A sunny morning prompted me and a friend to explore some Roman Sussex. She and I completed the Camino de Santiago last year and had particularly enjoyed the sense of history as we walked, so we were hoping to step back in time again with this Roman ramble. We weren’t disappointed.
The Romans invaded Sussex in 43 AD, possibly landing at Chichester Harbour, and built a garrison in Chichester, which they called Noviomagus Reginorum (roughly Newmarket of the people). The most notable evidence of the Roman occupation is at Fishbourne Roman Palace and the Roman Villa at Bignor.
Mosaics at Bignor Roman Villa
Many years ago, I visited Fishbourne on a school trip, but I had never been to the villa at Bignor, which is where we started our exploration.
The remains of this Roman home were discovered by a local farmer, George Tupper, over 200 years ago, when he hit part of the ruins with his plough. The site was excavated soon after by a local resident and was opened to the public in 1814, quickly becoming a local tourist attraction. It is still managed by the Tupper family.
You need a car to get there, as it’s several miles from the nearest station at Amberley and there’s only a pre-book bus from Chichester that stops nearby. Once you’re in Bignor village, it’s quite tricky to find the Villa, despite signposts, as there are so many little roads and it’s easy to lose yourself. But it’s well worth the expedition.
Though smaller than Fishbourne, Bignor Villa is an impressive courtyard building, with stunning mosaics. According to the guidebook, it is thought to have started as a small Roman farmstead around 200 AD. This was gradually extended to house several families, with quite luxurious accommodation, including baths and a hypocaust or underfloor heating.
Highlights of the villa are the huge mosaic of the head of Venus and winged cupids dressed as gladiators, the mosaic of Ganymede being carried off by an eagle (a story from Homer’s Iliad), and the baths, with the head of Medusa surrounded by snakes. The geometric mosaic tiles in the North Corridor are also very striking.
Walking along Stane Street, the Roman road to Chichester
After refreshments at the villa, we were directed to the narrow road leading to Bignor Hill and the National Trust car park. The view from the top of the hill across the South Downs, Amberley and the Slindon Estate is breathtaking. You pass a large wooden sign to ‘Noviomagus’ – at this point briefly joining the South Downs Way – before veering left onto Stane Street to follow a short National Trust circular walk.
Stane (meaning ‘stone’ in Old English) Street was the 57 mile-long (91 km) Roman road between London and Chichester, in use from 70 AD. An amazing feat of engineering, it ran from London Bridge past Merton Priory, near where I grew up. It then passed through a natural cut in the North Downs near Holmbury St Mary, where I took part in a dig while at school, finding small pieces of mosaic tessera where a Roman villa had once stood.
Much of the original road has been covered by A-roads, but the stretch in West Sussex is very well-preserved. We walked in the footsteps of the Roman soldiers along the agger, a raised walkway with ditches either side, which kept the soldiers’ feet out of the mud. It consisted of stone, gravel and pieces of flint, making it very solid underfoot. Trees have grown along parts of the track and there are some great views either side.
Lost in the woods
After about a mile, Stane Street leads into Eartham Woods, where mature trees provided some much-needed shade on a sunny day. In a clearing where six ways meet, known as Shippams Poste, we stopped for lunch. You could see where Stane Street continued on through the woods towards Chichester, but this was where we had to turn off.
Unfortunately, the ‘Six-Ways’ signpost is rather unclear, only showing ‘No horses’ or ‘Bridleway’. A friendly couple (the first people we’d seen on the walk) had come from the opposite direction and pointed left, but there was still a choice of tracks. We had left the Ordinance Survey map in the car, but with the walk map on my phone and a compass, we managed to work out which track to take.
But walking through the woods along Leper’s Path, we missed the next turning and walked deeper into Northwood. This was an interesting mistake, as there is an ongoing National Trust restoration of the ancient woodland here. Wooden sculptures like totem poles and an information board tell you more about it.
Back on track
We managed to get back on to the right track, which took us through fields with Iron Age lynchets (terraced remains of ancient agriculture) to Gumber Farm and Bothy, an impressive-looking converted barn where you can sleep or camp. Then back along Stane Street to the car park.
It was a peaceful, relaxing walk of about four miles (6 km) – maybe an extra mile when we took the wrong path – and we felt immersed in history the whole day. Apart from the couple we met at Shippams Poste, we only saw sheep. If you try it, don’t forget to take a (paper) map and compass to orientate yourself.
A Roman ramble to Gumber Farm is a National Trust walk. For a longer walk that also includes Stane Street, see Bridle Road to Bignor.
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