Acton Trussell - Roman Villa

Roman Villa

In May 1985 the semi hexagonal wing of a Roman villa was discovered in the Churchyard.

The wing of a Roman villa was discovered in 1985 outside the east boundary of the churchyard, excavations have been ongoing since then, carried out by Penk Valley Archaeological Group. The work has shown that occupation of the site dates back to at least the Neolithic period (late Stone-Age), with finds from the Bronze-Age and Iron-Age proving continuing occupation up to and including the Romano-British period. The wing is a 2nd century addition to a rectangular building in the churchyard, by the 4th century further additions had been made, and the now old 2nd century villa, including the wing, was rebuilt. There are extensive ditched enclosures of the 1st and late 2nd centuries, replaced with a walled enclosure in the 4th century when the villa was extended. The size of the final build stretches from the wing, just outside the east boundary, westward to the tower, is at least 43 metres, this was proved by a watching brief carried out in 2010 during pipework installation for toilet and tea making facilities in the church.