One of the best Roman villa survivals in Britain, Lullingstone offers a tantalising glimpse into Roman domestic life over three centuries.
This luxurious villa was begun in about AD 100 and developed by successive wealthy owners. It includes a heated bath suite and an underground pagan ‘cult room’, with a wall painting of water deities – by far the oldest painting in our care.
Protecting Lullingstone Villa
The villa remains at Lullingstone are housed inside a protective modern building. Since the structure housing the ruins was first erected in the 1960s, rising moisture levels in the ground have changed the environmental conditions inside and this has started causing mould growth on surfaces. Our team are hard at work on a project to improve the environment and undertake vital conservation work.
The villa ruins are currently inaccessible while work is ongoing, but you can still visit and meet our expert volunteers to find out more about the story of the villa and its inhabitants. You can get a bird’s eye view of the excavated remains from a viewing window, and you might even spot the team at work looking after this remarkable Roman villa.
Our planned works to improve the environment are ongoing and the site is being regularly cleaned to minimise the presence of mould in the environment but if you have allergies to Penicillin, Aspergillus or respiratory illness which can be exacerbated by the presence of mould, we recommend waiting for our works to be completed before visiting.
English Heritage is a charity and we care for over a million objects and hundreds of historic sites in every part of England, from international icons to local treasures. It’s our job to conserve these places and objects, to open them up and to share their stories with as many people as possible. However, as expected with ancient historic structures in a modern world we are faced with challenges in their preservation and protection. Visiting our sites and donating to us helps our work caring for places like Lullingstone Roman Villa so they can be enjoyed now and for many years to come.
Lullingstone Roman Villa has been awarded a Silver Green Impact Award, click here to find out more about the awards.
