1. Introduction; 2. Edward Gibbon - growth, the Golden Age and decline and fall; 3. Approaches to Roman urbanism and studying the late Roman town; 4. Establishing the urban context: pre-Roman place and Roman urbanism; 5. The structures of the public buildings in the later Roman period: framing place and space; 6. New public structures within towns in the later Roman period; 7. Industrial activity within public buildings; 8. Timber buildings and 'squatter occupation' within public buildings; 9. Conclusions - senses of place: rethinking urbanism in Roman Britain.