Welwyn By Pass Rd, Welwyn, AL6 9FG
Step back in time 1,800 years to discover this fascinating remains of this ancient Roman Bath House.
Book Tickets
Welwyn Roman Baths are open on Saturdays 10am-4pm and admission can be paid at the door. We are also open on specific days during school holidays. Check the booking calendar for details.
The Roman baths beneath the A1(M) in Welwyn, Hertfordshire are part of the Dicket Mead villa complex. Discovered in 1960 by Tony Rook, excavations by the Welwyn Archaeological Society revealed a bath complex within a larger villa. This bath house is preserved under the motorway embankment. The villa dates from the early third century and fell out of use in the mid-fourth.
The baths feature three key rooms: the unheated frigidarium (cold room), the warm tepidarium, and the hot caldarium. A sophisticated hypocaust system provided underfloor and wall heating. Romans would progress through the rooms, using oil and a curved tool called a strigil for cleansing in the hot room. They’d rinse in plunge pools, hot then cold.
The baths weren’t just about hygiene. For wealthy Romans, bathing was a time-consuming social ritual. It could easily occupy an entire afternoon, combining relaxation with conversations and even business dealings.