The Emperor Claudius, whose mother once described him as ‘not so much unfinished by nature, as barely begun’, ordered the invasion of Britain in AD43. A legion crossed the Cotswolds unopposed and came to a pagan temple set by inviting hot springs. They liked it. By AD75, the Romans had built a classical temple and bathing complex there — a blend of healing, restful sophistication and imaginative architecture at the edge of the known world. They called it Aquae Sulis: Bath. It heralded a transformation.

The former Cotswold elite, nobles of the Dobunni tribe, were recruited into a new ruling class — a Roman method of governing that was admired by the orator Aristides: ‘There is nothing like it to be found anywhere else at all.’ Roman control lasted 400 years, nearly as long as the time betw

See Full Page