Step into the bath – then have a pint
It’s not often that your favourite watering hole includes a real watering hole. But that’s what the regulars at the Roman Bath pub can boast.
There has been an inn on this site since 1783. But it was not until 1930, when the pub was called the Mail Coach, that a discovery was made that would change it forever – and give it a new name. Revealed during refurbishments, the bathhouse would have been used by Roman military men who lived in the Eboracum fortress.
Info
Address 9 St Sampson’s Square, York YO1 8RN, +44 (0)1904 620455, romanbathmuseum@yahoo.co.uk | Public Transport 6-minute walk from Piccadilly car park. Closest bus stop: Pavement | Hours Daily 11am–5pm| Tip The Yorkshire Museum in Museum Gardens has an extensive Roman collection – including an extremely rare Roman hairpiece.
Visitors to the pub can see the baths for themselves. They consist of the corner of the frigidarium, or cold bath, and a fair bit of the semi-circular caldarium, or hot room, with steps down into it at both ends. It dates from the fourth century and includes seals from the sixth and ninth Roman legions.
It is easy to imagine the legionnaires here. You can see some of the original tiles found on the site, which show the imprint of nails from the sandals of Romans who walked over them. The display also includes facts and figures relating to life in Roman York, as well as armour and weapons from the time.
The bathhouse was a social centre rather than a private area. After working up a sweat to open the pores, Romans would have entered the caldarium. Here slaves would oil their bodies, then remove sweat and dirt with scrapers. The Roman bath remains also include hypocaust pillars. The hypocaust system circulated hot air underneath the floor – which was raised on pillars – so the people in the room above stayed warm.
The vast size of the bathhouse in the York fortress was confirmed in 1972 by the discovery of a Roman sewer on the north side of Church Street. Wastewater from the baths and latrines was washed away down the sewer. It is made from large stone blocks, runs for 44 metres, and is tall enough to have enabled slaves to crawl along and clean it. Which must have been a lovely job.
Back
To the online map