This campaign has now closed
The Villa was undoubtedly owned by a wealthy family who had installed all mod cons such as latrines, running water and central heating - the pillars which support the dining room and enabled hot air to flow are in dire need of protection from the elements - just £300 would pay for a specially made breathable cover to protect one pillar - there are 100 pillars in need of this type of protective conservation. The fragile remains now face an uncertain future as the Victorian shelters fail to protect them against the damaging efforts of freeze-thaw, condensation and direct sunlight. your donations could save these precious remains.
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Chedworth Roman Villa is the oldest property in The National Trust's care, we are about to emark on a remarkably exciting conservation, protection and excavation project. We must now replace the existing Victorian wooden shelters to protect the precious mosaics beneath. The exceptional collection of 4th century mosaics, and hypocaust make Chedworth a site of international significance as a visitor attraction. School groups adore visiting Chedworth despite the existing damp and uninspiring conditions; part of the restoration plan includes an education centre which will accommodate up to 30 children in warm, dry and clean surroundings. The new conservation shelter will enable three more fabulous mosaics to be exposed, including 30metre long mosaic which has never been seen by the public. The excavation will provide exciting opportunities for volunteers and students to help, and will be conducted in full public view. The stunning mosaics in the dining room will stretch out in front of visitors’ feet. Roman diners will be projected into the space and the sounds and smells of Roman cooking will be recreated. Completion of the project to include a tea room will encourage more visitors and ensure visitors spend longer at Chedworth. The National Trust are committing £1.7m to this project, the Heritage Lottery Fund have been approached for a substantial amount and we must raise the remaining £500,000. £23,000 would pay for audio visual equipment, bringing the villa back to life £49,000 would enable us to restore and revive the Victorian Museum £23,000 would pay for recycling timber to be used on eduction centre I20,000 would pay for an interpretation room will include storage cupboards, graphic panels, storage benches, tables, an interactive flexible learning space used by school groups and community groups £21,000 for formal education resources and community co-production activity. This will be used for the purposes of activities such as Roman cookery workshop (hire of stove etc) Mosaic making workshop (glass tiles etc) transport for local groups and other charities Please help us preserve and protect this wonderfully evocative Roman Villa.