A very special year for Roman Fest

EventsFestivals
Written By Lynne Dickens

Families looking for free things to do in Northamptonshire this summer are being encouraged to book now for Roman Fest 2026 at The Chester House Estate – one of the county's most popular heritage events.

A family talking to 'Roman soldiers' at last year's Roman Fest

Taking place on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 July, the free event transforms the Estate into a bustling Roman settlement, bringing together archaeology, living history, family entertainment and hands-on activities in one of Northamptonshire's most significant Roman landscapes.

Delivered by The Archaeological Resource Centre (ARC) and the University of Leicester, visitors can experience Roman soldiers patrolling the Estate, thrilling battlefield displays, ancient crafts, interactive workshops, excavation experiences and heritage activities for all ages.

More than 30 museums, heritage organisations and community groups will also be taking part, creating a weekend packed with discovery, learning and family fun.

Sarah Scott, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Leicester, said: "Roman Fest is our biggest event yet, offering opportunities for all ages to discover Northamptonshire's rich archaeology, handle real archaeological finds, watch the Ermine Street Guard in action, explore the living history camp, visit our pop-up archaeology lab and meet the team excavating the Roman town of Irchester.”

A troop of marching 'Roman soldiers' at Chester House Estate in 2025

Roman Fest will be taking a break in 2027 to make way for a very special heritage event instead - with all involved looking forward to sharing this news in due course! So, visitors are encouraged to book their tickets for this year’s event now - as the next time will be in 2028.

Roman Fest returns to The Chester House Estate on 25-26 July. Admission is free, but advance booking is essential via the Chester House Estate website: chesterhouseestate.org/whats-on/roman-fest-2026/

Lynne Dickens

Lynne is currently a part-time freelance website designer and marketer. Formerly trading full-time as Spot On Creative is a Northants-based creative team who have the hard-earned skills, expertise and industry knowledge that only come from having worked for years in advertising. It was all managed by Lynne Dickens who has over 20 years’ experience in marketing communications, and ten years in website design and build, and creative team project management.

Lynne is also a qualified art historian and has some expertise in curating fine art exhibitions and producing all of the catalogues, posters and supporting material to create a successful event.

All the guys in the team have worked for one-man bands, SMEs and large blue-chip multinationals in just about every sector, field and industry. Collectively, we can come up with great ideas, superb design and copy, and exceptional photography for anything from websites to email campaigns, branding to brochures – and everything in between.

And the beauty of Spot On Creative is that we’re big in creativity, experience and knowledge, but small in overheads and invoices. So we’re a much more sensible and affordable option for you than a larger advertising agency or marketing company.

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