BATH, ENGLAND AND ITS ABBEY

                         A Lovely City Full of History

The city of Bath, England sits in a valley at the bottom edge of the Cotswold’s. This city of 100,000 exists because of water where 270,000 gallons of water bubbles up each day from the bowels of the earth. They are England’s only hot springs. The springs are 10,000 feet deep, and surface in three places with a temperature of 46 degrees centigrade.

Legend tells the story about a Celtic chief who had leprosy and was forced to leave his people for their own safety. During his travels he happened upon the hot springs. After bathing in them for some period of time he was cured and eventually returned to his people. He had a difficult time convincing his people who he really was, but when he did he moved his people to the springs which they called ‘sul’ and which they worshipped.

The Romans put Bath on the map in the first century when they drained the swamp and built a temple to the goddess Minerva.  They built a sophisticated network of  baths making full use of the mineral springs and called the area Aquae Sulis. They  occupied the area for 360  years  but in 410 suddenly abandoned the area. Over the years water again overcame the area.

In the 12^th century present day Bath was built over the unknown Roman ruins. The Roman ruins were not discovered until the 1800s. The old Roman lead lined pool is 5’ deep and still water tight! The original Roman drains are still used to drain the excess water and carry it to the River Avon.

            By the 18^th century architect, John Wood, united the present city making use of the local yellow stone.  The debonair and flamboyant Beau (Richard) Nash threw extravagant parties, and Bath was the hottest social scene in the country.

Bath Abbey

Monks established    the Bath Abbey in the 900s and it  is across the plaza from the Roman Baths ruins/museum. This gorgeous 16^th century Gothic abbey is over the site of a Norman cathedral, that was on the site of an ancient Saxon monastery. 
The Abbey measures 67 meters by 22 meters. The nave vaulting is 24 meters high and the height of the tower is an additional 49 meters. Why isn’t it a cathedral? The Abbey is a parish church; a cathedral is the principal church of a diocese, the area of a bishop’s authority. When visiting the Abbey do plan on giving yourself enough time and if at all possible do it with a docent who can relay a lot of history. Such docents are extremely knowledgeable and love to partake all sorts of neat information.      
 In 1499 Bishop Oliver King demolished the Norman cathedral to build the present abbey. This Anglican parish church houses one of the most beautiful fan vaulted ceilings I’ve ever seen. It is truly magnificent. The front façade of the abbey is intricate and interesting. A miter, olive tree, and crown are worked in the façade as a play on the present building’s founder, Bishop Oliver King.

         On my second trip to Bath I pretty much  knew my way around. I visited the Roman Baths again, and saw some things I had missed the first time. I spent a fair amount of time in the Abbey, as it is truly beautiful. Then I walked across the street and watched the waterfall on the River Avon before making it back up to the bridge.
           Bath boasts the only bridge left in England that is lined with shops. The Putney Bridge spans the River Avon and was a famous city landmark in the 18^th century. On one end of the bridge was a small sandwich shop. After walking down one side and back on the other side of the bridge, I stopped in the sandwich shop and bought a ham and cheese baguette for lunch.