The Historic City of Bath, England

Aerial View of Bath, including the Royal Crescent, Photographic Print
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The Roman Baths in the centre of the city of Bath, Somerset
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The city of Bath was a famous spa even in Roman times, then called Aquae Sulis and archaeological evidence shows that it was probably a shrine for hundreds of years before that as evidence of human remains has been found dating from 8000 BC.

There is a legend that the Celtic Prince Bladud caught leprosy and was banished from his father's court. He became a swineherd and noticed that his pigs bathed in the hot springs which cured any skin diseases they had so he decided to try it himself. Sure enough, he was cured of leprosy and returned to court and eventually became king. He then built a shrine on the site and dedicated it to the Celtic goddess Sul.

When the Romans arrived some 800 years later, they recognised the benefits of the natural hot spa waters and quickly built a bath house on the spot in 43AD. Over the following years, it expanded into a series of baths with a shrine to It was dedicated to their own goddess Minerva as well as to Sul - the Romans had a policy of including local gods and goddesses in their culture in the places they conquered and occupied.

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Even in these early times, Bath had visitors from the rest of Britain and also from Europe to take advantage of the hot springs and worship at the temple.

The Romans withdrew from Britain in the early 5th century AD and Bath gradually fell into disrepair. In the book Roman Bath Discovered by Barry W. Cunliffe there is an extract from an early poem originally from the 8th century Exeter Book describing Bath as the settlement fell into ruins.

"There is rime on the mortar. The walls are rent and broken away, and have fallen undermined by age. The owners and builders are perished and gone, the ruthless clutch of the grave, while a hundred generations of mankind have passsed away."

By the 6th century AD the Saxons had invaded the region including the former Roman settlements of Bath, Gloucester and Cirencester. The town obviously thrived during the Saxon period as it became one of King Alfred's fortified 'burghs' in the 10th century. In the same century, a mint was built there and King Edgar, first king of England, was crowned in the town in 973 AD.

Bath Abbey, Bath, Avon, England, Photographic Print
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After the Norman Conquest, there was a rebellion in Bath during the reign of William Rufus, son of William the Conqueror. Buildings were damaged or destroyed and its monastery burned.

In 1088 John of Villula was appointed Bishop of Bath and Wells. He was a prime mover of the redevelopment of the city at this time. He bought property from the king and he rebuilt on the land, changing the streets of Bath as he did so. Baths were built on the site of the Temple Precinct and their reputation for healing continued, bringing visitors from all over the country to try to cure their ailments. This was so important that in the late 12th century the Bishop founded St John's Hospice.

The Royal Crescent in Bath, designed by John Wood the Younger.
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After the medieval period, Bath continued to grow in spite of a downturn in the wool trade that had been important. It was the continued success of the baths in bringing visitors to the town that preserved the town's prosperity. Royalty visited Bath during the 17th and 18th centuries so making it fashionable, particularly in the 18th century which led to rebuilding and a loss of some of the medieval streets and buildings.

Two baths, the Hot Bath and Cross Bath, were rebuilt in the latter quarter of the 1700s as was the Great Pump Room. During the rebuilding of the Pump Room, the first Roman remains were found. It was during this period that Bath's magnificent Palladian houses were built mostly by architects John Wood the Elder and the Younger leading to the city's fame as a centre for fine Regency architecture including the renowned Royal Crescent built by John Wood the younger between 1767 and 1774.

Bath continued to grow and even when the National Health Service was established in 1948, people could take the waters with the new NHS paying for it.

Bath has continued to thrive and today is a busy, small city. Not only does it attract visitors throughout the year, it is a major shopping centre bringing in shoppers from a wide distance and a commercial centre too.


Get a private viewing of Stonehenge, then Bath and Lacock on this tour.

The Roman Baths, Bath, Avon, England Photographic Print

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The Roman Baths are open to visitors and are well-preserved considering their age. The complex consists of:

*The Sacred Spring
*The Roman Temple
*The Roman Bath House
*Finds from Roman Bath

All the ancient site now stands below the level of the modern street. The 18th century Pump Room, however is at the modern level.

The Sacred Spring and Roman Temple
This was the heart of the original Roman Bath Complex and it was here that stood the temple to Sulis Minerva. In its heyday the Temple stood on a podium over 6 feet above the rest of the complex. It was approached by steps. The magnificent Temple pediment on is now on display in the Roman Baths Museum. The gorgon's head carved on it is thought to be the image of Sulis Minerva.

This is the hot spring of ancient history which seemed miraculous until science could explain how water came out of the earth at around 46 deg C (approx 115 deg F).

The answer is simple. When rain falls on the Mendip Hills to the south, it percolates through the limestone to depths between 8,000 to 14,000 feet into the earth where it is warmed by geothermal energy. As the water heats up, its pressure increases so making it rise to the surface as a hot spring.

Romano-Celtic Gorgon's Head, Roman Baths, Bath
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In Roman times, it seemed like a gift from the gods and offerings were thrown into the spring some of which have since been discovered. Amongst objects found are over 12,000 Roman coins, the largest collection of coins found in one place as offerings. More sinister are the curses which were written on sheets of lead or pewter, then rolled up and thrown into the Spring.

The Roman Bath House
The pool in the Great Bath House is lined with lead and contains the hot spring water. It was once enclosed in a large hall which has now mostly disappeared although the walkway with its columns still surrounds the Bath and you can see the niches in the walls that once held benches for Romans to sit and relax on.

Roman Finds
The museum contains an amazing variety of Roman artefacts found in the Bath complex. They include the head of Minerva (you can see it on the book cover above of Roman Bath Discovered), altar cornerstones, jewellery, a fragment of a Roman priest's headdress, plates, bowls and dishes. These are just an example of the many fascinating Roman items found.

The Pump Room
The present Pump Room was built in the 18th century above the Roman Baths and is part of this complex. In Beau Nash's time (see below) it and the Bath Assembly Rooms became the centres of Bath society. Visitors can buy a glass of the spa water to drink but many people don't like the taste at all because it is so high in minerals. It is also a tea rooms and restaurant.

New Royal Bath, Thermae Bath Spa
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Because a girl died of amoebic meningitis in 1979 after swimming the the Roman Baths, they were closed. The water was tested and a species of amoeba, Naegleria fowlerii, was found. This meant that the Baths could not be reopened.

The city wanted to have functioning hot spring baths and eventually, the opportunity came to get some of the money from the Millennium Fund. The new baths were due to open in 2002, postponed to 2003 when the Three Tenors (Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavorotti and Jose Carreras) gave a free open air concert to celebrate the opening. Unfortunately, they still weren't ready and only opened in August 2006. They were four years late and costs had risen from the projected £13 million to a staggering £45 million.

Called the Thermae Bath Spa, they are mostly housed in a very modern glass building. It offers bathing in the natural thermal waters and a range of facilities. Thermae incorporates the New Royal Bath, the Hot and Cross Baths and the Spa Visitor Centre - a free-to-enter spa interpretation centre.

In spite of its inauspicious start, the Thermae has won several awards including the best spa 2007 in a Daily Telegraph survey beating five other world-renowned spas in the shortlist, including Champneys and the Banyan Tree in Phuket and the Silver award for 'Best Tourism Experience' 2007 in the South West Tourism Awards.

Bath Abbey, Bath, Avon, England, UK Photographic Print
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Fan Vaulting and East Window in Bath Abbey
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The present abbey is built on the site of two previous churches. The first was built in the mid 8th century and was demolished by the Normans soon after their invasion of England. They replaced it with their own very large abbey begun in 1090. This was so big that its monastery could not afford the upkeep. By the 15th century it was in ruinous condition and building on the current abbey started in 1499. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries, its lead, glass and iron were removed and it was left to fall into ruins.

Luckily Queen Elizabeth I wanted it to serve as Bath's parish church and set up a national fund to finance the abbey's restoration, work which has continued to the present day. In the 1860s Sir George Gilbert Scott (architect of the Albert Memorial in London)extended the fan vaulting into the nave, something which is thought to have been the original intention after it was done in the choir. Over the last 100 years, the organ has been restored and the beautiful bath stone cleaned.

Officially called the Abbey Church of Saint Peter but called by everybody Bath Abbey, it stands very close to the Roman Baths. It is a grade 1 listed building and an active place of worship as well as a major visitor attraction.

Probably the first thing a visitor notices is that the interior of the abbey is filled with light from the 52 windows that cover about 80% of the wall space leading to its alternative name of 'The Lantern of the West'. Look at the huge area of stained glass windows at the east end where the series of stained glass illustrates 56 scenes from the life of Christ.

The Abbey Vaults, accessible from outside, tell the story of Christianity on this site since the Anglo-Saxon period.

Beau Nash,
Master of Ceremonies in Bath

It was during the 1700s that Bath became the beautiful Georgian city we see today. This was largely due to the efforts and influence of three men: John Wood the Elder, Ralph Allen and Beau Nash.

John Wood the Elder was born in 1704, the son of a local builder. He became an architect and was largely responsible for the neo-classic style of architecture seen throughout the city. Perhaps his greatest achievement is The Circus - a terrace of houses built in a perfect circle with four roads leading into it.

John Wood the Younger finished The Circus, after his father's death in 1754, which was completed in 1764. He also built The Royal Crescent and Bath Assembly Rooms, amongst many others.

Ralph Allen used his wealth to buy local stone quarries. Bath stonemasons had always roughly cut the blocks of stone but John Wood, close friend of Ralph Allen, required the stone to be cut in blocks of the same size with straight sides and crisp edges. When the Bath masons could not or would not conform to these requirements, Allen brought masons from Yorkshire who would. Allen had his own Palladian mansion, Prior Park, built on a hill on the south side of Bath.

The Circus, Bath
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Beau Nash, born Richard Nash in 1674, and called 'Beau' because he was a famous fashionable dandy. After serving as an army officer he came to Bath and became the self-appointed 'Master of Ceremonies' for the high society of the city. He was instrumental in making Bath the most fashionable city in the country. In the beginning his motives were to earn his living from gambling, something he continued to do until 1740.

At that time, high society consisted of around 500 to 600 people. Beau Nash would assess new arrivals and decide whether they were the right people to join the cream of Bath. He made sure events ran smoothly by matching dancing partners at balls, playing matchmaker for marriages, and stopping gamblers from bankrupting themselves in games of chance. His most remarkable achievement was to break down barriers between congenial people from the the nobility, the middle-classes and gentry.

In 1739, gambling laws were changed leading to Beau Nash losing most of his income. His reputation suffered when it was discovered he had lived on the proceeds of of gambling and it never recovered. He had to move from his grand house to a smaller one, where he lived with a mistress, Juliana Popjoy. until she left him.

Although the local Corporation paid for an expensive funeral for Nash, he was still buried in an unmarked pauper's grave but there is now a memorial to him at Bath Abbey.

Jane Austen visited Bath twice for extended stays and lived in the city from 1801 to 1806. She set two of her novels her: Northanger Abbey and Persuasion

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An extract from Northanger Abbey
Half a minute conducted them through the pump-yard to the archway, opposite Union Passage; but here they were stopped. Everybody acquainted with Bath may remember the difficulties of crossing Cheap Street at this point; it is indeed a street of so impertinent a nature, so unfortunately connected with the great London and Oxford roads, and the principal inn of the city, that a day never passes in which parties of ladies, however important their business, whether in quest of pastry, millinery, or even (as in the present case) of young men, are not detained on one side or other by carriages, horsemen, or carts. This evil had been felt and lamented, at least three times a day, by Isabella since her residence in Bath; and she was now fated to feel and lament it once more, for at the very moment of coming opposite to Union Passage, and within view of the two gentlemen who were proceeding through the crowds, and threading the gutters of that interesting alley, they were prevented crossing by the approach of a gig, driven along on bad pavement by a most knowing-looking coachman with all the vehemence that could most fitly endanger the lives of himself, his companion, and his horse.

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An Extract from Persuasion
They had the pleasure of assuring her that Bath more than answered their expectations in every respect. Their house was undoubtedly the best in Camden Place; their drawing-rooms had many decided advantages over all the others which they had either seen or heard of, and the superiority was not less in the style of the fitting-up, or the taste of the furniture. Their acquaintance was exceedingly sought after. Everybody was wanting to visit them. They had drawn back from many introductions, and still were perpetually having cards left by people of whom they knew nothing.

There is a Jane Austen Centre in Bath which looks at how living and visiting Bath affected her and her writing.

Jane Austen Festival
Each September a ten day festival in honour of Jane Austen is held in the city. If you fancy yourself in Regency costume, then you can join the Promenade (tickets currently £1).

There are workshops, dancing, a Regency ball, walking tours and special productions of Jane Austen's work, amongst many other activities.

Sally Lunn's, Bath, Avon, England, Photographic Print
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The American Museum in Britain, housed at Claverton Manor, about three miles from the town centre, exhibits American decorative arts from the late 17th to mid 19th centuries including furniture, paintings, glass, textiles, folk art and much more. It is probably most famous for its collection of American patchwork and other quilts.

Bath Postal Museum at 27 Northgate Street, has up to date audio visual displays and collections illustrating the history of the postal service in Britain.

Beckford's Tower in Lansdown Road is a neo-classical tower built for William Beckford by architect Henry Edmund Goodridge and completed in 1827. The 120 foot high tower commands views of the surrounding countryside and was built as a quiet place to study and to house rare books and art.

The Building of Bath Museum in The Paragon. This recounts the story of how the town grew from the 18th century onwards. On display are pattern books, tools and architectural fragments.

The Fashion Museum is housed in Bath's Assembly Rooms and has collections covering men and women's fashion from the 18th century to the present day.

Herschel Museum of Astronomy in New King Street is devoted to the work of the Herschel family of astronomers, particularly William Herschel who discovered the planet Uranus in 1781.

The Holburne Museum of Art, Great Pulteney Street, is housed in a classic Bath Georgian townhouse that once belonged to Sir William Holburne. The museum began with Sir William's collections of silver, paintings and other decorative arts. Since then more items of decorative art have been added to the collections dating from the Roman period to 1900.

The Museum of Bath at Work, Julian Road, began with the entire stock of a J.B. Bowler, a Victorian brass founder, engineer and mineral water manufacturer, all displayed in authentic settings with some working machinery. It has added displays on Bath at Work: 2000 years of Earning a Living and Mining Bath Stone.

No. 1 Royal Crescent, Bath, England
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The Museum of East Asian Art at 12 Bennett Street houses a fine and unique collection of ceramics, jades, bronzes and much more from China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia.

No.1 Royal Crescent, a Georgian townhouse in Bath's most splendid terrace, redecorated and furnished in late 18th century style.

Sally Lunn's House in North Parade Passage is the oldest house in Bath with a cellar museum showing the ancient kitchen and excavations of Roman, Saxon and medieval buildings on the same site. It was here that the famous Sally Lunn bun was created.