Kempsey

The Romano-British site at Kempsey lies about 4 miles (c.6.5 km) south of Worcester, on the line of the Roman road from Metchley to Gloucester (Margary #180). Two sub-rectangular single-ditched enclosures recorded from the air shortly after the Second World War were identified as part of a Romano-British villa estate by Dr. J.K. St. Joseph (JRS 1953 p.94). One of these structures measures 250 ft. from east to west by about 100 ft. transversely (c.76 x 30 m), thus covering an area of a little over ½-acre (c.0.2 ha). Only two of the enclosure’s sides are relatively straight, and the southern side bows markedly inwards. There is a single entrance in the middle of the east side. For a comparable site see Shenstone in Staffordshire.

A Roman milestone or honorific pillar of oolite was found in the kitchen garden of Parsonage Farm (now Court House), Kempsey, where it had been broken in two and re-used in the foundations of a building. The discoverer, not understanding the stones’ significance, re-used them again in a garden wall, where they were discovered in 1818 and taken to the Victoria Institute in Worcester (RIB 2249; vide supra).

References for Kempsey

• Chronicle of the Roman Emperors by Chris Scarre (Thames & Hudson, London, 1995);
• The Roman Inscriptions of Britain by R.G. Collingwood and R.P. Wright (Oxford 1965);
• Roman Roads in Britain : Volume II North of the Foss Way – Bristol Channel by Ivan D. Margary (London 1957);
• Air Reconnaissance of Southern Britain by J.K. St. Joseph in J.R.S. xliii (1953) pp.81-97;

Roman Roads near Kempsey

N (4) to Worcester S (22) to Glevvm (Gloucester, Gloucestershire)