Jewry Wall

A length of Roman bath-house wall over 9 metres (30 feet) high, near a museum displaying the archaeology of Leicester and its region. 

The only visible remains of Roman Leicester are these public baths. The bathing ritual lay at the heart of Roman social life.

Two thousand years ago, this part of Leicester was an important settlement for the 'Corieltavi', a native British tribe who occupied the area known today as the East Midlands.  Following the Roman Conquest of AD 43 the town was called 'Ratae Corieltavorum'.  It became a thriving centre for the next 400 years.

Encouraged by their conquerors, the 'Corieltavi' built many great public buildings including the baths, which were constructed in about AD 150.

The forum and basilica complex is situated behind the church of St Nicholas. It was the centre of local government and trade. A market hall was built behind the church and a Roman temple stood nearby.

In front of the church stands the Jewry Wall, the only upstanding remains of the public baths.

It is one of the largest remaining pieces of Roman masonry in Britain.

People entered the baths through the arches in the wall after exercising in the gym ('palaestra'), a large building now lying beneath the church. The base of each arch is at Roman floor level.

The remains of the Roman baths were discovered in 1936 when, by coincidence, a factory was demolished to build a new swimming baths.

Pioneering archaeologist Dame Kathleen Mary Kenyon (1906-78) excavated the current site.