Ravenglass Roman Bath House

Audio Guide to Ravenglass Roman Bath House

Join Andrew Roberts, English Heritage Properties Historian, in conversation with Jess Freeland, Interpretation Manager, at Ravenglass Roman Bath House on the Cumbrian coast. Together they explore this remarkable site, and some key locations nearby, as Andrew explains what we know about the bath house, why the Romans built it here, and what the Roman experience of bathing was like. 

The guide is designed so you can listen whether you are at the bath house or elsewhere. For on-site listening, it’s best to download before you go.

    

Image gallery

Scroll through these images to view some of the key locations explored in the audio guide.

The bath house

The bath house

The bath house
A view of the bath house from Walls Road
Cold room and changing room

Cold room and changing room

Cold room and changing room
Two of the four surviving rooms of the bath house – the changing room (left) and unheated room (right)
Niche

Niche

Niche
This niche in the bath house is likely to have held a statue to a god or goddess
The site of the fort

The site of the fort

The site of the fort
Though no buildings survive from the fort at Ravenglass, traces of its defences as well as the raised platform for the fort itself can be traced in the field opposite the bath house
The beach at Ravenglass

The beach at Ravenglass

The beach at Ravenglass
In the Roman period the channel of the river Esk would have been deep enough for boats to moor here, in the lea of the fort

Before you go

  • History of Ravenglass Roman Bath House

    Find out more about the history of this impressive bath house, one of the best-preserved Roman buildings in northern England.

  • Download a transcript

    Download this PDF for a full transcript of the audio guide to Ravenglass Roman Bath House.

  • Roman Bathing

    Read about Roman bathing and discover what Roman bath houses reveal about the culture and people of the time.

  • The Romans in the Lake District

    Find out more about the network of forts and roads that the Romans built in the Lake District to control this area on the empire’s frontier.