… Bath's story begins somewhere between 800 and 500 BC, when Prince Bladud, apparently cured of leprosy by the hot saline springs, established Bath as his capital. Later, the Romans were fascinated by the hot bubbling spas and built their famous baths around the shrine of the Goddess Sul Minerva.
During
the Dark Ages the town was given the name "Akesmanceaster" which means
sick mans town, suggesting that the 150° F water, gushing up at a
rate of half a million gallons a day, continued to prove a powerful attraction
to those seeking cures. The Normans built new baths and the original King's
bath was named after Henry I, around 1100. Despite this early royal connection
the behavior of the bath's clientele left a lot to be desired. Indeed,
in 1559, the local bishops were forced to improve matters and later Pepys
expressed disdain for the violence of the place.The spa town concept came
to England from the continent in the seventeenth century and new buildings
were added at Bath, but it could hardly be called carefully planned expansion-being
haphazard to say the least. One man changed all this. Richard "Beau" Nash,
gambler and social engineer. He became the Master of Ceremonies in 1705
and transformed the spa into a disciplined social organisation which became
the model for all other spa towns. Nash's clean-up operation encouraged
the great builders of the day to develop the Assembly and Pump Rooms as
well as the remarkable residential areas. Coffee houses flourished
and Gainsborough executed deft portraits for five guineas. Then, as now,
shops clustered around the baths and the Abbey, and there was a preponderance
of speciality shops spawned by the spas, herbalists, chemists and perfumeries-as
well as smart clothes shops for the "swells" who came to Bath to see and
be seen.
This bridge was designed by Robert Adam in 1771. This lovely Florentine bridge is famous throughout the country and carries a broad carriageway with shops on either side. It provides a fine setting and viewed from the river bank in sunlight or by floodlight at night, it is one of the most beautiful sights in the city.
Links with the past
On many of the houses once occupied by notable men and women of the past, has been placed mural tablets, and the pleasure of strolling through the old-world streets is immeasurably enhanced by these bronze records of the many people famous in literature or art, science or the service of the state, who made Bath their home.
Baths Theatre |
Jane Austen |
Main Attraction |
Shopping |
Photographic Society |
Sally Lunns the place to eat |
Very Popular |
The New Spa |
