The Roman Bath is a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

St Sampson's Square St Sampson's Square is an open space, and former marketplace, in the city centre of York, England. History In the 12th-century, the area now occupied by the square was known as Arkilltofts, possibly named after Arnketil, a leading figure in t ...

, in the city of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, in England. It is built above an ancient

Roman bath house Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. The remains were uncovered during building work when the present pub was erected in 1929–31 replacing an inn. The exterior has

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

features including applied half-timbering. The pub is however more notable for the Roman remains which can be viewed inside. The bath house apparently served the military personnel of

Eboracum Eboracum () was a fort and later a city in the Roman province of Britannia. In its prime it was the largest town in northern Britain and a provincial capital. The site remained occupied after the decline of the Western Roman Empire and ultimat ...

(Roman York). Not only was the facility in Eboracum's fortress (built in the 1st century AD to house a

legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

of about 5,000 men), but also tiles have been discovered at the bath house site which are marked with the identity of specific legions. The Ninth may have constructed the facility. The last attested activity of the Ninth in Britain is in AD 108. Baths dating from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD have been excavated at

Tanner Row Tanner Row is a street in the city centre of York, in England. History The area covered by the street was part of the civilian settlement associated with Roman Eboracum. Archaeological investigations have uncovered remains of a bathhouse, and a ...

on the other side of the River Ouse: these are believed to have served the civilian population of York.

Access and conservation

The pub is a Grade II* listed building. It was listed in 1954, relatively early for a pub from the interwar period.In 2015 Historic England listed a number of interwar pubs at which time it was noted that relatively few such buildings survived unaltered. See This suggests that the existence of Roman ruins was the main reason for listing. The Roman remains may be visited. A fee is payable. The

caldarium 230px, Caldarium from the Roman Baths at Bath, England. The floor has been removed to reveal the empty space where the hot air flowed through to heat the floor. A caldarium (also called a calidarium, cella caldaria or cella coctilium) was a room ...

and some other features of the baths are visible. Some of the other facilities would have been outside the corner site occupied by the pub: much of the baths have yet to be excavated. The site as a whole is protected through its location within the walled city of York, designated as an 'Area of Archaeological Importance' (AAI) under Part 2 of the 1979 Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act.

References

External links

{{commons category, Roman Bath York, position=left Ancient Roman baths in England Grade II* listed pubs in York Museums in York Tudor Revival pubs

Access and conservation

See also

References

External links