Fishbourne Roman Palace’s curator sets world record by cycling to hypocausts all over

Dr Robert Symmons, curator of Fishbourne Roman Palace has cycled to six hypocausts in one day, unofficially breaking the world record.

The seismic cycle started after Dr Symmons and Dr Miles Russell, a leading voice on prehistoric and Roman Britain, were engaged in a long-running disagreement on social media over the rights and wrongs of getting up close to a protected piece of heritage. The disaccord occurred when Tony Robinson was given permission to film a commercial for Checkatrade in the hypocaust at the world-renowned Fishbourne Roman Palace in March 2021.

Dr Russell, who has led excavations within Stonehenge and is a lecturer at the Bournemouth University, publicly joked if such access was appropriate given the structure dated back nearly 2,000 years – asking why, after decades of producing books and appearing on television discussing the impact of the Romans in Britain, he had been denied the privilege of standing in the underfloor heating system at Fishbourne.

That triggered an 18-month-long back and forth on social media between Russell and Symmons, which was soon dubbed #HypocaustGate.

With neither showing signs of backing down, Dr Symmons had a cunning plan to end the dispute – by setting a new record for the number of hypocausts one person could stand on in one day.

The curator cycled 45 miles on and off roads across three counties to stand in six underfloor systems in four Roman sites, a task he jokingly referred to as #HyperHypocaustGate.

First up was the hypocaust at Brading Roman Villa on the Isle of Wight. After a short ferry ride, Dr Symmons then travelled to The Novium in Chichester before taking a short trip to Fishbourne Roman Palace to stand in three systems.

He then ended his mammoth road trip at Bignor Roman Villa, near Pulborough, which required navigating part of Stane Street, an old Roman road.

The journey was captured on social media as he went, with tens of thousands of people tracking his progress.

Dr Symmons said: “Given the ‘disagreement’ went on for so long, I knew it would take something quite special to draw a line under things, which is why – with the help of friends – I dreamt up this slightly odd attempt. After extensive research, it appeared that no one has been silly or mad enough to officially attempt it before, which makes it a world record in my eyes at least.

“I feel quite relieved to have completed it and know that while there is no changing Miles’ view on this, it would have made him laugh a lot.

“In a very weird sense, the episode has actually introduced more people to what hypocausts are, how they worked and appreciated the fact Romans introduced underfloor heating to Britain many hundreds of years ago.

“If people want to explore this more, they are of course welcome to visit those we have at Fishbourne Roman Palace. A lucky few may even be able to stand in them.”

For more details on visiting Fishbourne Roman Palace visit: www.sussexpast.co.uk/fishbourne.