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Published: January 11th 2014
Ellie (top) and Winston (bottom)
gave us a great "cat fix" with sleeping on the bed, sitting on our lap & "playing"Thanks to our signing on with
www.trustedhousesitters.com we were able to have a wonderful time in Bath, about 100 miles west of London. Fortunately for us 2 cats, Winston and Ellie needed someone to take care of them from December 16 – 27
th so we also got a much needed “cat fix”.
With train travel in the UK being so prevalent we hopped on in London at 9:30AM and we were in Bath by 11AM. After having a nice visit with Hazel, the home owner and meeting Ellie & Winston, the cats, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and head into town. The Kennett & Avon Canal is very close by and the path along it ran right into the town of Bath – a nice way to start our explorations. After picking up what we needed at the visitors center, always our first stop, we had time to visit the Bath Abbey. Of all the cathedrals we have visited so far this one is the most spectacular. What is most amazing about this cathedral is the fan vaulted ceiling carved from stone. It is hard to capture in a photo the full impact of this design,
The footpath along the canal
was handy as we were able to take it into the town of Bath. it is simply breathtaking. Construction of the Bath Abbey began in 1499, but this replaced a previous Norman cathedral. Remember the Normans conquered England at the battle of Hastings in 1066. In 1539 the Bath Priory was dissolved by Henry VIII before its completion (will talk about this in a bit more detail later on) so the Abbey was neglected for about 70 years. Finally in 1616, the church was completed although it wasn't until the 1800’s that a wooden ceiling was replaced by the current stone fan vaulted ceiling.
The weather was sunny but cold the first couple of days so decided to do a walking tour of the city. We found a free audio guide that we could load onto our iPhone. Bath does have numerous tours that you can hook into, but we decided to do this on our own so we could go at our own pace.
The city of Bath has ancient beginnings with the Romans first taking advantage of the hot springs around 60 AD. The tour of the Roman Baths is mainly indoors so we decided to leave that to another day when the weather wasn’t as nice. We did not
What Day is Christmas?
We were going to go out for dinner on Christmas, but hard to find any that were on the 25th! get a chance to see all of what was on the World Heritage tour, but did cover most of it. Even though the Baths were built very early on and used extensively for over 300 years, after the Romans left they fell into ruin and were “lost”. Homes and shops were built over top of the Roman ruins and in wasn’t until the 1700’s that the Baths were re-discovered and redeveloped. With the belief that the hot spring water had healing powers both by bathing in it and drinking the water, Bath emerged once again as a resort town. Remember at this time large cities like London were dirty and the air was heavily polluted from the burning of coal. In the summertime with the heat and the pollution anyone who could get out of London traveled to the countryside. An architect, John Wood, the Elder, understood that people needed a place to socialize and “parade” (show off their finery) so he designed the Queen’s Square which was built between 1729 - 1733. This development provided wide sidewalks, raised pavement and a central formal garden in which to “be seen”. The square consisted of 7 townhouses, but the northern most
Community Gardens
are very common in Europe - such a great idea and use of land. one was designed as if it was a grand palace providing a central focal point for the square. This was the first time that speculative building took place here in Britain. Wood leased the land, designed the frontage and divided the plot into individual units, then he sub-let the building to other builders and masons. In this way he was able to charge them rent totaling more than he was paying for the rental of the land. With people wanting to move to Bath, the builders typically had the places rented out before the building was completed. Queen’s Square was located outside the city walls, but it was still close enough to walk to the Baths, Pump Room, Abbey and away from the crowded streets of the medieval city of Bath making it popular with high society.
The success Wood had with the Queen’s Square led to the same type of speculative development in other areas. Two of these were the development of the Circus in 1754 and the Royal Crescent which was completed by his son, John Wood, the Younger in 1774. When you walk into the Circus you feel as if you have entered a Roman Coliseum,
it is made up of 4 crescent shaped buildings surrounding an open green space in the middle. The buildings are 3 stories high and included in the design were Doric columns on the ground level, Ionic columns on the 2
nd and Corinthian columns on the top floor. The idea was the same as in the Queen’s Square of providing a residential space where the social gentry could promenade and be seen. The Royal Crescent known to be the best example of Georgian architecture in existence in the UK is an impressive structure made of local limestone. It is built with a grand sweeping crescent shape opening it up so residence would have a view of the city and valley below making it a very desirable place to live. At first glance this appears to be one large building, but in fact the façade connects 40 individual housing units. This fascade made it appear as if it is a “grand manor” making it desirable for those that came from country manors to Bath to “take the waters”. Previously many would come to Bath and rent for a few months in the summer, but with the development of the Crescent more people
found Bath a place they would want to live all year round.
One of the features on the walking tour was the Paulteney Bridge, one of four remaining bridges of this type. It was built between 1769 and 1774 with shops lining both sides of the bridge it enabled Bath to expand into a new area across the river. The shops are still open for business to this day - the bridge had been a pedestrian way for many years but it is now open to car traffic.
Before arriving in Bath Janice had obtained tickets for a Christmas concert given by the City of Bath Bach Choir at the Pump Room which is connected to the Roman baths. It was an excellent concert of traditional Christmas carols, several of which we had never heard before. The conductor was extremely animated and obviously thoroughly enjoying himself especially when he was able to get the audience on their feet and singing along with the choir. The Pump Room dates back to the late 1700s and is an exquisite example of architecture of that period .The room is so named for the pump that was used to bring the hot
Do you know what it is?
These are very popular here in the UK. mineral water up from the spring so that the customers visiting the baths could sit in luxury while sipping their mineral water.
Jane Austen is one of the more famous people that lived here with her home being one of the tourist sites we missed. There are numerous other museums that sounded interesting as well, but with limited time we decided to rent a car for 4 days to explore some of the surrounding area.
Stonehenge is a short distance from Bath and it was at the top of our list of things to see. Fortunately a couple days earlier they had opened a new visitor’s center containing an explanation of the site and a detailed description of its history. To this day there is still a lot of speculation of the purpose of Stonehenge, but they do have lots of archeological evidence that indicate that over the long history of this site it served many different purposes to the different cultures that developed in its vicinity. One of the best displays was a time line which put the building of Stonehenge in relation to other well -known sites such as the Greek Parthenon in 0 BC, the
Enjoying the Scenery
by the Avon River which goes through Bath. Roman Colossiuem dating from 500 AD while Stonehenge is believed to have been built between 2500 – 2000 BC. Yes, that's correct - 2500 years before the building of the Greek Parthenon! Imagine a people advanced enough to be able to come up with the systems needed to move such large stones and to hook them together using tendons cut into the stone to hold the cross members in place. You are not able to enter the circle at Stonehenge, but they have set up a path that you can walk around the perimeter. It is well done as it allows you to take photos without seeing others there giving the sense of being alone. There are only 2 times of the year that people are allowed into the circle which are at summer and winter solstice. The winter solstice was only a few days away and already many people were camping nearby waiting for their opportunity to enter the circle for pagan religious ceremonies. In the 1700s an archaeologist studying the site gave the credit for its construction and use to the Druids which were part of the Anglo-Saxon culture prior to the Norman invasion. This theory has since
been proven to be incorrect and that in fact the Druids simply found the site and started to use it as many had done before them. But, still to this day many people believe this theory and elaborate ceremonies are performed during the summer and winter solstice even though there is no archaeological evidence that the ceremonies have any base in history.
On our way down to Stonehenge we stopped to see a place we had read about that is one of the many English Heritage sites. The Nunney Castle, the first castle we would actually visit here in the UK was built in 1370. It is a very picturesque site with the old castle and moat lovingly maintained. This is not a grand Castle but in fact a small three story structure with a modest 12 foot high walls. The moat which was 10 feet wide and 9 feet deep was the better defense for the castle . It was built by a Knight who was given this track of land by the King for his services to the crown. The Prater family were Catholic and strong supporters of the King. When you walk around to the drawbridge
Anyone Recognize this Vegetable?
Unfortunately there wasn't anyone here to ask about it - looked interesting! you find that it is in ruins as a result of canon fire in 1645 during the civil war by the garrison commanded by Oliver Cromwell. The sunlight peeking down through the various openings enables you to understand how it was originally constructed and see the various modifications to the defensive wall. Although the only thing remaining is the outer wall you can still make out the fireplaces and where the floor beams lock into the outer walls.
Walking around the castle you come to another bridge that leads to the small village of Nunney and the church. We took the extra time to peek inside and see a very modest, but lovely house of worship. When you see the size of many of these small villages you have to wonder how they can maintain these old churches. The little village was exactly what you would expect to see with its narrow streets, stone houses with tile or thatch roofs. We have learned from previous road trips not to over plan our day and with the sun setting around 4:30 PM we decided it was time to head back before it got too dark.
In all the
The Bath Circus
is hard to capture as it is a circle surrounded by circular residential homes - quite impressive. visitor information the Wells Cathedral is said to be well worth a visit so planned our next day around that. Wells is located in the countryside on the western slope of the Mendip Hills. There has been a sacred site there for over 1,000 years. The current Wells Cathedral was built in the 12
th century which took 80 years to build. It was the first English Cathedral to introduce the French architectural style called Gothic. In addition this Cathedral utilizes something called a scissor arch which helps distribute the weight and allow for the construction of a high central dome. This is the first Cathedral we have seen using this impressive structural support. In 1313 a mason came up with this solution which is now referred to as the scissor arches. Another unique feature is the astronomical clock complete with jousting knights every quarter hour which was installed here in 1390 and is still functioning to this day. The chapter house we have learned from various tours of abbeys and cathedrals is the place where the business of the church was conducted. To reach the one here you must climb stairs that are very clearly worn from the centuries of
The Circus
is made up of 4 circular shaped buildings that surround this circular island park. footsteps that have gone before us to this same meeting place. They are circular rooms with a very high ceiling and seating labeled for each of the monks and/or priests to sit while making decisions about the parish. The west end of the Cathedral is known for its magnificent medieval sculptures. The first row of statues are of the clergy, the second is of royalty and the 3
rd row is the apostles. This shows the importance that each played in society at the time. When walking outside we came across the Vicar’s Close. This is connected to the Cathedral with an overhead walkway to the Cathedral. It had been built to house the men that sang in the choir providing them with housing and a sense of community. It provided homes for 42 men, a community dining area and a home for the Vicar himself. These are currently residential areas, but it is the only medieval street still in existence in the UK.
The Bishop’s Palace next door has been the home of the Bishop of Wells and Bath diocese for 800 years. It was originally built in 1230 with the chapel and great hall being added later in
The "Georgian Style" Crescent 1767-1774
was an "impressive" address to have with a great view & green space. the 13
th century. In the 14
th century the Bishop did not have a good relationship with the people of Wells due to his imposition of a heavy tax. As a result he had the walls, gatehouse, moat and drawbridge added, complete with spouts where hot oil could be poured onto any invaders added by 1341, definitely an interesting home for a man of the cloth. The Great Hall is in ruins because the lead roof had been sold back in the early 1500’s and was never replaced. Over the years the palace became a garrison for troops during the English Civil War and then became a prison for a time. In the 1850’s a second story was added to the palace. Currently most of the area is open to the public with only the Bishop’s house being used by the Church. It was almost closing time therefore didn’t make it into the Palace but did have a chance to walk around some of the impressive grounds.
When we left Wells we headed to Glastonbury. We had read about the Abbey and the Tor so went to check them both out. The Glastonbury Tor is a hill of 518 feet.
Additional Residence
that were built near the crescent providing housing, but not as an "exclusive address". It stands out and can be seen from quite a distance. Neolithic tools have been found here and evidence of a village in existence about 300-200 BC. There has not been any evidence to show that there was any permanent residence at this site, but Roman pottery shards have been found indicating that it had been visited during Roman times. The 15
th Century tower is all that remains of St. Michael’s Church which was built on this high point. We decided not to take the time to walk up to the tower for the view as we wanted to have time to explore the Abbey nearby.
The Saxons who converted to Christianity had conquered this area in the 7
th century , much later building a stone church at this location in 712 AD (the Romans left Britain about 435 A.D.). This later became the basis of the Abbey at Glastonbury. In the 10
th century it was enlarged considerably and skilled Saxon craftsmen added magnificent buildings. By 1086 this Abbey was the richest Monastery in all of England. A giant fire in 1184 consumed most of the ancient treasures housed here. The story goes that the monks in order to
The Pulteney Bridge built in 1774
is one of 4 in the world built with shops along each side of the roadway across the bridge. raise funds to rebuild the abbey dug up two bodies claiming them to be King Arthur and his Queen Guinevere and reburied them within the Abbey Church in the presence of King Edward I. This would lead to it being a pilgrimage site bringing much needed funds to the Abbey. The Abbot of Glastonbury in the 14
th century was the head of the second wealthiest in Britain (Westminster being first) lived in amazing splendor here and had great power. The Abbot’s kitchen is the best example of the wealth that he had with a huge place in which to wine and dine his guest with the best of foods.
In 1536 there were over 800 monasteries, nunneries and friaries in Britain with vast land holdings controlling much of the agricultural wealth of Britain. In 1539 King Henry VIII who had been battling with the Pope over his desire to divorce his wife decided to banish the Catholic Church and proclaimed himself as leader of the new Anglican Church. This single act of the brash 27-year-old King is often misunderstood and thought to be solely related to his marital issues. In fact with this one single act Henry VIII solved
Our "home" in Bath
was a comfortable place to stay & spend Christmas as well. one of his biggest problem which was debt. Henry was now the head of the Church and therefore he owned all of its property. By 1541 there were no monasteries, nunneries or friaries remaining and the King was an extremely wealthy man. The buildings and land had been seized by the Crown and sold off or leased to othersand more than 10,000 monks and nuns had been dispersed. During the social and religious upheaval known as the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Glastonbury Abbey was one of the principal victims due to its vast wealth, power and an Abbot who thought he could ignore the King's decree and continue on as before. He was very wrong and as a result not only were the lands, buildings and livestock sold off but the lead from the roof (an extremely valuable commodity) and much of the stone used to build the Cathedral were sold. The result was the total destruction of what once had been the second largest Cathedral in England. It wasn’t until 1908 that repair of the ruined Abbey would begin. The visitor center had an excellent model of what the area would have looked like in its prime showing the
One of Many Street Scenes
while walking through Bath. size of this complex which reflects the power the Abbey had at the time. Not all Abbey's or Cathedrals were destroyed. In fact we were told that any Cathedral that contained the buried remains of a monarch of England was spared.
One of the places that are listed on the English Heritage Sites is the tithe barn in Bradford-on-Avon (the village of Bradford on the Avon River). We spent more time here than we thought because this area not only contains one of the few remaining tithe barns but the canal with several canal boats was located just behind. First, the tithe barn here at first glance appears more like a church in structure with its high arched roof, air vents at the end in the shape of a cross and the overall length of 168 feet. It was built in the 14
th century as part of the Shaftesbury Abbey farmstead. The walls are made of rubble stone and the roof is tile with a very elaborate wooden support structure. In fact the roof looked almost like a wooden boat from the inside (upside down of course). During the monastic period people who farmed land owned by the Abbey
Queen's Square
This is actual individual residence built to look like a mansion. It was the 1st speculative building in Bath. would deliver to these barns a portion of their crop which was their rent for the use of the property. After the dissolution of the monasteries this particular barn was sold to a wealthy landowner who continued to use it as a barn charging tithes from others for storage of grains until it was taken over as a historic site in the early 1900s. It's in amazingly good condition considering its age.
After visiting the barn we walked up the hill in the back and found one of the narrow canals that are very common throughout England. These canals are no more than 15 feet wide and may be 4 feet deep. The canal boats we saw on the canal are 7 foot wide and the longest one we saw was 55 feet. There were several more along the canal and we had a chance to talk with one of the owners. Several of the ones we saw were vacant but others were obviously being lived in all year round. The man we spoke with was a musician in a music shop in a nearby town. He, his wife and child lived on the boat full-time. His “home” included
Rows of Housing
such as these are common sites in the city of Bath built with local sandstone. a small covered boat which was his garage and another open boat as his dinghy. It was a chilly day and you could see smoke coming from the chimneys of several of the boats. We walked along the canal and headed into the center of town where we watched one of the canal boats come through a hand operated block. This man described himself as a traditional blacksmith who worked in the area. We had a very pleasant chat and he took us up and showed us how the locks operated completely by hand with the water being gravity fed into the lock and the gates being manually pushed to be open and close. Most of these people are basically nomads who are required to move around because the agency who controls and maintains the lock system limits your stay to two weeks in any place. They are now able to buy permits that will allow them to stay longer in a particular area which is especially helpful for those with children in school. In town the lock widened out and we noticed several narrow boats, as they are called locally, tied up. These had advertisements on their side describing
Our Little Red Convertible
was a great car to use for the 4 days, but we never did put the top down with the various rain showers! how they could be rented. From what we have heard these canals are very busy during the spring, summer and fall.
For our last day with the car rental we decided to travel north and visit the Cotswolds. This is a hilly region of Britain predominantly known as a resort area. We took our time traveling mostly on small lanes (barely big enough for one car) and visited the villages of Cirencester, Bourton-on-the Water and Broadway. It was a wonderfully relaxing day with us driving to a small village, getting out to walk around, having tea or something to eat and then moving on to the next one. This is a very scenic area and the villages are small and filled with very quaint cottages with lovely gardens. From the cars which we met on the roads and in the village and the high end shops we saw this is obviously a very wealthy area.
Before heading back to Bath we ended in the village of Broadway. One sight that was quite interesting was the Broadway Tower. This tower is 55 feet tall and stands on the second highest point in the Cotswolds. This tower was designed in
Manmade or Natural?
The belief is that they are manmade, but not sure of the purpose. 1794 in the shape of a castle for Lady Coventry. This tower was built on the site of a beacon hill. Lady Coventry who lived in Worcester 22 miles away wondered if she could see a beacon from her home if indeed a beacon fire was lit on her Cotswold estate near Broadway. The fire was built and the answer to the question was yes. As a result, the folly of building the Broadway Tower was commissioned. It is known as the highest little castle in the Cotswolds. We didn’t get a chance to visit as it was closed, but did drive up near it to enjoy the view.
We returned the rental car first thing Monday morning and got a lift into town. We stopped and had breakfast. British breakfasts contain a couple of interesting dishes. One of the favorites is beans on toast, which is a slice of toasted white bread with something looking similar to Campbell's beans spread on top; apparently it's an acquired taste. Fortunately we went to a place called “The Boston Tea Party” and they had some very delicious items on the menu. The weather was basically hideous with the rain coming down
Tank Crossing in the UK?
We were surprised to see this sign when driving out in the country - who would have thought?? almost nonstop so obviously this was the day to visit the Roman baths. In AD 43 the Romans arrived in Britain and soon discovered a hot spring in the area which is now called Bath. These baths were unique because of the high temperature and large volume of water coming out of the hot spring. The Romans almost immediately started the development of the area they called 'Aquae Sulis'. By AD 70, the Romans had built a reservoir around the hot springs, and then a sophisticated series of baths and a temple dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva. As a religious shrine and bathing complex, Aquae Sulis attracted visitors from across Britain and Europe, foreshadowing Bath's status as a premier tourism destination. After the withdrawal of Roman 'protection' in 410, Aquae Sulis fell into decline, although the use of the baths continued. By the time the Normans arrived in 1066 the Roman baths were basically leveled as a result of decay and destruction and a much smaller Saxon Bath had been constructed over the top of the temple ruins. The springs continued to flow and they were used throughout time by local inhabitants because the waters were considered to have
Thatched Roof Homes
We saw some of these while in the Cotswolds area of the UK. health benefits. It wasn't until the early 1700s that the baths started to receive interest from the aristocrats in England and across Europe. It had become quite fashionable to visit the hot springs and “take the water”. This began the resurgence of Bath as a resort town and the reconstruction of the baths. It was at this time that the Roman ruins were rediscovered and the effort to preserve them began. Although the hot springs had always been in use, the Roman baths had long since been forgotten and new structures had been built on top of them. When visiting the baths it is amazing how complex they were. When the baths were originally built by the Romans they were unisex, however with the first Christian emperor it was decided that a separate women's section needed to be added. The original building contained not only a large bathing area but also several smaller baths allowing for different temperatures. The actual hot spring was considered to be of religious significance so only priests were allowed in that area. During the excavation of the Roman ruins they discovered in the hot springs a large number of old Roman coins and rolled up
A Christmas Concert in Bath
held in the Pump Room at the Roman Baths - a lovely night! pieces of thin lead which contained inscriptions on them. These rolled up pieces of lead were requests of the goddess Minerva written by visitors and then thrown into the sacred hot spring. The vast majority of these were in fact requests for the goddess to bring retribution to those who had done wrong. For example one of them requested Minerva to bring bad luck on the fellow who had stolen the swimming costume of the man writing the request. There were thousands of these found in the bottom of the hot springs.
As we walked through the Roman ruins we are amazed at the complexity of the plumbing system, made mostly of lead pipes with ceramic drains. The hot (110 degrees Fahrenheit) water ran from the sacred spring through pipes to each of the baths and then was drained off and returned to the nearby river through a series of ceramic drains. With the hot spring producing millions of gallons of water daily the water in the baths was kept hot and clean. The baths also contained steam rooms, changing rooms and areas where visitors could get a massage and a meal.
We learned that the heating system
The current Bath Abbey
built in 1499 replaced the Norman cathedral before it here since 974 & Anglo-Saxon abbey even earlier. is being modified in the Bath Abbey to take advantage of using the heat from the hot water springs to help heat the building and noticed that the Pump Room already does this. Great to see that the thermal heat is not going to waste even to this day.
We spent several hours touring the baths and even took a short one-hour tour with a guide. Definitely worth the £13.50 ($21) we each paid to get in. At the end of the tour they have a room where you can actually drink the water. Janice having been raised in the Saratoga Springs area tasted the water and described it as "not bad" but not as good as Saratoga as it did not have a strong taste. Bob having tasted the waters in Saratoga Springs decided not to bother.
For a fair amount of Sunday, all of Monday and Tuesday morning the rain came down nonstop. We stayed around the house on Tuesday morning relaxing and watching movies on the television, something we hadn't done for a long time. By the afternoon we both needed to get out for a walk so went down to the canal
The Fan Vaulting
in the Bath Abbey was the most unique we have ever seen-very impressive! and took a long walk along the path heading towards Bristol. With all the rain there was quite a bit of local flooding so we decided to leave the canal path and pick up a path that had been built over the old railroad bed that connected Bath to Bristol.
Wednesday, Christmas day we stayed in watched movies (Singing in the Rain) and had a wonderful meal of roast turkey and most of the fixings.
Thursday, Boxing Day in England is also a holiday. We had to pack up, clean up the house and get ready to leave bright and early Friday morning to head back to London. Hazel returned around six o'clock but stayed with her neighbor so we had one more night staying in her home. We would have left on Thursday to go back to London but no trains were running so we had to wait till Friday.
It was good to get back to the boat and find out that everything was as we left it. We knew there had been quite a few wind and rain storms in London as well, but one of our fellow cruising friends was keeping an eye
A Few of the Details
of the Bath Abbey - windows, wood carving, lighting and the overall ceiling design on Tsamaya and everything was fine.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Bath with our explorations into the surrounding area. We were pleased once again with having signed up with Trusted Housesitters in providing us with the connection to stay out in that area. It was also nice of Winston to sit on our laps in the evening, have a chance to play with Ellie and of course have them sleep at the end of the bed.
Sorry it has taken so long to put this blog entry up but as you can tell we took in a lot while there and there was a lot of history to cover. Hopefully the next blog entry will be shorter!
By now all of you have been through the holiday season and we hope everyone had a pleasant one.
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Nancy Sorrells
non-member comment
Anyone Recognize this Vegetable
Yum, Romanesco, reminiscent of fractals!! Wegman's sells it, usually during the month of November. It tastes as great as it looks, a mild, tender vegetable that is a cultivar of the same species as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, etc.