Chester in Cheshire West and Chester, England, United Kingdom — Northwestern Europe (the British Isles)
Bathing in Style
| | Roman Gardens | |
Photographed by Ray Gurganus, April 9, 2024
1. Bathing in Style Marker
The baths lay on the east side of Bridge Street and occupied a block about 85 metres square. The complex was divided into four main areas: a covered exercise hall, an open courtyard, the bathing halls and saunas. The main bathing halls were roofed with well-insulated semicircular concrete vaults and had mosaic floors.
The total capacity of the bathing pools was about 850,000 litres/187,000 gallons, perhaps renewed once a day. The water came through an aqueduct from springs at Boughton about 1.5 km east of Chester.
Piece by piece
Remains of the baths were first recorded in 1232. Much of the exercise hall was exposed more than a hundred years later in 1863 and the adjacent frigidarium in 1909/10. The heated rooms and furnaces were not revealed until 1963/4. Each new discovery has helped archaeologists piece together a picture of one of Roman Chester's most significant buildings.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in
this page online
Location. 53° 11.312′ N, 2° 53.256′ W. Marker is in Chester, England, in Cheshire West and Chester. It can be reached from Park Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 10 Park St, Chester, England CH1, United Kingdom. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North West England. Globally, it is on the Atlantic Ocean, in the North Atlantic Region, in Europe, in Atlantic Europe, on one of the British Isles, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Roman Empire.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: All-round Luxury (here, next to this marker); The Roman Way of Death (a few steps from this marker); Welcome to the Roman Gardens (within shouting distance of this marker); Celebrating Nature's Glory in Art (within shouting distance of this marker); Roman Gardens (within shouting distance of this marker); A Tale of Three Gateways (within shouting distance of this marker); Georgian Elegance (within
Photographed by Ray Gurganus, April 9, 2024
2. Roman Gardens Ruins
Also see . . . Roman Gardens (Cheshire Now).
Excerpt: A mosaic and a reconstructed hypocaust can also be seen in the gardens, the hypocaust was the ancient Roman heating system by which hot air was circulated under the floor of a building, (hypocaust derives from the Greek word meaning fire beneath) this was also recovered from the legionary baths in Bridge Street. The Roman bath building consisted of three large bathing halls which were supplied with hot and cold running water. They were the cold room (frigidarium), the hot room (caladarium), and the warm room (tepidarium), the first two of which had plunge baths. There was also a courtyard and an exercise hall, the columns from which are also now displayed in the gardens.(Submitted on May 12, 2024.)
Credits. This page was last revised on May 12, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 10, 2024, by Ray Gurganus of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 220 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on May 10, 2024, by Ray Gurganus of Washington, District of Columbia. 2. submitted on May 11, 2024, by Ray Gurganus of Washington, District of Columbia. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
