Urgent appeal to keep Roman Palace open
Our nationally renowned historical site could close forever
Fishbourne Roman Palace, Britain’s largest Roman villa, is one of a number of historic properties at risk of permanent closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Sussex Archaeological Society, one of the oldest archaeological societies in the UK, has seen its income fall ‘dramatically’ after being ‘hit hard’ by lockdown restrictions.
The society is now appealing for urgent financial help from the public, to raise £1m worth of lost income, and secure the future of its prized assets, which also include Lewes Castle, an 11thcentury Norman fortification, and Michelham Priory, a historic house and garden near Hailsham.
Melanie Marsh, property manager at Fishbourne Roman Palace, said it is ‘one of the most important’ Roman buildings in the country, adding: “If we couldn’t open our doors, it would be such a loss to the local area and to Britain.
“The reason we call it a palace and not just a villa is because it is one of the most important Roman buildings in Britain.
“It shows that link and partnership working with the Romans. It really illustrates a key moment in our history when the Romans came into Britain and started settling.
“It was an invasion but we also show that relationship with the local population working alongside the Romans.”
Founded in 1846, Sussex Archaeological Society is due to celebrate its 175th anniversary in 2021.
To ensure its survival until that special occasion, the society has launched an urgent fundraising appeal as part of its Celebrating 175 campaign.
The launch was planned to coincide with Sussex Day on Tuesday, ‘in more normal times’, a day of celebration around the two counties. Bestselling author and historian Tom Holland has been named as the appeal’s patron.
Ms Marsh said: “We are a self-funding charity which hugely relies on the community.
“We are a wonderful site and we need our community’s support right now.
“It’s difficult financial times for so many different organisations but we are incredibly special to this area.
“Fishbourne is such a wonderful place and the Roman Palace is such a key part of that.
“It’s the largest residential building from the Roman times.
“It has a unique aspect and a unique story to tell.”
Sussex Archaeological Society also looks after significant archaeological and historical collections and provides employment and volunteering opportunities across Sussex, as well as drawing tourists to the area.
Without sufficient funding, the properties, closed since the lockdown was imposed in March, may never reopen and collections have to be dispersed or disposed of, the society warned.
CEO Catherine Cavanagh said more than 160,000 paying visitors a year were normally welcomed at its properties.
Ms Cavanagh said lockdown was announced just at the beginning of the ‘important summer season’ for the society, which received no core Government funding and ‘relied heavily’ on money from the sale of admission tickets.
Other income streams had also been affected, with gift shops shut and all planned events and educational workshops cancelled.
Only one of its cafés, at Fishbourne, had been able to reopen recently, in accordance with government guidelines.
Ms Cavanagh said: “We are due to celebrate our 175th anniversary in a year’s time. Sadly, our plans to build up to this date with some special events have been severely curtailed and we are concerned that we may not even survive until then.
“Today is Sussex Day and many Sussex residents will have visited our properties as adults and also as school children on educational trips. Their closure will be a loss to future generations.
“We hope they will hear our call for help and support our work by donating to our Celebrating 175 Fund.”
Melanie Marsh said around 25,000 of Fishbourne Roman Palace’s 60,000 average annual visitors are schoolchildren.
“The school support is huge for us,” she said. “We would love for schools to come back and feel safe.
“They are such a key part of our audience. We do wonderful workshops and the Romans are such a huge part of the curriculum.
“It’s so nice to be able to show them the site so they can learn exactly what it would have been like.
“It’s a really immersive experience.”
Ms Marsh encouraged members of the community to be ‘creative’ with their fundraising ideas.
She said: “We are encouraging people to do playful things to celebrate the 175th anniversary like a school class reading 175 books within the year and getting sponsored.
“We might do a scheme where we plant 175 flowers across the site to be able to return in the spring next year.
“Maybe people could do a 175 mile sponsored cycle ride or walk for us.
“We would love to survive another 175 years doing the work that we do, supporting, celebrating and sharing the heritage all across Sussex.”
A digital campaign to kick off the countdown to the 175th anniversary will be launched today (Thursday).
Ms Marsh said the society has had to put an appeal out for voluntary redundancies.
She added: “This was heartbreaking to have to do as a society which cares so much and has such a dedicated, wonderful workforce.
“There’s not as many shifts available so we are trying to put them out as fairly as we can. We couldn’t do without our volunteers and we don’t know how this will affect them. A lot of them might not want to risk coming back.
Ms Marsh said that being able to open in some capacity in July, following government guidelines, is a ‘lifeline which we are hopeful for’.
She said: “We want to reassure our visitors that they can start returning to us so we can start raising enough income.
“The pandemic has brought a lot of thoughts that you would never even think about or consider beforehand.
“I couldn’t bear to think what the worst case scenario would be. I don’t know what happens to a site like us.
“We are a self-funding charity which hugely relies on the community. Come, visit and support us.
“It’s not just financially, it’s also about volunteering, engaging and encouraging our local schools to come back and have visits.
“Sussex Heritage is so unique as a whole and has such a rich heritage.
“We are such a huge part of that.”
If we couldn’t open our doors, it would be such a loss to the local area and to Britain
MELANIE MARSH Property manager