Shoreham Bath House
In 1982, Brian Philp and the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit did an archaeological excavation at Shoreham when the new sewer pipe for the Darent Valley was laid. They found a large bath house structure in a meadow south of Preston Farm. There was a grave dug into the middle of one of the rooms but no other villa features or buildings were found. It's possible that the bath house was part of a larger villa site but we can't be sure.
What do we know about the Bath House?
A hypocaust was first found at Shoreham in 1947 but the bath house was fully uncovered by the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit in 1982.
The building is about 9 metres long and 5 metres wide and has three rooms. One of these has a hypocaust. A grave was found in the middle of one of the rooms but this was probably dug after the bath house had been demolished. Pottery found at Shoreham Bath House dates from the late 1st century to the early 3rd century.
Was there a villa at Shoreham?
A geophysical survey has found a possible trackway at Shoreham but archaeologists haven't found evidence of any other villa buildings there yet. We don't know if the bath house stood alone or if there might be other buildings around it which formed a larger villa complex. It's possible that these buildings just haven't been exposed yet.
Sometimes, settlements built bath houses but didn't have the money and building materials to create other buildings in stone or brick. Bath houses weren't just found in villas. There were also public baths in towns and roadside settlements.