The Commanding Officer's House

Managed by North East Museums on behalf of South Tyneside Council

The reconstructed fourth century courtyard house replicates the luxurious home of the fort's commanding officer, featuring richly decorated rooms.

A luxurious Mediterranean town house

View of reconstructed living quarters of a Roman Commanding Officer.

The reconstruction of the fourth century courtyard house is thought to be the house where the commanding officer, who was in charge of the unit garrisoned at the fort, lived with his household.

This building is a close copy of a luxurious Mediterranean town house with the main rooms laid out around a central courtyard.

The reconstruction includes the summer dining room and a suite of four rooms which would have been private living quarters. All rooms are richly decorated with fresco painting (painting directly onto wet plaster) and some of the motifs are based on painted plaster fragments found in the excavation of the original building.

The rooms have been laid out as they may have looked in the Roman period. The part of the building that has not been reconstructed included a winter dining room with underfloor heating, a kitchen, stables and baths.

There is also an exhibition on the evidence behind the reconstructions and how the barracks and commanding officer’s house have been reconstructed.