One day tour of historic English sites
Tudor style entertainment at Hampton Court Palace This evening, I am reprising a day tour of two important historical sites in England albeit which are separated by about 1100 years. First stop was Chedworth Roman Villa in the Cotswolds, near to Cirencester. Artist's impression of Chedworth Roman Villa at its peak This high status complex commenced around AD 120, possibly a few years earlier, and reached its zenith in the late 4th century AD.The site is distinguished by opulence, in particular the extremely high quality floor mosaics, bath houses and centrally heated living quarters, all on a grand scale as illustrated in the artist’s impression above. The Villa went into decline in tandem with the collapse of Roman power in the late 4th and early 5th centuries. It was re-discovered by chance in 1864 when first excavated and has been open to the public ever since. The rich and vibrant colours of the mosaics (illustrated below) have survived some 1700 years bu...