Virtual Tours - Broughton Castle

Broughton Castle

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Broughton Castle is a moated and fortified manor house near Banbury in North Oxfordshire.

Set in parkland and built of the rich local Hornton ironstone, the core of the house was built in 1306 and the gatehouse in the early 15th century, but most of what you see today dates from the 1550s. Broughton was a centre of opposition to Charles I and was besieged and damaged after the Battle of Edgehill in 1642.

In 2021, Time Team excavated a Roman villa on the Broughton estate, after discovery by metal detectorist and amateur archaeologist, Keith Westcott. Previously, a lead-lined sarcophagus containing the burial of a wealthy Romano-British woman was discovered and partly investigated in the 1960s, which Time Team re-excavated in 2022.

Geophysical surveys indicated a large winged or courtyard villa rustica comparable with that nearby at North Leigh. Limited excavations by Time Team showed at least two wings existed. The villa was occupied and developed from the 1st to the 4th century AD. Large adjoining terraced ponds were used to manage water flows.

Found material, including mosaic tesserae and hypocaust flue tiles, as well as the sarcophagus, suggested a villa of high status on this site.

Watch the Broughton Time Team 3 day villa dig Here  or  Broughton Sarcophagus Expedition Crew follow up dig Here.