History talk on lost Roman villa

'˜DISCOVERY and loss of the Southwick Roman villa' will be the subject of the next Southwick Society Heritage Talk.

On Monday, October 14, Jeffery Leigh will be speaking about one of the earliest and largest villas in Sussex.

The villa was centred under what is now the Methodist Church at the corner of Southwick Street and Manor Hall Road.

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Nigel Divers, Southwick Society, said: “The Southwick Roman Villa was built towards the end of the first century AD relatively soon after the conquest of southern Britain by the Romans following their invasion in 43 AD. It was probably the centre of a large estate but although there are other Roman sites in the general area its extent is unknown.

It effectively disappeared from local recognition until 1815, from which time we have a report of plaster and coins found. This will be an exciting talk as it will for the first time cover all that is now known about the site and will incorporate modern research and opinion. It will be the first time for many years that there has been a public talk about the villa.”

Jeffery Leigh’s talk will be accompanied by pictures, local maps, and artefacts from the villa site and will begin at 7.30pm at Southwick Community Centre.

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