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Bath, Somerset

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Great
Britain

                        Bath

   Coordinates: 51.3794° N 2.367° W
   Bath, Somerset (United Kingdom)
   Bath, Somerset
       Population      84,000
    OS grid reference  ST745645
    Unitary authority  Bath and North East Somerset
    Ceremonial county  Somerset
         Region        South West
   Constituent country England
     Sovereign state   United Kingdom
        Post town      BATH
    Postcode district  BA1, BA2
        Dial code      01225
         Police        Avon and Somerset
          Fire         Avon
        Ambulance      Great Western
      UK Parliament    Bath
   European Parliament South West England
       List of places: UK • England • Somerset

   CAPTION: City of Bath^a
   UNESCO World Heritage Site

   Aerial view over northern Bath from a hot air balloon. The famous Royal
   Crescent is in the centre.
   State Party United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
   Type Cultural
   Criteria i, ii, iv
   Identification # 428
   Region^b Europe and North America

   Inscription History
   Formal Inscription: 1987
   11th Session

   a Name as officially inscribed on the WH List
   b As classified officially by UNESCO

   Bath is a city in South West England most famous for its baths fed by
   three hot springs. It is situated 99  miles (159  km) west of Central
   London and 13 miles (21 km) south east of Bristol.

   The city is founded around the only naturally occurring hot springs in
   the United Kingdom. It was first documented as a Roman spa, although
   tradition suggests that it was founded earlier. The waters from its
   spring were believed to be a cure for many afflictions. From
   Elizabethan to Georgian times it was a resort city for the wealthy. As
   a result of its popularity during the latter period, the city contains
   many fine examples of Georgian architecture, most notably the Royal
   Crescent. The city has a population of over 80,000 and is a World
   Heritage Site.

Geography

Situation and transport

   Bath is located at 51°23′N, 2°22′W. It is approximately 15 miles (25
   km) south-east of the larger city and port of Bristol, to which it is
   linked by the A4 road, and is a similar distance south of the M4
   motorway. Its main railway station, Bath Spa, lies on the Great Western
   Railway, the main line between Bristol and London, as well as on the
   line linking Cardiff with Portsmouth.

   Bath is connected to Bristol and the sea by the River Avon, navigable
   via locks by small boats. The river was connected to the River Thames
   and London by the Kennet and Avon Canal in 1810 via Bath Locks; this
   waterway — closed for many years, but restored in the last years of the
   20th century — is now popular among users of narrow boats, and was
   historically an important water route to London.

Physical geography

   Bath is at the bottom of the Avon Valley, and near the southern edge of
   the Cotswolds, a range of limestone hills designated as an Area of
   Outstanding Natural Beauty. The hills that surround and make up the
   city have a maximum altitude of 238 m (780 ft) on the Lansdown plateau.
   It has an area of 11 mile² (29 km²).
   Cleveland House and the cast iron bridges of Sydney Gardens over the
   Kennet and Avon Canal
   Cleveland House and the cast iron bridges of Sydney Gardens over the
   Kennet and Avon Canal

   The surrounding hills give Bath its steep streets and make its
   buildings appear to climb the slopes. The flood plain of the River
   Avon, which runs through the centre of the city, here has an altitude
   of 17 metres (56 ft). The river, once an unnavigable series of braided
   streams broken up by swamps and ponds, has been managed by weirs into a
   single channel. Nevertheless, periodic flooding, which shortened the
   life of many buildings in the lowest part of the city, was normal until
   major flood control works in the 1970s.

   The city has the hottest geothermal springs in the UK. Three of these
   springs feed the thermal baths.

Climate

   In 2003 the annual mean temperature was 10.3 °C, with extremes at 14.2
   °C and 6.5 °C (50.5 °F, 57.5 °F and 43.7 °F, respectively). There were
   1645 hours of sunshine, and 957 millimetres of rainfall. The
   temperatures, sunshine duration and rainfall are higher than the United
   Kingdom averages (which are 9.5 °C, or 49 °F, 1587 hours and 901.5
   millimetres, respectively).

Politics

   The Liberal Democrat Don Foster is the Member of Parliament for Bath.
   His election was perhaps the most notable result of the 1992 results,
   as Chris Patten, the previous Member (and a Cabinet Minister), played a
   major part, as Conservative Party Chairman, in getting the government
   of John Major re-elected, but failed to defend his marginal seat in
   Bath. Don Foster has been re-elected as the MP for Bath in every
   election since. His majority was significantly reduced from over 9000
   in both the 1997 and 2001 general elections to 4638 in 2005.

   Historically part of the county of Somerset, Bath was made a county
   borough in 1889, and has been independent of Somerset county council
   control ever since. Bath came into Avon when that non-metropolitan
   county was created in 1974. Since the abolition of Avon in 1996, Bath
   has been the main centre of the unitary authority of Bath and North
   East Somerset (B&NES). Bath remains, however, in the ceremonial county
   of Somerset.

   The City of Bath's ceremonial functions, including the mayoralty –
   which can be traced back to 1230 – and control of the coat of arms, are
   now maintained by the Charter Trustees of the City of Bath. The coat of
   arms includes two silver strips, which represent the River Avon and the
   hot springs. The sword of St. Paul is a link to Bath Abbey. The
   supporters, a lion and a bear, stand on a bed of acorns, a link to
   Bladud, the subject of the Legend of Bath. The knight's helmet
   indicates a municipality and the crown is that of King Edgar, the first
   king of a united England, who was crowned in Bath in 973 on the site of
   the current abbey.

Demographics

   According to the UK Government's 2001 census, Bath, together with North
   East Somerset (that is, more or less, the Mendip Hills Area of
   Outstanding Natural Beauty), has a population of 169,040, with an
   average age of 39.9 (the national average being 38.6). According to the
   same statistics, the district is overwhelmingly populated by people of
   a white ethnic background at 97.2% — significantly higher than the
   national average of 90.9%. Other non-white ethnic groups in the
   district, in order of population size, are multiracial at 1%, Asian at
   0.5% and black at 0.5% (the national averages are 1.3%, 4.6% and 2.1%,
   respectively).

   The district is largely Christian at 71%, with no other religion
   reaching more than 0.5%. These figures generally compare with the
   national averages, though the non-religious, at 19.5%, are
   significantly more prevalent than the national 14.8%. Since Bath is
   known for the restorative powers of its waters, it is interesting to
   note that only 7.4% of the population describe themselves as "not
   healthy" in the last 12 months, compared to a national average of 9.2%;
   only 15.8% of the inhabitants say they have had a long-term illness, as
   against 18.2% nationally.

History

Celtic and Roman

   The Great Bath at the Roman Baths. The entire structure above the level
   of the pillar bases is a later reconstruction.
   The Great Bath at the Roman Baths. The entire structure above the level
   of the pillar bases is a later reconstruction.
   Bath Abbey From The Roman Baths Gallery
   Bath Abbey From The Roman Baths Gallery

   The archaeological evidence shows that the site of the Roman Baths'
   main spring was treated as a shrine by the Celts, and dedicated to the
   goddess Sulis. The Romans probably occupied Bath shortly after their
   invasion of Britain in 43 AD. They knew it as Aquae Sulis (literally
   "the waters of Sul"), identifying the goddess with Minerva. In Roman
   times the worship of Sulis Minerva continued and messages to her
   scratched onto metal have been recovered from the Sacred Spring by
   archaeologists. These are known as curse tablets. These curse tablets
   were written in Latin, and usually laid curses on other people, whom
   they feel had done them wrong. For example, if a citizen had his
   clothes stolen at the Baths, he would write a curse on a tablet, to be
   read by the Goddess Sulis Minerva, and also, the "suspected" names
   would be mentioned. The corpus from Bath is the most important found in
   Britain.

   During the Roman period, increasingly grand temples and bathing
   complexes were built in the area, including the Great Bath.
   Rediscovered gradually from the 18th century onward, they have become
   one of the city's main attractions. The city was given defensive walls,
   probably in the 3rd century. From the later 4th century on, the Western
   Roman Empire and its urban life declined. However, while the great
   suite of baths at Bath fell into disrepair, some use of the hot springs
   continued.

Post-Roman and Saxon

   It has been suggested that Bath may have been the site of the Battle of
   Mons Badonicus (circa 500 AD), where King Arthur is said to have
   defeated the Saxons, but this is disputed. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
   mentions Bath falling to the West Saxons in 577 after the Battle of
   Deorham. The Anglo-Saxons called the town Baðum, Baðan or Baðon,
   meaning "at the baths," and this was the source of the present name. In
   675, Osric, King of the Hwicce, set up a monastic house at Bath,
   probably using the walled area as its precinct. King Offa of Mercia
   gained control of this monastery in 781 and rebuilt the church, which
   was dedicated to St. Peter. Bath had become a royal possession. The old
   Roman street pattern was by now lost, and King Alfred laid out the town
   afresh, leaving its south-eastern quadrant as the abbey precinct. Edgar
   of England was crowned king of England in Bath Abbey in 973.

Norman, Medieval and Tudor

   King William Rufus granted the city to a royal physician, John of
   Tours, who became Bishop of Wells and Abbot of Bath in 1088, with
   permission to move the seat of Somerset from Wells to Bath, in line
   with current papal policy of encouraging bishops to move to more urban
   seats. He planned and began a much larger church as his cathedral, to
   which was attached a priory, with the bishop's palace beside it. New
   baths were built around the three springs.

   Later bishops preferred Wells, whither the episcopal seat accordingly
   moved. By the 15th century, Bath's abbey church was badly dilapidated
   and in need of repairs. Oliver King, Bishop of Bath and Wells, decided
   in 1500 to rebuild it on a smaller scale. The new church was completed
   just a few years before Bath Priory was dissolved in 1539 by Henry
   VIII. The abbey church was allowed to become derelict before being
   restored as the city's parish church in the Elizabethan period, when
   the city revived as a destination spa. The baths were improved and the
   city began to attract the aristocracy in the bathing seasons. Bath was
   granted city status by Royal Charter in 1590.

17th century

   The Circus
   The Circus

   During the English Civil War the Battle of Lansdowne was fought on July
   5, 1643 on the outskirts of Bath.

   Sally Lunn, (aka Solange Luyon) a Huguenot refugee, came to Bath and
   found work with a baker in Lilliput Alley (now North Parade Passage),
   creating the Sally Lunn bun.

   In 1668 Thomas Guidott moved to Bath and set up his practice there. He
   was a student of chemistry and medicine at Wadham College Oxford. He
   became interested in the curative properties of the waters and in 1676
   he wrote A discourse of Bathe, and the hot waters there. Also, Some
   Enquiries into the Nature of the water.

   This brought the health-giving properties of the hot mineral waters to
   the attention of the country and soon the aristocracy started to arrive
   to partake in them.

18th century

   The Royal Crescent from the air: Georgian taste favoured the civilised
   regularity of Bath's streets and squares and the delightful contrast
   with rural nature immediately at hand.
   The Royal Crescent from the air: Georgian taste favoured the civilised
   regularity of Bath's streets and squares and the delightful contrast
   with rural nature immediately at hand.

   There had been much rebuilding in the Stuart period, but this was
   eclipsed by the massive expansion of the city in Georgian times. The
   old town within the walls was also largely rebuilt. This was a response
   to the continuing demand for elegant accommodation for the city's
   fashionable visitors, for whom Bath had become a pleasure resort as
   well as a spa. The architects John Wood the elder and his son John Wood
   the younger laid out the new quarters in streets and squares, the
   identical facades of which gave an impression of palatial scale and
   classical decorum. The creamy gold of Bath stone further unified the
   city, much of it obtained from the limestone Combe Down and Bathampton
   Down Mines under Combe Down, which were owned by Ralph Allen
   (1694–1764). The latter, in order to advertise the quality of his
   quarried limestone, commissioned the elder John Wood to build him a
   country house on his Prior Park estate. A shrewd politician, he
   dominated civic affairs and became mayor several times.

   The early 18th century saw Bath acquire its first purpose-built
   theatre, pump room and assembly rooms. Master of Ceremonies Beau Nash,
   who presided over the city's social life from 1705 until his death in
   1761, drew up a code of behaviour for public entertainments. However,
   the city declined as a fashionable resort in the 19th century.

   Bath elected two members to the unreformed House of Commons.

19th century

   By the 1801 census the population of the city had reached 40,020 making
   it amongst the largest cities in Britain.
   Bath's most well known resident Jane Austen moved to the city with her
   father, mother and sister Cassandra in 1801. The family remained in the
   city until 1806 even though her father died there in 1805.
   The Austen family lived at 4 addresses in the city gradually sliding
   downmarket with each move. Whilst Jane Austen is reputed to have not
   liked Bath, it is probable that she was less happy about being uprooted
   from a comfortable country existence which she had enjoyed up to that
   date than she was with the city. She didn't write much whilst living in
   the city although Bath features centrally in two of her novels
   'Northanger Abbey' and 'Persuasion'
   Jane Austen's time in Bath and the influence which the city had on her
   writing is celebrated in a permanent exhibition at The Jane Austen
   Centre.

   In 1822 another of Bath's famous residents moved to the city. William
   Thomas Beckford bought a house in Lansdown Crescent, eventually buying
   a further two houses in the Crescent to form his residence. Having
   acquired all the land between his home and the top of Lansdown Hill, he
   created a garden over half a mile in length and built Beckford's Tower
   at the top.

20th century

   Between the evening of 25 April and the early morning of 27 April 1942
   Bath was subjected to three air raids by the Luftwaffe in reprisal for
   RAF raids on the German cities of Lübeck and Rostock. The three raids
   formed part of the Luftwaffe campaign popularly known as the Baedeker
   Blitz and damaged or destroyed more than 19,000 buildings and killed
   more than 400 people. Considerable damage was done to noteworthy
   historical buildings. Houses in the Royal Crescent, Circus and Paragon
   were burnt out as were the Assembly Rooms while the south side of Queen
   Square was destroyed. All have since been reconstructed.

   Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia spent the five years of his exile
   mainly in Bath at Fairfield House. This period is described in the
   section headed 'Exile' within the Wikipedia account of the monarch's
   life ( here).

Culture

   The Palladian-style Pulteney Bridge and the weir at Bath
   The Palladian-style Pulteney Bridge and the weir at Bath

   During the 18th century, Bath was an extremely fashionable cultural
   hub, attracting the aristocracy and gentry from far and wide. This gave
   the city the finance and incentive to undertake large cultural
   developments. It was during this time that Bath's Theatre Royal was
   first built, as well as architectural triumphs such as Royal Crescent,
   Lansdown Crescent, the Royal Crescent, The Circus and Pulteney Bridge.

   Today, Bath has five theatres — Bath Theatre Royal, Ustinov Studio, The
   Egg, the Rondo Theatre, and the Mission Theatre — and attracts
   internationally renowned companies and directors, including Sir Peter
   Hall. The city also has a long-standing musical tradition; Bath Abbey
   is home to the Klais Organ and is the largest concert venue in the
   city, with about 20 concerts and 26 organ recitals each year. Another
   important concert venue is the Forum, a restored 1700-seat art deco
   cinema. The city holds the Bath International Music Festival and
   Mozartfest every year. Other festivals include the annual Bath Film
   Festival, Bath Literature Festival, the Bath Fringe Festival and the
   Bath Beer Festival.

   The city is home to the Victoria Art Gallery, the Museum of East Asian
   Art, and The Holburne Museum of Art, as well as numerous museums, among
   them The Bath Postal Museum, The Museum of Costume, The Jane Austen
   Centre, the William Herschel Museum and the Roman Baths. The Bath Royal
   Literary and Scientific Institution, now in Queen Square, and founded
   in 1824 on the base of a 1777 Society for the encouragement of
   Agriculture, Planting, Manufactures, Commerce and the Fine Arts, has an
   important collection and holds a rich and popular programme of talks
   and discussions. See 'Places of interest' below for details of many
   other places of artistic, cultural and historical interest.

   There are numerous commercial art galleries and antique shops in Bath,
   which is one of the most important centres of the English antiques
   trade outside London.

   For a list of churches in Bath, see here. In addition to the churches
   listed, Manvers Gospel Hall is located in the city centre.

Bath in the arts

   Perhaps the best known resident of Bath was Jane Austen, who lived in
   the city from 1801 until 1806. However, Jane Austen never liked the
   city, and wrote to her sister Cassandra, "It will be two years tomorrow
   since we left Bath for Clifton, with what happy feelings of escape."
   Despite her feelings regarding the city, Bath has honoured her name
   with the Jane Austen Centre and a city walk based on Austen. After
   leaving the city, Austen wrote two novels, Northanger Abbey and
   Persuasion (written 1816, published 1818), which are largely set in the
   city and feature descriptions of taking the waters, social life, and
   cultural resources such as music recitals.
     * Thomas Gainsborough moved to Bath in 1759, where he first became
       fashionable amongst the aristocracy and rich, his studio was based
       in various houses in the city, he subsequently moved to London in
       1774.

     * Sir Thomas Lawrence was based in the city from 1782 to 1787 where
       he first became famous.

     * Charles Dickens' novel Pickwick Papers also features Bath, and
       satirises its social life. Pickwick takes the waters and his
       servant, Sam Weller, comments that the water has "a very strong
       flavour o' warm flat irons", while the Royal Crescent is the venue
       for a chase between two of the characters, Dowler and Winkle.

     * William Friese-Greene began experimenting with celluloid and motion
       pictures in his studio in Bath in the 1870s, developing some of the
       earliest movie camera technology there. He is credited as the
       inventor of cinematography.

     * Moyra Caldecott's novel The Waters of Sul is set in Roman Bath in
       72 AD. Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play The Rivals is also set in
       Bath.

     * In 2004, a movie of Thackeray's Vanity Fair was largely filmed in
       Bath.

     * Roald Dahl's chilling short-story, " The Landlady" also takes place
       in the city of Bath.

     * In August 2003 the Three Tenors sang at a special concert to mark
       the opening of the Thermae Bath Spa, a new hot water spa in Bath
       City Centre; delays to the project meant the spa actually opened
       three years later on August 7, 2006.

Parks

   Parade Gardens in July after a rain shower
   Parade Gardens in July after a rain shower

   The city has several public parks, the main one being Royal Victoria
   Park, a short walk from the centre of the city. It was opened in 1830
   and has an area of 57 acres (231,000 m²). Several events are held in
   the park every year, including the Bath International Music Festival,
   and it is favoured as a take-off site by hot air balloon companies. The
   park features a botanical garden, a large children's play park, and
   sports facilities, including crazy golf, bowls and lawn tennis. Much of
   its area is lawn; a notable feature is the way in which a ha-ha
   segregates it from the Royal Crescent, while giving the impression to a
   viewer from the Crescent of a greensward uninterrupted across the Park
   down to Royal Avenue.

   Other parks in Bath include: Alexandra Park, which crowns a hill and
   overlooks the city; Parade Gardens, along the river front near the
   Abbey in the centre of the city; Sydney Gardens, known as a
   pleasure-garden in the 18th century; Henrietta Park; Hedgemead Park;
   and Alice Park. Jane Austen wrote of Sydney Gardens that "It would be
   pleasant to be near the Sydney Gardens. We could go into the Labyrinth
   every day." Alexandra, Alice and Henrietta parks were built into the
   growing city among the housing developments. There is also a linear
   park following the old Somerset and Dorset railway line.

Food

   Sally Lunn's buns (a type of teacake) have long been baked in Bath.
   They were first mentioned by that name in verses printed in a local
   newspaper, the Bath Chronicle, in 1772. At that time they were eaten
   hot at public breakfasts in the city's Spring Gardens. They can be
   eaten with sweet or savoury toppings.

   Visitors sometimes confuse Sally Lunn's buns with Bath Buns — smaller,
   round, very sweet, very rich buns that were associated with the city
   following The Great Exhibition. Bath Buns were originally topped with
   crushed 'comfits' created by dipping caraway seeds repeatedly in
   boiling sugar; but today seeds are added to a 'London Bath Bun' (a
   reference to the bun's promotion and sale at the Great Exhibition). The
   seeds may be replaced by crushed sugar granules or 'nibs'.

   Bath has also lent its name to one other distinctive recipe — Bath
   Olivers — the dry baked biscuits invented by Dr William Oliver,
   physician to the Mineral Water Hospital in 1740. Oliver was an early
   anti-obesity campaigner, writing a "Practical Essay on the Use and
   Abuse of warm Bathing in Gluty Cases". Local legend has it that he
   bequeathed the recipe for his low calorie biscuits to his coachman, a
   Mr Atkins, along with £100 and a hundred sacks of flour. Atkins
   subsequently opened a shop in Green Street, Bath and became a rich man
   on the proceeds.

Sport

   The city's best known sporting team is Bath Rugby, a rugby union team
   which is currently in the Guinness Premiership league and coached by
   Steve Meeham. It plays in black, blue and white kit with its sponsors'
   logo, Helphire, on the front of the shirts. The team plays at the
   Recreation Ground in the city, where it has been since the late 19th
   century, following its establishment in 1865. The team rose to national
   prestige during the 1980s, and it has remained one of the best rugby
   teams in the country. Its first major honour was winning the John
   Player Cup four years consecutively from 1984 until 1987. The team then
   led the Courage league for six consecutive seasons, from 1988/1989
   until 1995/1996, during which time it also won the Pilkington Cup in
   1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995 and 1996. It finally won the Heineken Cup
   in the 1997/1998 season, and topped the Zürich (now Guinness)
   Premiership in 2003/2004.

   The team's current squad includes several members who also play in the
   English national elite team including: Steve Borthwick, Lee Mears, Matt
   Stevens, Olly Barkley, David Flatman and Danny Grewcock. Colston's
   Collegiate School, Bristol has had a large input in the team over the
   past decade, providing current 1st XV squad members Barkley, Bell,
   Brooker, Crockett, Davey, Davis, Delve, Hawkins, Mears and Smith. The
   former England Rugby Team Manager Andy Robinson used to play for Bath
   Rugby team and was Captain and later Coach. While in the Bath team, he
   was a Physical Education, Rugby and Mathematics teacher at King
   Edward's School, North Road, Bath. Both of Robinson's predecessors,
   Clive Woodward and Jack Rowell, were also former Bath coaches and
   managers.

   Bath City F.C. and Team Bath F.C. (affiliated with the University of
   Bath) are the major football teams, both of which are in the Southern
   Football League. In 2002, Team Bath became the first university team to
   enter the FA Cup in 120 years, and advanced through four qualifying
   rounds to the first round proper. Unlike the city's rugby team, Bath
   City have never attained an elite status in English football; its
   highest position has been seventh in the Football Conference in the
   1992/1993 season. The University's team was established in 1999, while
   the city team has existed since before 1908 (when it entered the
   Western League). Bath City F.C. play their games at Twerton Park.
   Current players include Scott Partridge, Jim Rollo, Andy Sandell and
   former South African international goalkeeper Paul Evans.

   Cricket is played at the Bath Cricket Club, located, like the rugby
   Recreation Ground, east of the river, near Pulteney Bridge. The cricket
   ground is the venue for the annual Bath Cricket Festival which sees
   Somerset County Cricket Club play several games.

   Bath also has a thriving biking community, with places for biking
   including Royal Victoria Park, 'The Tumps' in Odd Down, the jumps on
   top of Lansdown, and Prior Park. Places for biking near Bath include
   Brown's Folly in Batheaston and Box Woods, in Box.

   The Recreation Ground is also home to Bath Croquet Club, which was
   re-formed in 1976 and is affiliated with the South West Federation of
   Croquet Clubs.

   TeamBath is the umbrella name for all of the University of Bath sports
   teams, including the aforementioned football club. Other sports for
   which TeamBath is noted are athletics, badminton, basketball, bob
   skeleton, bobsleigh, hockey, judo, modern pentathlon, netball, rugby,
   swimming, tennis and triathlon.

   Bath is also the home of the Bath American Football Club, which has
   been playing American Football in the city since 2001. It caters for
   Youth and Junior levels of play.

   The Bath Half Marathon is run annually through the city streets, with
   over 10,000 runners. The City of Bath Triathlon takes place annually at
   the University of Bath.

Business

   The city lies at the junction of the Kennet and Avon Canal and the
   navigable River Avon. It has a station on the main line from London to
   Bristol, which was built by the Great Western Railway. At one time, it
   was also served by the Midland Railway, and by the Somerset and Dorset
   Joint Railway.

   Today, its once-important manufacturing sector is much diminished, but
   it has notable software, publishing and service-oriented industries, in
   addition to tourism. The magazine publisher Future Publishing is one of
   Bath's bigger employers. The firm publishes over 100 magazines,
   including many in the computer and video gaming sector. Other main
   employers are the Ministry of Defence, although a number of MOD offices
   have moved to Bristol; the National Health Service, and Helphire Group
   plc an Accident Management Company specialising in non-fault motor
   accidents. Bath is also the home of Buro Happold and Future Publishing.
   The city contains many small single-shop or restaurant-based businesses
   which serve niche markets and are primarily supported by tourism.

Tourism

   Bath swarms with tourists in the summer. This entertainer performs in
   front of Bath Abbey and to the right, the Roman Baths
   Bath swarms with tourists in the summer. This entertainer performs in
   front of Bath Abbey and to the right, the Roman Baths

   Bath's principal industry is tourism. whose visits mainly fall into the
   categories of heritage tourism or cultural tourism. All significant
   stages of the history of England are represented within the city, from
   the Roman Baths (including their significant Celtic presence), to Bath
   Abbey and the Royal Crescent, to Thermae Bath Spa in the 2000s.

   The size of the tourist industry is reflected in the almost 300 places
   of accommodation—including over 80 hotels, and over 180 Bed and
   Breakfasts—many of which are located in Georgian buildings and have
   five-star ratings - a good example being 3 Abbey Green. The city also
   contains approximately 100 restaurants, and a similar number of public
   houses and bars. Several companies offer open-top bus tours around the
   city, as well as tours on foot and on the river.

   The tourist season is mainly the summer, though there is a year-round
   presence of tourists. While many come to Bath to see the city in
   general, some are attracted to particular aspects of the city, such as
   the Jane Austen landmarks or the Roman Baths.

The Spa

   In 2006, with the opening of Thermae Bath Spa, the city has attempted
   to recapture its historical position as the only town in the United
   Kingdom offering visitors the opportunity to bathe in naturally heated
   spring waters.

Twinned towns

   Bath has four twinned towns:
     * Flag of France Aix-en-Provence, France
     * Flag of Netherlands Alkmaar, Netherlands
     * Flag of Germany Braunschweig, Germany 1947
     * Flag of Hungary Kaposvár, Hungary

Transport

   Bath is served by the Bath Spa railway station (designed by Isambard
   Kingdom Brunel), which has regular connections to London Paddington,
   Bristol Temple Meads, Cardiff Central, Swansea, Exeter, Plymouth and
   Penzance (see Great Western Main Line), and also Westbury, Warminster,
   Salisbury, Southampton, Portsmouth and Brighton (see Wessex Main Line).
   Services are provided by First Great Western. There is a suburban
   station on the main line, Oldfield Park, which has a limited commuter
   service to Bristol. The charming Green Park station, was once operated
   by the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. The line (always steam
   driven) climbed over the Mendips and served many towns and villages on
   its 71 mile run to Bournemouth. Sadly this most splendid example of an
   English rural line was closed by Beeching in March 1966, with few
   remaining signs of its existence. However Bath Green Park station
   building survives and now houses a number of shops.

   Though Bath does not have an airport, the city is not far from Bristol
   International Airport, which may be reached by car and by bus or taxi,
   and by rail via Bristol Temple Meads or Nailsea and Backwell.

   National Express operates coach services from Bath to a number of
   cities. Internally, Bath has a large number of bus routes run by the
   First Group, with services to surrounding towns and cities. There are
   two other companies running open top double-decker bus tours around the
   city.

Architecture

   Fan vaulting over the nave at Bath Abbey, Bath, England. Made from
   local Bath stone, this is a Victorian restoration (made in the 1860s)
   of the original roof from 1608
   Fan vaulting over the nave at Bath Abbey, Bath, England. Made from
   local Bath stone, this is a Victorian restoration (made in the 1860s)
   of the original roof from 1608
   Bath Abbey at twilight
   Bath Abbey at twilight

   Of Bath's notable buildings, Bath Abbey is one of the most striking.
   Whilst appearing very old, it is of more recent construction than most
   of Britain's many ancient Abbeys and cathedrals. Originally a Norman
   church on earlier foundations, it was rebuilt in the early 16th century
   and transformed into a gothic fantasy of flying buttresses with
   crocketed pinnacles decorating a crenelated and pierced parapet. The
   style of architecture employed is known as late Perpendicular. The
   choir and transepts have a fine fan vault by Robert and William Vertue,
   who worked on the fan vault at King's College Chapel, Cambridge and
   designed similar vaulting in the Henry VII chapel at Westminster Abbey.
   The nave was given a matching vault in the 19th century. The building
   is lit by 52 windows.

   The dominant style of architecture in Bath is Georgian; this evolved
   from the Palladian revival style which became popular in the early 18th
   century. Many of the prominent architects of the day were employed in
   the development of the city, and as a result Bath has many fine
   terraces of what appear to be elegant townhouses. However, the original
   purpose of much of Bath's fine architecture is concealed by the
   honey-coloured classical facades; in an era before the advent of the
   luxury hotel, these apparently elegant residences were frequently
   purpose-built rooming or lodging houses, where visitors to the city
   could hire a room, a floor, or (according to their means) an entire
   house for the duration of their visit, and be waited on by the house's
   communal servants. One example of this kind of aspirational deception
   is found on the north side of Queen Square. This development was
   designed to appear from the front as a single residence of palatial
   proportions, but inside seven more modest residences were concealed.

   " The Circus" is one of the most splendid examples of town planning in
   the city. Three long, curved terraces designed by the elder John Wood
   form a circular space or theatre intended for civic functions and
   games. The games give a clue to the design, the inspiration behind
   which was the Colosseum in Rome. Like the Coliseum, the three facades
   have a different order of architecture on each floor: Doric on the
   ground level, then Ionic on the piano nobile and finishing with
   Corinthian on the upper floor, the style of the building thus becoming
   progressively more ornate as it rises. Wood never lived to see his
   unique example of town planning completed, as he died five days after
   personally laying the foundation stone on May 18, 1754.
   Royal Crescent, seen from a hot air balloon. The contrast between the
   architectural style of the front and rear of this terrace is clear
   Royal Crescent, seen from a hot air balloon. The contrast between the
   architectural style of the front and rear of this terrace is clear

   The best known of Bath's terraces is the Royal Crescent, built between
   1767 and 1774 and designed by the younger John Wood. But all is not
   what it seems; while Wood designed the great curved facade of what
   appears to be about 30 houses with Ionic columns on a rusticated ground
   floor, that was the extent of his input. Each purchaser bought a
   certain length of the facade, and then employed their own architect to
   build a house to their own specifications behind it; hence what appears
   to be two houses is sometimes one. This system of elegant town planning
   is betrayed at the rear of the crescent: while the front is completely
   uniform and symmetrical, the rear is a mixture of differing roof
   heights, juxtapositions and fenestration. This "all to the front and no
   rear" architecture occurs repeatedly in Bath.

   Around 1770 the eminent neoclassical architect Robert Adam designed
   Pulteney Bridge, using as the prototype for the three-arched bridge
   spanning the Avon an original, but unused, design by Palladio for the
   Rialto Bridge in Venice. Thus, Pulteney Bridge became not just a means
   of crossing the river, but also a shopping arcade. Along with the
   Rialto Bridge, is one of the very few surviving bridges in Europe to
   serve this dual purpose. It has been substantially altered since it was
   built. The bridge was named after Frances and William Johnstone
   Pulteney, the owners of the Bathwick estate for which the bridge
   provided a link to the rest of Bath.

   The heart of the Georgian city was the Pump Room, which, together with
   its associated Lower Assembly Rooms, was designed by Thomas Baldwin, a
   local builder who was responsible for many other buildings in the city,
   including the terraces in Argyle Street. Baldwin rose rapidly, becoming
   a leader in Bath's architectural history. In 1776 he was made the chief
   City Surveyor, and in 1780 became Bath City Architect. In 1776 he
   designed the Bath Guildhall, where his design of the interior produced
   what is considered one of the finest neo-classical interiors in the
   country. Great Pulteney Street, where he eventually lived, is another
   of his finest works: this wide boulevard, constructed circa 1789 and
   over 1000 ft (300m) long and 100 ft (30m) wide, is one of England's
   most attractive thoroughfares, and is lined on both sides by Georgian
   terraces.

   Architecturally, Bath is one of the most balanced cities in England,
   and is an unusual example of coherent town planning combined with
   well-executed and diverse architectural styles. None the less, in the
   1960s and early 1970s some parts of Bath were unsympathetically
   redeveloped, resulting in the loss of some 18th and 19th century
   buildings. This process was largely halted by a popular campaign which
   drew strength from the publication of Adam Fergusson's The Sack of
   Bath.
   A panoramic view of the Royal Crescent
   A panoramic view of the Royal Crescent

Education

   Bath has two universities, The University of Bath and Bath Spa
   University. The former was established in 1966 and has grown to become
   a leading university in the United Kingdom, present in many top 10
   lists and rated as excellent, the highest rating on government scales,
   in 14 subjects. The university is known, academically, for the physical
   sciences, mathematics, management and technology. It is also well known
   for its sports, which it plays under the name Team Bath. In football,
   Team Bath F.C. was, in the 2002/2003 season, the first university team
   to reach the FA Cup first round since 1880.

   Bath Spa University was first granted degree-awarding powers in 1992 as
   a university college (Bath Spa University College), before being
   granted university status in August 2005. It has schools in the
   following subject areas: Art and Design, Education, English and
   Creative Studies, Historical and Cultural Studies, Music and the
   Performing Arts, and Social Sciences.

   The city contains one A-Level college, City of Bath College, and
   several sixth forms (schools which contain A-Level awarding
   departments) as part of both state, private, and public schools.
   Secondary School Type Results Website
   State-funded Schools
   Beechen Cliff School boys-only with co-educational sixth form
   Culverhay School boys-only with sixth form
   Hayesfield School Technology College girls-only with co-educational
   sixth form
   Oldfield School girls-only with co-educational sixth form
   Ralph Allen School co-educational with sixth form
   St Gregory's Catholic College co-educational with no sixth form
   St Mark's CofE School co-educational with no sixth form
   Independent Schools
   King Edward's School co-educational with sixth form
   Kingswood School co-educational with sixth form
   Prior Park College co-educational with sixth form
   Royal High School girls-only with sixth form

   Many notable people, such as Sir Roger Bannister, MP Ann Widdecombe,
   comedian Bill Bailey, theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh, singer
   and musician Curt Smith, archaeologist Helen Geake and Cardinal Cormac
   Murphy-O'Connor, went to school in Bath.

Places of interest

   Key
   National Trust        National Trust
   English Heritage      English Heritage
   Forestry Commission   Forestry Commission
   Country Park          Country Park
   Accessible open space Accessible open space
   Museum (free)
   Museum                Museums (free/not free)
   Heritage railway      Heritage railway
   Historic house        Historic House

   Central Bath

     * Assembly Rooms National Trust Historic house
          + Museum of Costume Non-free museum
     * Bath Abbey
     * Building of Bath Museum Non-free museum Historic house
     * The Circus
     * Great Pulteney Street
     * Holburne Museum of Art Non-free museum Historic house
     * The Jane Austen Centre Non-free museum
     * Museum of Bath at Work Non-free museum
     * Museum of East Asian Art Non-free museum
     * Bath Postal Museum Non-free museum
     * Pulteney Bridge
     * River Avon
     * Roman Baths Non-free museum
     * Royal Crescent
          + No.1 Royal Crescent Non-free museum Historic house
     * Royal Victoria Park and Botanical Gardens
     * Sally Lunn's Refreshment House & Museum Non-free museum Historic
       house
     * Thermae Bath Spa
     * Victoria Art Gallery Free museum
     * William Herschel Museum Non-free museum

   Greater Bath

     * Cleveland Bridge
     * Kennet and Avon Canal
     * Lansdown Crescent

   Outskirts of Bath

     * American Museum Non-free museum Historic house
     * Beckford's Tower Non-free museum Historic house
     * Prior Park Landscape Garden National Trust

   Near to Bath

     * Battle of Lansdowne
     * Claverton Pumping Station
     * Dundas Aqueduct
     * St Catherine's Court Historic house
     * Solsbury Hill National Trust

Famous Bathonians

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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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