Take a trip back in time – Mervyn Hancock visits the Corinium Museum in Cirencester, the second largest city in Roman Britain

I hated the Romans! Well, not the people, as such, just their language. Like thousands of other school- children, I struggled for four years with Latin, got a basic knowledge of it, and have never used it since – and that was almost 50 years ago.

But what a glorious time it must have been for the rich and famous, living in Roman Britain, and what a legacy they left behind them – a legacy which has lasted for two millenniums. And there's no better place to view the influence they had than Cirencester in Gloucestershire, which in a former life as Corinium was the second largest city in the land.

And when you visit the Corinium Museum you literally leave the 21st century behind and enter a world of stunning mosaics and treasure troves, where you can take a peek through the window of a Roman villa and get an insight into what the Emperor Hadrian might have seen when he visited the town in the early second century.

Cirencester started off as a small settlement, first outside, then within the defences of the Roman fort which was built here in the early first century. By the second century, the town had expanded to become the largest in the province, with about 12,000 inhabitants. By the third century, Corinium was surpassed in size only by Londinium, and covered in its heyday an area of 240 acres. Its civic buildings and town houses were of an almost uniformly high standard, and there was an impressive amphitheatre built outside the town's defences.

The museum allows visitors to experience life as a Roman. And as well as the Roman galleries, a new Anglo-Saxon gallery has been created to show the treasures discovered from the cemetery uncovered at Butler's Field, Lechlade.

The museum, with help from forensic specialists and Dr Caroline Wilkinson, the expert behind BBC2's Meet the Ancestors, has reconstructed the heads of Saxons including Anglo-Saxon princess "Mrs Getty" and some of the treasures that were buried with her.

The Corinium Museum traces the Cotswolds history from the Iron Age to the English Civil War and explores the history of 18th and 19th-century Cirencester. Using words and pictures, models and interactive displays, stories include how wool created our wealth, the dissolution of the monasteries and how local men rose from rags to riches to create some of the wonderful buildings in the Cotswolds.

Special emphasis is understandably placed on the town's Roman heritage. The Roman collection is now spread over two floors and includes marvellous mosaics, tombstones and sculptures as well as reconstructions and objects from everyday Roman life.

The revamped medieval gallery focuses on the impact that the wool trade had on the town and its abbey – the second largest Augustinian foundation in the country. Although almost completely destroyed during the dissolution, it still has a wealth of sculptures and architectural carvings.

The museum also has a redesigned entrance and reception area, a bigger shop and a fully-equipped Lifelong Learning Centre.

The Corinium Museum has been shortlisted in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards. To find out how it gets on at the awards dinner on Monday night, get your Western Daily Press on Tuesday, with an eight-page Celebrating Excellence special supplement.

Admission charges: adults, £3.95; senior citizens, £3.10; children (five to 16) £2; students, £2.50; families, £10.

Corinium Museum, Park Street, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 2BX. Tel: 01285 655 611.