Bath - UNESCO World Heritage City

We have just had our third born granddaughter staying for a few days. School days are firmly behind her as she anticipates her next journey which takes her to Edinburgh University in the Autumn.

One of the places we took her to was the city of Bath, which makes an interesting juxtaposition with our recent visit to Lecce in Italy. Both cities were built of honey coloured limestone - Bath's architecture being a glorious Georgian masterpiece as opposed to Lecce's bountiful feast of Baroque.

The Circus was designed in 1754 by architect John Wood shortly before he died, but his work continued and was carried on by his son, John Wood jnr.

As the name implies the buildings form a perfect circle with a grassy central island filled with large 300 year old trees

13 years later John Wood jnr designed The impressive Royal Crescent which enjoys an open aspect to the front taking in far reaching views across the city

Leaving the Royal Crescent behind there are many other impressive streets still to explore  

It pays to look carefully at the original ironwork - above can be seen a boot scrapper, and a torch extinquisher. 

There was no street lighting in Georgian Britain, but the rich would have their dark nights lit by flaming torches. These were carried by a 'link boy' running besides them as they were conveyed home in a sedan chair following a night out at the opera or theatre

Cross over Pulteney Bridge, built in 1774 - designed by Neoclassic/Palladian Architect, Robert Adams. 
There you can catch a boat or walk along the Avon's riverbank

  On the bridge you may enjoy sampling a delicious homemade cake in the tiny river view cafe, or visiting some of the little shops filled with interesting curios.

Jane Austen knew Bath as a thriving spa resort which in her day was extremely popular with fashionable society. Afternoon high tea would be taken in the elegant Pump Room with its glass chandeliers, perhaps followed by a musical soiree in the evening. There they would also imbibe a glass of spa water, which contains 43 different minerals, supposedly thought of as a cure-all for many ailments.

Take an extensive tour of the Roman Baths - one of the most historic sites from antiquity in northern Europe - the young people in this photo are not using mobile phones but they are listening to the included audioguides about the Romans, their life and their history.

Finally end your visit to the Roman baths with a glass of health giving Spa Water, which is free, and tastes unbelievable.

 Bath Abbey - the last of the great cathedrals built during the medieval period

The West Front is a 'tour de force' of carved stonework showing Jacob's Dream with a statue of an omnipresent God in a central position watching overall

The Abbey is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul - each saint oversees the top of a ladder 

Worldwide there are countless artworks depicting Jacob's Dream - paintings, frescoes, prints, stained glass windows, but this is by far the largest    

"Jacob had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, its top reaching to heaven, with the angels of God ascending and descending on it".             

To see and admire this impressive stone sculpture carved over 500 years ago, I feel immense gratitude to those of our ancestors who left behind so many fine legacies for us all to appreciate and enjoy today.

The American Museum in Britain - Part ll

The American Museum in Britain housed at Claverton Manor, Bath, takes you on a journey through the history of America, from it's early settlers to the twentieth century. It has a large number of period rooms from all across America recreated within the manor, an impressive collection of folk art, and an exhibition featuring both native Americans and important events during America's history. 
Claverton Manor built in 1820 replaced an earlier Jacobean manor. It was bought by John Vivian in 1816, who was a barrister, solicitor to the Excise, and a bencher of the Middle Temple. Vivian had intended to renovate the Jacobean manor, but was persuaded by his architect Jeffry Wyatt, later Sir Jeffry Wyatville, to build new, rather than restore. Constructed in Bath stone, the house is neoclassical in style with Ionic pilasters and a pediment on the south facade. 

There are two semicircular projecting bays on the east facade 

To the north and south there is a 7 meter high screen wall topped with stone balustrades and urns adjoining the house

Entering through a sunlit, dappled, courtyard leads on to the main garden

Welcome to George Washington's Garden in Bath reproduced from his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia

The sign reads - Vernonia fasciculata - Prairie Ironweed

via

which looks like this when it flowers in July and August

Sitting on the South lawn facing the manor is a bust of Abraham Lincoln

entrance to the Arboretum

If you are unfamiliar with Bath then a visit to Claverton Manor should include at least one day spent in the beautiful Georgian city of Bath, a UNESCO World Heritage site

The west front of Bath Abbey with it's angels forever ascending and descending Jacob's ladder on the stairway to heaven

The Roman Baths

The Royal Crescent

This is just the very tip of the iceberg of things to see and do in Bath. It is also blessed with lots of specialist shops selling unique goods, and great places to sit and watch the world go by with a cup of coffee