Bath

It was a great day of sightseeing today,and I learned so much! We took advice from Rick Steves and started with the Roman Baths before the rush of visitors got there. The baths are fed from a hot spring that was originally used by the Celts before the Romans moved in around very late BC. In a stroke of brilliance, later replicated by Christians and other conquerors, the Romans adopted the name of the Celtic’s goddess (Sulis) and named the town Aquae Sulis. The hot springs are the only ones in Great Britain and are the result of rain water, filtering through the limestone down to about 2.5km. It takes about 10,000 years for the water to sink down, where it is heated and pushed back to the surface at a fault line. It bubbles out at a constant 115 degrees which, when cooled, is perfect for soaking. We walked around the large pool and saw the smaller reservoir, where the water comes to the surface before flowing out to the pools. Large portions of the baths have been excavated but no where near reflecting the actual size of the baths at their pinnacle of popularity. The Roman complex was huge, and now much of it lies under the “modern” buildings from the 1600 and 1700’s. The antiquities that were discovered during the excavation included an enormous number of coins. The earliest coins were minted around 40BC. They had displays of several coins with the listed timeframe of circulation. There were also small gemstones, with minute but intricate carvings, in a variety of colors. On our way out, tucked away in the corner, was a faucet that was running spring water. We all sampled the warm water and decided not to have a second cup. Throughout history, drinking large quantities of the water has been suggested for therapeutic reasons. I think I would have feigned a miraculous recovery, if I had to drink five liters of that water everyday.

Following lunch, we connected with the 2pm World Heritage Centre’s free walking tour. It was top notch, and I was actually disappointed that I wasn’t allowed to tip. It was that good. Andy took us on a two mile walk to the highlights of Bath, but my favorite part was the spontaneous utterances of the Australian who joined our group. Oddly, we also had a woman on the tour that lives less than two miles from us in Denver. Anyway, the tour started in the center of town. We got the history of the baths and Abbey, which we saw and read about earlier. We walked past the Guildhill Market again but on the way to the Pulteney Bridge, Andy brought our attention to something we completely missed yesterday. In the parking lot behind the market, there’s a railing that overlooks an alleyway. Right there is one of only two surviving portions of the city walls. Like most old cities here, Bath was surrounded by a protective stone wall long ago. We were probably 15 feet up from the original walkway, as the river Avon has flooded repeatedly, depositing layers and layers of silt, so that Bath’s elevation is probably 20 feet higher than when the Romans were here. This is why the baths had to be excavated, as they were completely buried over the centuries. Speaking of Avon, apparently there are nine rivers named Avon in Britain. This is when the Australian noted the complete lack of imagination of the British; however, they were ignorant, not unimaginative. The Celtic word for river is afon (I’m spelling it phonetically, not sure if it’s correct). When those conquesting pointed at the river for a name, the Celts thought they must be total idiots and said “river” but in Celtic. And that’s how you get nine rivers called river.

The tour spent some time on the Roman occupancy and their contributions, but much of what you see in Bath is extraordinary Georgian architecture. Just about all of the buildings from the early 1700’s used bath stone from a nearby quarry. It is s soft tan or off-white color with a warm tone. The buildings, such as the Royal Crescent or those built at the Circus (named for the circular shape) appear symmetrical and orderly. It adds to the air of grandeur. An interesting story: there was a widow in the mid-1700’s, who became the mistress of a man from Northumberland. As a result, she had an illegitimate child named James Smithson, whose money later went to establish the Smithsonian after his death. As Andy said, “The seed of the Smithsonian was planted right there,” pointing at the house.

Andy also pointed out where homes had their windows covered over with stone. After noting it, I started to notice so many buildings with stone blocks where windows had been. In 1696, a window tax was instituted by the king. Instead of paying the tax, many property owners minimized their liability by simply removing their windows. Some believe that the origins of “daylight robbery” comes from this time, when the king was quite literally robbing the people of daylight.

The tour was delightful, and we learned a lot about Bath, and its place in our shared history.Read more