Walking along Lower Thames Street, few people would realise that some of Roman London’s best remains lie hidden beneath their feet. The Billingsgate Roman bathhouse was first discovered in 1848. Today, its remains lie under the buildings at 101 Lower Thames Street and are not at present open to the public.
Due to the deteriorating condition of the remains, a condition survey was undertaken in 2011 and its recommendations are now being implemented. The conservation programme was commissioned through the City Surveyors Department at the City of London Corporation, who have very generously funded the project. The work was undertaken by Nimbus Conservation. In addition, conservation students together with site management and interpretation students from the Institute of Archaeology, University College London worked together on the interpreatation of the site and its presentation to the public.
Since January 2012, Applied Heritage Management students from the Institute of Archaeology, UCL have worked on the project, exploring the management and conservation opportunities at the site. Under the direction of Tim Williams and Kirsty Norman, students explored the site and constructed the first Statement of Significance and mini Management Plan for the site. The exercise was designed to give students an inside knowledge of the challenges of management planning, as well as discovering the future opportunities for Billingsgate Roman Bath House.
Building upon the conservation work carried out by UCL students and Nimbus Conservation in 2011, the 2012 UCL Billingsgate Bath House Project aims to explore the future of the bath house, as well as opening the site for public viewing. The 2012 Project has been developed with the generous support of the Museum of London, Corporation of London and English Heritage.
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