enjoys extensive
views of the surrounding countryside and the Sussex Downs to the south. The
villa lies about 500m to the east of the course of a north-south aligned,
minor Roman road between Codmore Hill and Marehill, which joins Stane Street,
the main Roman road between Chichester (Noviomagus) and London (Londinium)
about 1km to the north. Surviving largely in the form of buried footings
constructed of mortared sandstone blocks, the villa buildings range around
what has been interpreted as a roughly square, north west-south east aligned
courtyard. The main, domestic range runs across the centre of this and
includes a north west-south east aligned, rectangular building of at least ten
rooms, some of which were found to have been heated by a hypocaust, or
underfloor heating system. At least three rooms had tesselated floors, and
most were decorated with painted wall plaster. Further, contemporary buildings
and structures associated with the villa will survive in the areas around the
main range. The analysis of flue tiles discovered during part excavation of
the monument in 1817 and 1907-1909 has suggested that the villa was
constructed during the first century AD. Other finds included coins, fragments
of window glass and Roman pottery and jewellery. Fragments of moulds used in
the production of samian-type pottery were also revealed, indicating that the
villa may have been involved in the production and distribution of fine wares.
All farm buildings, garden structures and fences are excluded from the
scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Romano-British villas were extensive rural estates at the focus of which were
groups of domestic, agricultural and occasionally industrial buildings. The
term "villa" is now commonly used to describe either the estate or the
buildings themselves. The buildings usually include a well-appointed dwelling
house, the design of which varies considerably according to the needs, taste
and prosperity of the occupier. Most of the houses were partly or wholly
stone-built, many with a timber-framed superstructure on masonry footings.
Roofs were generally tiled and the house could feature tiled or mosaic floors,
underfloor heating, wall plaster, glazed windows and cellars. Many had
integral or separate suites of heated baths. The house was usually accompanied
by a range of buildings providing accommodation for farm labourers, workshops
and storage for agricultural produce. These were arranged around or alongside
a courtyard and were surrounded by a complex of paddocks, pens, yards and
features such as vegetable plots, granaries, threshing floors, wells and
hearths, all approached by tracks leading from the surrounding fields. Villa
buildings were constructed throughout the period of Roman occupation, from the
first to the fourth centuries AD. They are usually complex structures occupied
over several hundred years and continually remodelled to fit changing
circumstances. They could serve a wide variety of uses alongside agricultural
activities, including administrative, recreational and craft functions, and
this is reflected in the considerable diversity in their plan. The least
elaborate villas served as simple farmhouses whilst, for the most complex, the
term "palace" is not inappropriate. Villa owners tended to be drawn from a
limited elite section of Romano-British society. Although some villas belonged
to immigrant Roman officials or entrepreneurs, the majority seem to have been
in the hands of wealthy natives with a more-or-less Romanised lifestyle, and
some were built directly on the sites of Iron Age farmsteads. Roman villa
buildings are widespread, with between 400 and 1000 examples recorded
nationally. The majority of these are classified as `minor' villas to
distinguish them from `major' villas. The latter were a very small group of
extremely substantial and opulent villas built by the very wealthiest members
of Romano-British society. Minor villas are found throughout lowland Britain
and occasionally beyond. Roman villas provide a valuable index of the rate,
extent and degree to which native British society became Romanised, as well as
indicating the sources of inspiration behind changes of taste and custom. In
addition, they serve to illustrate the agrarian and economic history of the
Roman province, allowing comparisons over wide areas both within and beyond
Britain. As a very diverse and often long-lived type of monument, a
significant proportion of the known population are identified as nationally
important.

Although it has been partly disturbed by past ploughing and the construction
of farm buildings, part excavation has shown that the villa at Borough
Farm survives comparatively well, containing important archaeological remains
relating to the construction and use of the monument. The villa is one of a
number of similarly well-appointed country estates established in this part of
West Sussex during the first century AD, indicating the rapid Romanisation of
the Chichester hinterland in the decades following the Claudian invasion.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Black, E, 'British Archaeological Reports' in Roman Villa at Borough Farm, , Vol. 171, (1987), 155-156
Praetorius, C J, 'Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries' in Roman Villa at Borough Farm, , Vol. 23, (1909), 121-129

Source: Historic England