Living with the Romans
I WOULD always be rather proud that in Lydney we have a god of our own, a god wholly unknown in any other part of Britain or the world, the God Nodens,’ declared the 1st Viscount Bledisloe in 1953. As the only other evidence for this mysterious god appeared at Cockersand Moss, Lancashire, in 1718 and subsequently vanished without trace, Lord Bledisloe may be forgiven his slight exaggeration. For Lydney in Gloucestershire not only has Nodens, but also an entire temple complex, including a possible dormitory where pilgrims seeking a cure could dream divine healing dreams. Many votive offerings have been found here, most exquisite among them a bronze statue of a greyhound, which has become the Lydney mascot and is so precious that the original is confined to the Hades of a bank vault.
Despite these wonders, the current Viscount, Rupert Bathurst, is more reticent than his grandfather, being rightly protective of Lydney’s powerful sense of
