Canterbury Roman Museum

About the museum

Canterbury Roman Museum began with an unexpected discovery in 1868, when workmen digging drainage trenches about eight feet below street level uncovered a well-preserved Roman floor mosaic. After the Second World War, archaeologists excavated beneath the cellars of shops destroyed by bombing and found much more: an under-floor heating system, wall paintings and a mosaic corridor. The site was now understood to be the remains of a very large and costly Roman town house.

A museum grew up around these remains to protect them. The museum describes its mosaic floor as one of the only Roman pavement mosaics in the UK still in its original place, and the site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Visitors go down below today's street level to the Roman level of the city.

The galleries show finds from Roman Canterbury, including jewellery, glassware, pottery and silverware, an Iron Age helmet declared a key find of 2012 by the British Museum, and the objects from a double sword burial found in an excavation inside the city walls. A hands-on area lets visitors handle real and replica artefacts, and there is a reconstructed Roman marketplace and a dining room with Roman board games. The museum is run by Canterbury Museums and Galleries, which also operates the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge.

Highlights

• In-situ Roman pavement mosaic and mosaic corridor
• Remains of a Roman town house with an under-floor heating system
• Iron Age helmet, a key find of 2012
• Hands-on area with real Roman objects
• Roman soldier costumes, dining room and board games
• Free audio tour and audio descriptions

Permanent exhibitions

• Roman town house and mosaic floor – The preserved remains of a Roman town house with a pavement mosaic, a mosaic corridor and an under-floor heating system, shown at their original Roman level.
• Collection of Roman Canterbury – Finds from Roman Canterbury including jewellery, glassware, pottery, silverware, an Iron Age helmet and the double sword burial.

Founded

1961

Operated by

Canterbury Museums and Galleries (Canterbury City Council)

Admission & discounts

Members of Canterbury Museums and Galleries have free entry all year. Residents of Canterbury who are My Canterbury members enter free with proof of residency. Tickets can be upgraded to a membership.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description

A lift or a flight of stairs leads down to the Roman level, and the galleries have level access throughout. One wheelchair-accessible toilet with baby changing is in the museum, and a Changing Places toilet is nearby at the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge. The hands-on area, tactile tours and multi-sensory object sessions are available for visitors with sight loss, and the free Listen Here, Listen Anywhere audio descriptions can be reached by QR code or online. A visual story is available to download or at the front desk, and SEND family backpacks with sensory aids can be borrowed at the front desk. The nearest disabled parking is on Orange Street, Watling Street, North Lane and Pound Lane.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Baby changing facilities

The museum calls itself family friendly. Daily activities included in the ticket are themed trails, dressing up as a Roman soldier or in a tunic, making a mosaic design, handling real artefacts in the hands-on area and playing Roman board games in the dining room. Seasonal extras such as minting a replica coin and miniature mosaic kits cost extra. SEND family backpacks are free to borrow, and baby changing is in the accessible toilet.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

There is a gift shop with items on the museum, its collection and Roman Britain. There is one customer toilet.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit