< Back to collections

Roman Elmbridge

The Romans invaded Britain in AD 43. The local area was largely by-passed by Roman roads, although the London-Winchester road passed fairly closely by. This meant that people who lived here were probably minimally affected by Roman ways of life. There was certainly little urban development at this time. It is, however, likely that there was a small Romano-British settlement in the area - archaeologists have found the remains of a bath house near Cobham, and of cremation burials at Hurst Park, Molesey.

The bath house in Cobham gives us a good idea of Romano-British life. Most likely built in the 4^th century AD, the bath house was only operational for a small number of years. When the site was excavated in 1942 it was noted that the design was of poor quality, suggesting that the native owners were striving (and struggling) to live like Romans. Just 50 years after the bath house was last used, the legions left Britain to return to Rome.

Below we have a selection of the Museums' Roman collection. Aside from the finds at Chatley Farm and Molesey, many coins, bronze items and pieces of pottery have been found in the Borough.