Green and Pleasant Land, Part 3: Bath

I think the city of Bath is a place that really must be experienced; photographs and descriptions simply won’t do justice to the elegance of the 18th century architecture, the cool, classical perfection of which is enlivened by the soft golden warmth of the Bath limestone out of which it is made. It’s a beautiful little place, a gem of a city, and wonderfully walkable despite its hilliness.

And walk we did—from our B&B at the foot of the hill upon which the famous Royal Crescent stands—an arc of very elegant row housing built in the 1760s-1770s—up to the Crescent itself. Lovely!

At the end of the Crescent (at right in the picture above) is a delightful historic house museum, No. 1 Royal Crescent, which has been restored to its 18th century origins as the home of Mr. Henry Sandford, who lived there from 1776 to 1796. In addition to the house itself, a small special exhibit of 18th and early 19th century doll houses was on display—an interesting follow-up to our visit to Windsor. Among the exhibits was a replica of a patent medical electrical machine, one of which Sandford is known to have owned and which became something of a fad in the early 19th century, but for entertainment purposes, not healing:

Our next stop was the Bath Assembly Rooms...

I had a little sigh viewing the lovely ballroom, wishing Almack's Assembly Rooms were still around...but this gave me a good feel for the space:

In the same building as the Assembly Rooms is the Fashion Museum of Bath, which boasts an enormous collection of clothing items dating all the way back to the 1580s. The emphasis of the current exhibit (which changes frequently as clothes can't be left on display for long--gravity does a job on them!) was 18th century, which was lovely (and a little stupefying--OMG those crazy court hoopskirts!) but alas not as interesting to me as a larger selection of, say, clothes from 1810 might have been. However, one of Queen Victoria's dresses ca. 1897 (black, of course) was on display, and...um, no disrespect intended, but yes, she was more or less as wide as she was tall!

After lunch, it was on to the Roman baths museum, which I visited on my last trip to England 25 years ago...and they're still pretty awesome in their extent and complexity:

Just for fun, here's an awesome picture my husband took of an unlit hypocaust alcove (the under-floor heating system the Romans used)--his flash revealed pencil-thin stalactites formed by the incredibly mineral rich water dripping down from somewhere: 

And yes, Daughter #1 and I were brave enough to sample the water at the Pump Room, where the infirm gathered for supposedly healing draughts of Bath's water....on the principle, I suppose, that anything that tastes so nasty must be good for you!

However, a very pleasant tea soon chased away the flavor:

A brief tour of Bath Abbey finished our visit to Bath...along with very sore feet.  But oh, what a day!

Next stop, Dartmoor: stones, sheep, and prehistory galore!

 

The Regina Scott Tour of England, Part 2

And here we are in lovely Bath. Watch your step getting off the bus. Bath still has cobble stone streets in places. They say that Bath, perhaps more than any other English city, still exudes its Georgian charm. You can certainly see it on the side streets, like this approach to Sally Lun’s (the house at the end with the red tile roof).

Sally Lunn’s. Yum. This bakery and now restaurant has been famous since before the nineteenth century for delectable bun developed by a young woman named Sally Lunn. Sally Lunn buns are still enjoyed today, either with something hearty like a meaty stew or something sweet like raspberry preserves and clotted cream.

Down the street from Sally’s and around the corner you’ll find the entrance to the main baths. Yes, Bath is named for bathing pools filled with hot spring water. While the baths were used since Roman times, in the nineteenth century it was popular to come take the waters for your health, by bathing or drinking or both. Think of it as one of the original spa treatments.

Just on the other side of the baths is the Pump Room where people came to see and be seen. When you arrived in Bath you made sure to sign the book here so that everyone would know you had arrived and where you were staying, so you could meet them, perhaps . . .

at the assembly rooms just up the hill. Here you danced, promenaded, played cards, and gossiped about everyone else who’d come to town. Here a young lady might meet a young gentleman attending his aged aunt, strike up a conversation, and make plans to meet again soon.

Next Friday we’ll be looking at some of the homes in Bath, and you can decide where you’d live back in the day. Until then, have a blessed and happy Easter! Rejoice!