Talk – Who actually discovered Brading Roman Villa

Name: Talk – Who actually discovered Brading Roman Villa
Start: 2026-01-24T14:00:00+00:00
Location: Morton Old Road, Brading, PO36 0PH Brading, United Kingdom

Schedule

Sat, 24 Jan, 2026 at 02:00 pm

UTC+00:00

Location

Morton Old Road, Brading, PO36 0PH Brading, United Kingdom | Ventnor, EN

From swede field to tourist site: Brading Roman Villa 1879-1889
Who actually discovered Brading Roman Villa , farmer Munns or Captain Thorp? Why did two teams excavate it? What prompted the disagreements between Thorp and virtually everyone else? Was Brading the second Roman Villa to be discovered on the Island? How was the Villa interpreted in the early days? And did Queen Victoria really make a visit?

Many stories have gathered around Brading Roman Villa since the first mosaic was unearthed in
1880 and in this new talk we attempt to sift the grain from the chaff. We will reflect on Brading in 1880 and the land where the Villa was found, review the dramatis personal involved in the discovery and subsequent excavations, and explore the controversies surrounding Brading Roman Villas first ten years as a visitor attraction. On the way we will consider what archaeology was like in the 1880s and what we might have seen had the Villa been discovered today.
Join Pat Barber on Saturday the 24th of January
Time 2.00 to 3pm
Price £8.50
Brading Roman Villa