Editing Bath, Somerset (section)

==History==
{{see also|Timeline of Bath, Somerset}}

===Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages===
The hills in the locality such as [[Bathampton Down]] saw human activity from the [[Mesolithic]] period.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wessex Archaeology |title=Archaeological Desk- based Assessment |url=http://www.bath.ac.uk/estates/docs/Appendix_F_Archaeology.pdf |work=University of Bath, Masterplan Development Proposal 2008 |publisher=Bath University |access-date=4 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150902082459/http://www.bath.ac.uk/estates/docs/Appendix_F_Archaeology.pdf |archive-date=2 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Monument No. 204162 |url=http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=204162 |work=PastScape |publisher=Historic England |access-date=2 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504193813/http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=204162 |archive-date=4 May 2015 }}</ref> Several [[Bronze Age]] [[round barrow]]s were opened by [[John Skinner (archaeologist)|John Skinner]] in the 18th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Rod |title=A Sacred landscape: The prehistory of Bathampton Down |year=2008 |publisher=Millstream Books |location=Bath |isbn=978-0-948975-86-8 |page=21 }}</ref> A [[long barrow]] site believed to be from the [[Bronze Age Europe|Early Bronze Age]] [[Beaker people]] was flattened to make way for [[RAF Charmy Down]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Beaker people and the Bronze Age |url=http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Beakpeop.htm |publisher=[[Somerset County Council]] |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814192140/http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Beakpeop.htm |archive-date=14 August 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Charmy Down |url=http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=203301 |website=Pastscape |publisher=Historic England |access-date=22 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822223846/http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=203301 |archive-date=22 August 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Solsbury Hill]] overlooking the current city was an [[Iron Age]] [[hill fort]] and the adjacent Bathampton Camp may also have been one.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Rod |title=A Sacred landscape: The prehistory of Bathampton Down |year=2008 |publisher=Millstream Books |location=Bath |isbn=978-0-948975-86-8 |pages=46–48 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bathampton Camp |work=PastScape |url=http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=203244 |publisher=Historic England |access-date=2 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504193819/http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=203244 |archive-date=4 May 2015 }}</ref>

===Roman baths and town===
{{main|Aquae Sulis}}
[[File:Roman Baths c1900 2.jpg|thumb|alt=A late-nineteenth-century Photochrom of the Great Bath at the Roman Baths. Pillars tower over the water, and the spires of Bath Abbey&nbsp;– restored in the early sixteenth century&nbsp;– are visible in the background.|19th-century [[photochrom]] of the Great Bath at the [[Roman Baths (Bath)|Roman Baths]]. The entire structure above the level of the pillar bases is a later construction and was not a feature of the building in Roman days.]]

Archaeological evidence shows that the site of the [[Roman Baths (Bath)|Roman baths']] main spring may have been treated as a shrine by the [[British Iron Age|Britons]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://visitbath.co.uk/spa-and-wellbeing/history-of-baths-spa |title=History of Bath's Spa |publisher=Bath Tourism Plus |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315003815/http://visitbath.co.uk/spa-and-wellbeing/history-of-baths-spa |archive-date=15 March 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Page |first1=William |title=Romano-British Somerset: Part 2, Bath |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol1/pp219-288 |website=British History Online |publisher=Victoria County History |access-date=3 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930191857/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol1/pp219-288 |archive-date=30 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> and was dedicated to the goddess [[Sulis]], whom the [[Roman mythology|Romans]] identified with [[Minerva]]; the name Sulis continued to be used after the Roman invasion, appearing in the town's [[List of Roman place names in Britain|Roman name]], ''{{lang|la|Aquae Sulis}}'' (literally, "the waters of Sulis").<ref>A L Rowse, ''Heritage of Britain'', 1995, Treasure of London, {{ISBN|978-0-907407-58-4}}, 184 pages, Page 15</ref> Messages to her scratched onto metal, known as [[Bath curse tablets|curse tablets]], have been recovered from the sacred spring by archaeologists.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/RIB/RIBIV/jp4.htm |title=A Corpus of Writing-Tablets from Roman Britain |work=Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents, Oxford |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828220302/http://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/RIB/RIBIV/jp4.htm |archive-date=28 August 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> The tablets were written in [[Latin]], and laid curses on personal enemies. For example, if a citizen had his clothes stolen at the baths, he might write a curse against the suspects on a tablet to be read by the goddess.

A temple was constructed in AD&nbsp;60–70, and a bathing complex was built up over the next 300&nbsp;years.<ref name="worldheritageplan">{{cite web |url=http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/worldheritage/2.3Des.htm |title=City of Bath World Heritage Site Management Plan |work=Bath and North East Somerset |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614100836/http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/worldheritage/2.3Des.htm |archive-date=14 June 2007 |access-date=2 May 2015 }}</ref> Engineers drove oak piles into the mud to provide a stable foundation, and surrounded the spring with an irregular stone chamber lined with lead. In the 2nd century, the spring was enclosed within a wooden [[barrel-vaulted]] structure that housed the [[caldarium]] (hot bath), [[tepidarium]] (warm bath), and [[frigidarium]] (cold bath).<ref name="timetravel">{{cite web |url=http://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/stones/romanbaths.shtml |title=The Roman Baths |work=TimeTravel Britain |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409020816/http://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/stones/romanbaths.shtml |archive-date=9 April 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The town was later given [[Bath city walls|defensive walls]], probably in the 3rd century.<ref name="Alfreds Borough">{{cite web |url=http://www.buildinghistory.org/bath/saxon/alfredsborough.shtml |title=Alfreds Borough |work=Bath Past |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611024156/http://www.buildinghistory.org/bath/saxon/alfredsborough.shtml |archive-date=11 June 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> After the failure of Roman authority in the first decade of the 5th century, the baths fell into disrepair and were eventually lost as a result of rising water levels and silting.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Southern |first1=Patricia |title=The Story of Roman Bath |date=2012 |publisher=Amberley |isbn=978-1445610900 |pages=202–203 }}</ref>

In March 2012, a hoard of 30,000 silver Roman coins, one of the largest discovered in Britain, was unearthed in an archaeological dig. The coins, believed to date from the 3rd century, were found about {{cvt|150|m|ft}} from the Roman baths.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hough |first1=Andrew |title=Hoard of 30,000 silver Roman coins discovered in Bath |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/9161483/Hoard-of-30000-silver-Roman-coins-discovered-in-Bath.html |access-date=4 May 2015 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=22 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504213126/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/9161483/Hoard-of-30000-silver-Roman-coins-discovered-in-Bath.html |archive-date=4 May 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Post-Roman and medieval===
[[File:Bath Abbey Exterior, Somerset, UK - Diliff.jpg|alt=Yellow stone building with large arched windows and a tower.|thumb|left|upright|[[Bath Abbey]]]]

Bath may have been the site of the [[Battle of Badon]] ({{circa}} 500&nbsp;AD), in which [[King Arthur|Arthur]], the hero of later legends, is said to have defeated the [[Anglo-Saxons]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buildinghistory.org/bath/saxon/dobunni.shtml#Gildas |title=Dobunni to Hwicce |work=Bath past |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923195110/http://www.buildinghistory.org/bath/saxon/dobunni.shtml#Gildas |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> The town was captured by the [[History of Anglo-Saxon England|West Saxons]] in 577 after the [[Battle of Deorham]];<ref name="myeng">{{cite web |url=http://www.myenglandtravel.com/history-of-bath-england.html |title=History of Bath England, Roman Bath history |work=My England Travel Guide |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220181930/http://www.myenglandtravel.com/history-of-bath-england.html |archive-date=20 February 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> the Anglo-Saxon poem ''[[The Ruin]]'' may describe the appearance of the Roman site about this time.<ref>{{cite book |last=Klinck |first=Anne |title=The Old English Elegies: A Critical Edition and Genre Study |year=1992 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |location=Montreal |page=61 }}</ref> A monastery was founded at an early date&nbsp;– reputedly by [[Saint David]] although more probably in 675 by [[Osric, king of the Hwicce|Osric]], King of the [[Hwicce]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Davenport |first=Peter |title=Medieval Bath Uncovered |year=2002 |publisher=Tempus |location=Stroud |isbn=978-0752419657 |pages=31–34 }}</ref> perhaps using the [[Bath city walls|walled area]] as its precinct.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/towns/bathtime.shtml |title=Timeline Bath |work=Time Travel Britain |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403054732/http://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/towns/bathtime.shtml |archive-date=3 April 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.100welshheroes.com/en/biography/saint%20david |title=Saint David |work=100 Welsh Heroes |access-date=2 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010050612/http://www.100welshheroes.com/en/biography/saint%20david |archive-date=10 October 2012 }}</ref> [[Nennius]], a 9th-century historian, mentions a "Hot Lake" in the land of the Hwicce along the [[River Severn]], and adds "It is surrounded by a wall, made of brick and stone, and men may go there to bathe at any time, and every man can have the kind of bath he likes. If he wants, it will be a cold bath; and if he wants a hot bath, it will be hot". [[Bede]] described hot baths in the geographical introduction to the ''Ecclesiastical History'' in terms very similar to those of Nennius.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=James |last2=John |first2=Eric |last3=Wormald |first3=Patrick |title=The Anglo-Saxons |date=1991 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0140143959 |pages=40–41 }}</ref> [[King Offa]] of [[Mercia]] gained control of the monastery in 781 and rebuilt the church, which was dedicated to [[St. Peter]].<ref name="Poliquin">{{cite web |title=Bath Abbey |url=http://www.uquebec.ca/musique/orgues/angleterre/batha.html#English |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621205423/http://www.uquebec.ca/musique/orgues/angleterre/batha.html |archive-date=21 June 2013 |work=Robert Poliquin's Music and Musicians |publisher=Quebec University |access-date=18 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

According to the Victorian churchman [[Edward Churton]], during the Anglo-Saxon era Bath was known as ''Acemannesceastre'' ('Akemanchester'), or 'aching men's city', on account of the reputation these springs had for healing the sick.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Early English Church |url=https://archive.org/details/earlyenglishchu01churgoog |last=Churton |first=Edward |author-link=Edward Churton |year=1841 |publisher=James Burns |edition=2nd |location=London |page=102 }}</ref>

[[File:Speed baths.jpg|thumb|Map of Bath by [[John Speed]] published in 1610]]
By the 9th century, the old Roman street pattern was lost and Bath was a royal possession. [[King Alfred]] laid out the town afresh, leaving its south-eastern quadrant as the abbey precinct.<ref name="Alfreds Borough"/> In the [[Burghal Hidage]], Bath is recorded as a [[burh]] (borough) and is described as having walls of {{convert|1375|yd|m}} and was allocated 1000 men for defence.<ref>{{cite book |last=Davenport |first=Peter |title=Medieval Bath Uncovered |year=2002 |publisher=Tempus |location=Stroud |isbn=978-0752419657 |pages=40–42 }}</ref> During the reign of [[Edward the Elder]] coins were [[Mint (coin)|minted]] in Bath based on a design from the [[Winchester]] mint but with 'BAD' on the obverse relating to the Anglo-Saxon name for the town, Baðum, Baðan or Baðon, meaning "at the baths",<ref>{{cite book |last=Davenport |first=Peter |title=Medieval Bath Uncovered |year=2002 |publisher=Tempus |location=Stroud |isbn=978-0752419657 |pages=50–51 }}</ref> and this was the source of the present name. [[Edgar of England]] was crowned king of England in [[Bath Abbey]] in 973, in a ceremony that formed the basis of all future [[Coronation of the British monarch|English coronations]].<ref name="Edgar">{{cite web |url=http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/saxon_12.htm |title=Edgar the Peaceful |work=English Monarchs&nbsp;– Kings and Queens of England |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701165135/http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/saxon_12.htm |archive-date=1 July 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[William Rufus]] granted the town, abbey and mint to a royal physician, [[John of Tours]], who became Bishop of [[Wells, Somerset|Wells]] and Abbot of Bath,<ref>{{cite book |last=Powicke |first=Maurice |author-link=F. M. Powicke |year=1939 |title=Handbook of British Chronology |isbn=978-0-901050-17-5 |page=137 |publisher=Offices of the Royal Historical Society }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Barlow |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Barlow (historian) |title=William Rufus |page=182 |publisher=Yale University Press |date=March 2000 |isbn=978-0-300-08291-3 }}</ref> following the sacking of the town during the [[Rebellion of 1088]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Davenport |first=Peter |title=Medieval Bath Uncovered |year=2002 |publisher=Tempus |location=Stroud |isbn=978-0752419657 |page=71 }}</ref> It was papal policy for bishops to move to more urban seats, and John of Tours [[Translation (ecclesiastical)|translated]] his own from Wells to Bath.<ref name=Huscroft128>{{cite book |last1=Huscroft |first1=Richard |title=Ruling England, 1042–1217 |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0582848825 |page=128 }}</ref> The bishop planned and began a much larger church as his cathedral, to which was attached a priory, with the bishop's palace beside it.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Ann |title=Bath Abbey 1499-1999 |date=1999 |publisher=Bath Abbey |page=3 }}</ref> New baths were built around the three springs. Later bishops returned the episcopal seat to Wells while retaining the name Bath in the title, [[Bishop of Bath and Wells]]. [[St John's Hospital, Bath|St John's Hospital]] was founded around 1180 by Bishop [[Reginald Fitz Jocelin]] and is among the oldest [[almshouse]]s in England.<ref name="soc">{{cite web |url=http://www.buildinghistory.org/jean/spiritofcare.shtml |title=The eight-hundred-year story of St John's Hospital, Bath |work=Spirit of Care |publisher=Jean Manco |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821173938/http://www.buildinghistory.org/jean/spiritofcare.shtml |archive-date=21 August 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> The 'hospital of the baths' was built beside the hot springs of the [[Cross Bath]], for their health-giving properties and to provide shelter for the poor infirm.<ref name="sioa">{{cite web |url=http://www.buildinghistory.org/bath/medieval/shelter.shtml |title=Shelter in old age |last=Manco |first=Jean |publisher=Bath Past |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923195109/http://www.buildinghistory.org/bath/medieval/shelter.shtml |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Administrative systems fell within the [[Hundred (county division)|hundreds]]. The [[Bath Forum|Bath Hundred]] had various names including the Hundred of Le&nbsp;Buri. The Bath Foreign Hundred or Forinsecum covered the area outside the city and was later combined into the Bath Forum Hundred. Wealthy merchants had no status within the hundred courts and formed [[guild]]s to gain influence. They built the first [[guildhall]] probably in the 13th century. Around 1200, the [[List of Mayors of Bath|first mayor]] was appointed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Davenport |first=Peter |title=Medieval Bath Uncovered |year=2002 |publisher=Tempus |location=Stroud |isbn=978-0752419657 |pages=97–98 }}</ref>

===Early modern===
[[File:Prospect of Bath in 1673.jpg|thumb|The South Prospect of Bath as depicted in Millerd's 1673 map of Bristol]]

By the 15th century, Bath's abbey church was dilapidated<ref>{{cite web |url=http://visitbath.co.uk/things-to-do/bath-abbey-p24001 |title=Bath Abbey |work=Visit Bath |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711142912/http://visitbath.co.uk/things-to-do/bath-abbey-p24001 |archive-date=11 July 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Oliver King]], Bishop of Bath and Wells, decided to rebuild it on a smaller scale in 1500. The new church was completed just a few years before Bath Priory was [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolved]] in 1539 by [[Henry VIII]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mayorofbath.co.uk/renaissance-bath |title=Renaissance Bath |access-date=9 December 2007 |work=City of Bath |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114061225/http://www.mayorofbath.co.uk/renaissance-bath |archive-date=14 January 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The abbey church became derelict before being restored as the city's [[parish church]] in the [[Elizabethan era]], when the city experienced a revival as a [[spa]]. The baths were improved and the city began to attract the aristocracy. A [[Royal charter]] granted by Queen [[Elizabeth I]] in 1590 confirmed [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]].<ref name = "bath_insignia">{{cite web |url=http://www.mayorofbath.co.uk/civic-insignia |title=Civic Insignia |access-date=10 December 2007 |work=City of Bath |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114051609/http://www.mayorofbath.co.uk/civic-insignia |archive-date=14 January 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> James Montagu, Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1608, spent considerable sums in restoring Bath Abbey and actively supported the Baths themselves, aware that the 'towne liveth wholly by them'. In 1613, perhaps at his behest, Queen Anne visited the town to take the waters: the Queen's Bath was named after her. The cue for the visit may have been the completion of the restoration work to Bath Abbey, the last instalment of which had been paid for two years previously.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stout |first=Adam |year=2020 |title=Glastonbury Holy Thorn: Story of a Legend |pages=28–29 |isbn=9781916268616 |publisher=Green & Pleasant Publishing }}</ref> [[Anne of Denmark and the spa at Bath|Anne of Denmark]] came to Bath in 1613 and 1615.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Emanuel |last=Green |title=The Visits to Bath of Two Queens |journal=Proceedings of the Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club |volume=7 |year=1893 |page=224 }}</ref> By the beginning of the [[English Civil War]], the city was a first-class resort. However, it lost much of this trade in 1642; with the outbreak of war, fiddlers, "ladies who are there", and ale-house guides, lost their customers.<ref>History of England during the Reigns of the Royal House of Stuart. John Oldmixon, 1730 pp208-212, as quoted in: An unhappy civil war. The experiences of ordinary people in Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire, 1642-1646. John Wroughton. Lansdown Press, Bath, 1999. Chapter 4, Forced to improvise. pp165-166</ref>

The city was initially garrisoned for [[Charles I of England|Charles I]]. Seven thousand pounds was spent on fortifications, but on the appearance of parliamentary forces the gates were thrown open and the city surrendered. It became a significant post for the Western Association army under [[William Waller]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=A tour through the whole island of Great Britain; Divided into Journeys. Interspersed with Useful Observations; Particularly Calculated for the Use of Those who are Desirous of Travelling over England & Scotland |first=Clement |last=Crutwell |pages=387–388 |volume=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7n5HAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA387 |year=1801 |access-date=2 May 2015 }}</ref> Bath was retaken by the royalists in July 1643 following the [[Battle of Lansdowne]] and occupied for two years until 1645.<ref>{{cite book |title=Battles and Generals of the Civil Wars |last=Rodgers |first=Colonel Hugh Cuthbert Basset |year=1968 |publisher=Seeley Service & Co. |asin=B000HJ9TUG |page=81 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Wroughton |first=John |title=Stuart Bath: Life in the Forgotten City 1603–1714 |publisher=The Lansdown Press |year=2004 |pages=156, 158, 161–2, 174 }}</ref> The city was spared widespread destruction of property, overcrowding, bubonic plague, or starvation of its inhabitants, etc, unlike nearby Bristol and [[Gloucester]], and it had good water piped in from its surrounding hills. Still, soldiers who were billeted in private houses contributed to disorder and vandalism, though this never caused the general destruction and plundering seen in [[Marlborough, Wiltshire|Marlborough]] and other towns. Bath remained a health resort, often for wounded soldiers, its markets continued open and well-regulated, and its shopkeepers and craftsmen continued busy.<ref>An unhappy civil war. The experiences of ordinary people in Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire, 1642-1646. John Wroughton. Lansdown Press, Bath, 1999. Chapter 4, Forced to improvise. pp165-167</ref> Nevertheless, council spending, rents and grants all decreased and the finances of the Bath City Council were seriously affected.<ref name=":1" /> 

Normality to the city quickly recovered after the war when the city council achieved a healthy budget surplus.<ref name=":1" /> [[Thomas Guidott]], a student of chemistry and medicine at [[Wadham College, Oxford]], set up a practice in the city in 1668. He was interested in the curative properties of the waters, and he wrote ''A discourse of Bathe, and the hot waters there. Also, Some Enquiries into the Nature of the water'' in 1676. It brought the health-giving properties of the hot mineral waters to the attention of the country, and the aristocracy arrived to partake in them.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Burns |first=D. Thorburn |title=Thomas Guidott (1638–1705): Physician and Chymist, contributor to the analysis of mineral waters |journal=Analytical Proceedings |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=2–6 |doi=10.1039/AP9811800002 |year=1981 }}</ref>
[[File:BathRoyalCrescentAirial morecontrast.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Aerial photograph of semicircular terrace of stone buildings with large expanse of grass in front and to the left. Also shows surrounding terraces of buildings.|[[Royal Crescent]] and Circus from the air (connected by link road, thus creating the famous "[[question mark]]" formation). Georgian taste favoured the regularity of Bath's streets and squares and the contrast with adjacent rural nature.]]

[[File:the.circus.bath.arp.jpg|thumb|alt=Semicircular terrace of 3-storey buildings with matching windows and roofs, stone bands run the length of the terrace.|right|[[The Circus, Bath|The Circus]]]]

Several areas of the city were developed in the [[House of Stuart|Stuart]] period, and more building took place during [[Georgian era|Georgian]] times in response to the increasing number of visitors who required accommodation.<ref>{{cite book |title=The English Spa, 1560–1815: A Social History |last=Hembury |first=Phylis May |year=1990 |publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-8386-3391-5 |pages=114–121 }}</ref> Architects [[John Wood the Elder]] and [[John Wood, the Younger|his son]] laid out the new quarters in streets and squares, the identical façades of which gave an impression of palatial scale and classical decorum.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bathmuseum.co.uk/biography.htm |title=John Wood and the Creation of Georgian Bath |work=Building of Bath Museum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113094712/http://www.bathmuseum.co.uk/biography.htm |archive-date=13 November 2007 |url-status=dead |access-date=2 May 2015 }}</ref> Much of the creamy gold [[Bath stone]], a type of [[limestone]] used for construction in the city, was obtained from the [[Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines]] owned by [[Ralph Allen]] (1694–1764).<ref name="rabiog">{{cite web |url=http://www.bathpostalmuseum.co.uk/ralph-allen.html |title=Ralph Allen Biography |work=Bath Postal Museum |access-date=2 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004234025/http://www.bathpostalmuseum.co.uk/ralph-allen.html |archive-date=4 October 2013 }}</ref> Allen, to advertise the quality of his quarried limestone, commissioned the elder John Wood to build a country house on his [[Prior Park]] estate between the city and the mines.<ref name="rabiog"/> Allen was responsible for improving and expanding the postal service in western England, for which he held the contract for more than forty years.<ref name="rabiog"/> Although not fond of politics, Allen was a civic-minded man and a member of Bath Corporation for many years. He was elected mayor for a single term in 1742.<ref name="rabiog"/>

In the early 18th century, Bath acquired its first purpose-built theatre, the [[Old Orchard Street Theatre]]. It was rebuilt as the [[Theatre Royal, Bath|Theatre Royal]], along with the [[Grand Pump Room]] attached to the Roman Baths and [[Bath Assembly Rooms|assembly rooms]]. [[Master of ceremonies]] [[Beau Nash]], who presided over the city's social life from 1704 until his death in 1761, drew up a code of behaviour for public entertainments.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Imaginary Autocrat: Beau Nash and the invention of Bath |last=Eglin |first=John |year=2005 |publisher=Profile |isbn=978-1-86197-302-3 |page=7 }}</ref> Bath had become perhaps the most fashionable of the rapidly developing British spa towns, attracting many notable visitors such as the wealthy London bookseller [[Andrew Millar]] and his wife, who both made long visits.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.millar-project.ed.ac.uk/manuscripts/html_output/4.html |title=The manuscripts, Letter from Andrew Millar to Thomas Cadell, 16 July, 1765. Andrew Millar Project. University of Edinburgh. |website=millar-project.ed.ac.uk |access-date=3 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115053142/http://www.millar-project.ed.ac.uk/manuscripts/html_output/4.html |archive-date=15 January 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1816, it was described as "a seat of amusement and dissipation", where "scenes of extravagance in this receptacle of the wealthy and the idle, the weak and designing" were habitual.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thorn |first=sir William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JEgVAAAAQAAJ |title=A memoir of major-general sir R.R. Gillespie [by W. Thorn.]. |date=1816 |language=en }}</ref>
{{Clear}}

===Late modern===
[[File:Milson street, Bath (4052079943).jpg|upright|thumb|An 1850s photograph of Green Street]]
[[File:Bathwick Hill, Bath, Somerset, UK - Diliff.jpg|thumb|right|Looking north-west from [[Bathwick Hill]] towards the northern suburbs, showing the variety of housing typical of Bath]]
The population of the city was 40,020 at the 1801 census, making it one of the largest cities in Britain.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10167607 |title=A vision of Bath |work=Britain through time |publisher=University of Portsmouth |access-date=4 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012162314/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10167607 |archive-date=12 October 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[William Thomas Beckford]] bought a house in [[Lansdown Crescent, Bath|Lansdown Crescent]] in 1822, and subsequently two adjacent houses to form his residence. Having acquired all the land between his home and the top of [[Lansdown, Bath|Lansdown Hill]], he created a garden more than {{convert|1/2|mi|m}} in length and built [[Beckford's Tower]] at the top.<ref>{{cite web |title=Beckford's Tower & Mortuary Chapel, Lansdown Cemetery |work=Images of England |publisher=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442844 |access-date=2 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428181721/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442844 |archive-date=28 April 2015 }}</ref>

Emperor [[Haile Selassie]] of Ethiopia spent four years in exile, from 1936 to 1940, at [[Fairfield House, Bath|Fairfield House]] in Bath.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://anglo-ethiopian.org/publications/articles.php?type=O&reference=publications/occasionalpapers/papers/haileselassiebath.php |title=The Emperor Haile Selassie I in Bath 1936–1940 |work=Anglo-Ethiopian Society |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080130085518/http://anglo-ethiopian.org/publications/articles.php?type=O&reference=publications%2Foccasionalpapers%2Fpapers%2Fhaileselassiebath.php |archive-date=30 January 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> During [[World War II]], between the evening of 25 April and the early morning of 27 April 1942, Bath suffered three air raids in reprisal for [[RAF]] raids on the German cities of [[Lübeck]] and [[Rostock]], part of the [[Luftwaffe]] campaign popularly known as the [[Baedeker Blitz]]. During the [[Bath Blitz]], more than 400 people were killed, and more than 19,000 buildings damaged or destroyed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royalcrescentbath.com/HistoryBathatWar.htm |title=History&nbsp;– Bath at War |access-date=9 December 2007 |work=Royal Crescent Society, Bath |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080131165317/http://www.royalcrescentbath.com/HistoryBathatWar.htm |archive-date=31 January 2008 |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

Houses in [[Royal Crescent]], [[The Circus, Bath|Circus]] and [[The Paragon, Bath|Paragon]] were burnt out along with the [[Bath Assembly Rooms|Assembly Rooms]].<ref name=SpenceBlitz/><ref name=RCBomb/> A {{convert|500|kg|adj=on}} [[Explosive material|high explosive]] bomb landed on the east side of [[Queen Square (Bath)|Queen Square]], resulting in houses on the south side being damaged and the [[Francis Hotel, Bath|Francis Hotel]] losing {{convert|24|m}} of its frontage.<ref name=SpenceBlitz>{{cite book |last=Spence |first=Cathryn |title=Bath in the Blitz: Then and Now |year=2012 |publisher=The History Press |location=Stroud |isbn=978-0-7524-6639-2 |page=55 }}</ref> The buildings have all been restored although there are still signs of the bombing.<ref name=SpenceBlitz/><ref name=RCBomb>{{cite web |url=http://www.royalcrescentbath.com/HistoryRoyalCrescent%202.htm#The_Day_Bombs_fell_on_Bath |title=Royal Crescent History: The Day Bombs fell on Bath |access-date=9 December 2007 |work=Royal Crescent Society, Bath |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080131165322/http://www.royalcrescentbath.com/HistoryRoyalCrescent%202.htm |archive-date=31 January 2008 }}</ref>

A postwar review of inadequate housing led to the clearance and redevelopment of areas of the city in a postwar style, often at variance with the local Georgian style. In the 1950s, the nearby villages of [[Combe Down]], [[Twerton]] and [[Weston, Bath|Weston]] were incorporated into the city to enable the development of housing, much of it [[council house|council housing]].<ref name="BANES-history"/><ref name=moba-2013>{{cite web |url=http://museumofbatharchitecture.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Bath-History-of-Social-Housing-booklet.pdf |title=Council Housing in Bath 1945–2013 – a social history |website=Museum of Bath at Work |year=2013 |access-date=27 August 2023 |archive-date=26 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426190835/http://museumofbatharchitecture.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Bath-History-of-Social-Housing-booklet.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1965, town planner [[Colin Buchanan (town planner)|Colin Buchanan]] published ''Bath: A Planning and Transport Study'', which to a large degree sought to better accommodate the motor car, including the idea of a traffic tunnel underneath the centre of Bath. Though criticised by conservationists, some parts of the plan were implemented.

In the 1970s and 1980s, it was recognised that conservation of historic buildings was inadequate, leading to more care and reuse of buildings and open spaces.<ref name="BANES-history">{{Cite book |title=Bath City-Wide Character Appraisal |chapter=Cultural and historical development of Bath |date=31 August 2005 |publisher=Bath & North East Somerset Council |chapter-url=http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/supplementary-planning-documents-spds/bath-ci |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427084454/http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/supplementary-planning-documents-spds/bath-ci |archive-date=27 April 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=brutalbath>{{cite web |url=http://museumofbatharchitecture.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Brutal-Bath-trail-leaflet.pdf |title=Brutal Bath |publisher=Museum of Bath Architecture |year=2014 |access-date=30 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130202159/http://museumofbatharchitecture.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Brutal-Bath-trail-leaflet.pdf |archive-date=30 November 2018 }}</ref> In 1987, the city was selected by [[UNESCO]] as a [[World Heritage Site]], recognising its international cultural significance.<ref name="BANES-whs">{{cite web |title=Why is Bath a World Heritage Site? |work=City of Bath World Heritage Site |date=7 November 2014 |url=http://www.bathworldheritage.org.uk/why-bath-world-heritage-site |publisher=Bath and North East Somerset |access-date=3 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609225133/http://www.bathworldheritage.org.uk/why-bath-world-heritage-site |archive-date=9 June 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Between 1991 and 2000, Bath was the scene of a series of rapes committed by an unidentified man dubbed the "[[Batman rapist]]".<ref name="Batman">{{cite news |title=The Batman Rapist: What we know about the shocking serial attacker who terrorised women in Bath |url=https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/in-your-area/batman-rapist-what-know-shocking-3210972 |access-date=15 June 2022 |work=Somerset Live |date=1 August 2020 |archive-date=15 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615143815/https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/in-your-area/batman-rapist-what-know-shocking-3210972 |url-status=live }}</ref> The attacker remains at large and is the subject of Britain's longest-running serial rape investigation.<ref name="Batman" /> He is said to have a [[tights]] [[sexual fetish|fetish]], have a scar below his bottom lip and resides in the Bath area or knows it very well.<ref name="Batman" /> He has also been linked to the unsolved [[murder of Melanie Hall]], which occurred in the city in 1996.<ref>{{cite news |title=Parents plead for answers in 13-year-old murder case |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/parents-plead-for-answers-in-13yearold-murder-case-1799966.html |access-date=15 June 2022 |work=The Independent |date=9 October 2009 |archive-date=15 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615151414/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/parents-plead-for-answers-in-13yearold-murder-case-1799966.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Although the offender's DNA is known and several thousand men in Bath were DNA tested, the attacker continues to evade police.<ref name="Batman" />

Since 2000, major developments have included the [[Thermae Bath Spa]], the [[SouthGate]] shopping centre, the residential Western Riverside project on the [[Stothert & Pitt]] factory site, and the riverside Bath Quays office and business development.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southgatebath.com/ |title=South Gate Bath |access-date=8 December 2007 |work=Morley |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081026101629/http://www.southgatebath.com/ |archive-date=26 October 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="bathchron-20160611">{{cite news |url=http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/12million-bath-quays-regeneration-project/story-29370279-detail/story.html |title=£12million for Bath Quays regeneration project is approved |author=James Crawley |newspaper=Bath Chronicle |date=11 June 2016 |access-date=22 July 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160930210909/http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/12million-bath-quays-regeneration-project/story-29370279-detail/story.html |archive-date=30 September 2016 }}</ref> In 2021, Bath become part of a second UNESCO World Heritage Site, a group of spa towns across Europe known as the "[[Great Spas of Europe]]".<ref name="DPA-whs"/> This makes it one of the only places to be formally recognised twice as a [[World Heritage]] site.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bath World Heritage Site {{!}} The City of Bath is exceptional in having two UNESCO inscriptions. |url=https://www.bathworldheritage.org.uk/ |access-date=18 May 2024 |website=www.bathworldheritage.org.uk |language=en |archive-date=18 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518081051/https://www.bathworldheritage.org.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>