Part 3 (2/2)

The clerestory is s.p.a.cious, and the roof fair, but a general sense of bareness pervades the whole building. The shabbiness of the chancel in particular is enhanced by a cas.e.m.e.nt which does duty for an E. window.

Note (1) Dec. windows to aisle; (2) rood-loft stair; (3) curious quatrefoil piscina in sanctuary; (4) some fragments of old gla.s.s in E.

window of S. aisle. At the W. end is a handsomely-carved font, and the remains of another font from Spargrove Church (now destroyed) are under the tower. An ugly monument to the Bisse family stands in one of the S.

window sills. The vestry is a nondescript chamber reached from the chancel by a flight of stone steps.

BATH. A city and parliamentary borough on the Avon, 107 m. W. from London, with a population (in 1901) of 52,751. It has stations both on the G.W. and the Midland lines. Few cities are more romantically situated than Bath, but it is not its situation which has given to it its celebrity. Its prosperity has from time immemorial depended upon its possession of the remarkable mineral springs in which the fas.h.i.+onable world has at different periods discerned so many healing and social virtues. The popular story of their discovery by the legendary King Bladud is too trite to need re-telling. The real history of Bath begins as early as A.D. 44, when it is known to have been a Roman station. Its Latin name was _Aquae Sulis_, Sul being a local divinity, whose name appears on several inscriptions in the Museum, and may have some connection with the neighbouring hill of Solsbury. A temple to this G.o.ddess existed on the site of the present Pump Room, and the extensive ruins of the contiguous bathing establishment bear eloquent testimony to the use which the Romans made of the waters.

Here, too, converged three of their chief highways, the Fosseway, from Lincoln to Axminster, the _Via Julia_, which connected it with S.

Wales, and Akeman Street, the main thoroughfare to London. The after-history of Bath is chequered. In 676 King Osric founded here a nunnery (eventually transformed into a monastery), and in 973 it was the scene of Edgar's coronation. After the Conquest it was a bone of contention in the Norman quarrels, and was burnt to the ground by Geoffrey of Coutances. After being harried by the sword, Bath pa.s.sed under the hammer. Its ecclesiastical importance begins when John de Villula purchased it of the king, and transferred hither his episcopal stool from Wells (see further, p. 19). In mediaeval days Bath was a walled city, and fragments of its fortifications, crowned by a modern battlement, may still be seen in ”Borough Walls”; and two round-headed arches of the old E. gate are visible in a pa.s.sage behind the Empire Hotel, leading to the river. The battle of Lansdown gives Bath a place in the annals of the Great Rebellion. But the fame of Bath is social rather than historical. It was not until the 18th cent. that the city reached the zenith of its importance. The creator of modern Bath was the social adventurer Nash. By sheer force of native impudence Nash pushed himself into the position of an uncrowned king, and exercised his social sovereignty with a very high hand. His rule was certainly conducive to the better government of the city. From a mere haunt of bandits and beggars, Bath became at a bound the most fas.h.i.+onable city in the kingdom, and a school for manners to half England. Nash, though very much the beau, was very little of the gentleman. To a hump-backed lady who declared that she had ”come straight from London,” Nash replied, ”Then you must have picked up a d--d crook by. the way.” But polite society was not squeamish, and took him at his own valuation.

His a.s.semblies became the rage, his social despotism was eagerly acquiesced in, and the improvements he demanded were ungrudgingly supplied. The social labours of Nash were admirably seconded by the work of two architects called Wood (father and son). Terraces, squares and crescents sprang up in generous profusion to accommodate the crowds of visitors who were drawn into the vortex of fas.h.i.+on. The prosperity of Bath did not decline with the fading fortunes of its favourite, for it was not until the peace of Amiens opened up the continental watering places that the fas.h.i.+onable world forsook Bath and went elsewhere. But though its proud pre-eminence has pa.s.sed for ever, Bath still retains something of its former splendour. It can boast of several natives of note, and a roll of still more distinguished residents. The birds of pa.s.sage, whose stay shed a transient glory on the gay city, are legion.

Amongst those who claim Bath as their birthplace are William Edward Parry, the Arctic explorer, John Palmer, the postal reformer, and William Horn, the author of the _Every Day Book_. The list of famous residents includes Quin, the actor, R.B. Sheridan, Beckford, Landor, Sir T. Lawrence, Gainsborough, Bishop Butler (who died at 14 Kingsmead Square), Gen. Wolfe and Archbp. Magee. Nelson and Chatham, Queen Charlotte, Jane Austen, d.i.c.kens, Hersch.e.l.l and Thirlwall, are to be numbered amongst the visitors.

The general plan of Bath is easily grasped. The river throws itself round the city like an elbow, and in the corner of land thus embraced the streets are laid out something in the manner of an irregular chess board. One main thoroughfare runs from the S. gate, and climbs by a gradual ascent northwards; and as it goes, expands into the s.p.a.cious shopping quarters of Milsom Street. Another good string of streets runs from the Abbey also northwards, and on its course extends a long arm eastwards across the river to the suburb of Bathwick.

The chief sights, the Abbey, Pump Room, Roman Baths and Guildhall, lie grouped together in convenient proximity. The imposing terraces, squares and crescents of the once fas.h.i.+onable residential quarters are to be found chiefly on the N. and W. sides of the city. A pretty view of Pulteney Bridge with its singular parapet of shops may be obtained from the terrace at the back of the Munic.i.p.al Buildings.

The chief public buildings are the Pump Room, rebuilt in 1796, and considerably extended in recent times; the Guildhall, built in 1768-75, containing some good portraits; the Upper a.s.sembly Rooms (1771); the Royal Inst.i.tution (1824), on the site of the old a.s.sembly Rooms, the scene of Nash's triumphs; the Mineral Water Hospital (1737); and the Holbourne Art Museum (containing a large number of pictures, many of which are unfortunately not the ”old masters” they profess to be, some good porcelain, and a fine collection of ”Apostle” spoons). Hetling House in Hetling Court was once a mansion of the Hungerfords. The public grounds are the Victoria Park, Sydney Gardens, Henrietta Park, and the Inst.i.tute Gardens (subscribers only).

[Ill.u.s.tration: ROMAN BATHS, BATH]

_Roman Baths_. The waters from which Bath gets its fame are believed to owe their origin to the surface drainage of the E. Mendips, which percolates through some vertical fissure, perhaps at Downhead, to the heart of the hills, and are conducted by some natural culvert beneath the intervening coal measures, was.h.i.+ng out as they go the soluble mineral salts, and whilst still retaining their heat emerge again at the first opportunity at Bath. The Romans were the first to make use of this natural lavatory, and with their unrivalled engineering skill founded here a magnificent bathing establishment. Though the fact of their occupation of the site was long known, the extent and magnitude of their arrangements have only lately been laid bare. Thanks to the skill and intelligence with which a thorough investigation of the site was made by the city architect in 1881, every visitor to Bath has now an opportunity of examining the finest extant specimen of a Roman bathing station in the world. The entrance to these antiquities is through a corridor to the left of the Pump Room (admission 6d.). This pa.s.sage opens upon a modern balcony overlooking the great central basin. To investigate the ruins, a descent must be made by the staircase to the bas.e.m.e.nt. The Great Bath is a rectangular tank 111 feet by 68 feet, originally lined with lead 1/4 inch thick. It was surrounded with dressing-rooms, from which steps led down to the water.

The great hall which contained it was covered in with a roof of hollow bricks and concrete (plentiful specimens of which lie scattered about), supported by carved columns. On the left is another square bath with a semi-circular tank at each end, and a series of vapour chambers behind it. The greater part of this bath was unfortunately destroyed in the 18th cent., to furnish material for the construction of a new bath. To the right of the great bath is a fine stepped circular bath, and beyond this again are sudatories. Still further on, extending beneath the street, in a part not always shown to the public and somewhat difficult of approach, is a third rectangular basin of considerable size. Even this does not complete the full tale of the bathing accommodation once provided. Buried beneath the bas.e.m.e.nt of the Pump Room itself has been discovered the masonry of a large oval bath, the outline of which is still marked out in the flooring. The huge Roman reservoir into which were poured the healing waters as they bubbled up fresh and fervid from the bowels of the earth cannot now be seen, for it lies immediately beneath the floor of the King's Bath, but the visitor can still inspect the overflow conduit which conveyed the surplus waters to the Avon. The character of the lead and brick work should be carefully examined if justice is to be done to the skill of the Roman workmen. The specimens of the tessellated pavement that once formed the flooring of the great hall are worthy of pa.s.sing notice. The King's Bath, the great bathing place of the fas.h.i.+onable world in Nash's day, is open to the air, and may be seen from one of the windows of the corridor. The various modern baths must be inquired for on the spot. Medicinal bathing is obtained at the New Royal Bath, in connection with the Grand Pump Room Hotel.

The spring which keeps the whole of this vast array of bathing appliances going yields three hogsheads per minute, and issues from the earth at a temperature of 117 Fahr. The chief const.i.tuents of the waters are calcium sulphate, sodium sulphate, magnesium chloride, calcium carbonate, and sodium chloride, and there are traces of other minerals.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BATH ABBEY]

_The Abbey Church_. The Abbey, though somewhat hemmed in by meaner buildings, stands in a commanding position in the centre of the city.

Without any claims to be regarded as an architectural gem, it has sufficient merit to adorn its situation. Its career has been a series of vicissitudes. Though Bath takes precedence of Wells in the official t.i.tle of the see, it has seldom been the predominant partner. John de Villula, with the intention of making the city the bishop's seat, built here a church so s.p.a.cious that the nave alone would swallow up the existing building. Of this Norm. church there still survive (1) bases of cl.u.s.tered pillars under a grating in N. aisle of choir, (2) a single pillar in same aisle, (3) round arch and pillar in vestry, S. of choir, (4) bases of pillars at exterior of E. end. With his successors' change of plans, Villula's church fell on evil days, and was allowed to decay.

In 1495 Bishop Oliver King beheld, like Jacob, the vision of a heavenly stairway and climbing angels, and heard a voice saying, ”Let an olive establish the crown, and let a king restore the church.” In consequence he, in imitation of the patriarch, vowed a ”G.o.d's house” upon the spot.

With the help of Prior Bird, he projected the present edifice, and the west front still commemorates his dream. But whilst the building was in course of construction the Reformation intervened and put a stop to the work. The monastery was dissolved, and the Crown offered the church to the townspeople for 500 marks. The citizens, however, declined the bargain, and the building pa.s.sed from the hammer of the auctioneer to that of the house-breaker. Stripped of all that was saleable, the sh.e.l.l pa.s.sed into the possession of one Edmund Colthurst, who made a present of it to the town. For forty years it remained practically a heap of ruins. Episcopal attention was again drawn to its unseemliness, not this time by ascending angels, but by the more prosaic instrumentality of a descending shower. Bishop Montague, seeking shelter one day within its roofless aisles from a pa.s.sing thunderstorm, was moved by the discomfort of the situation to undertake the completion of the fabric.

He finished the work in 1609, but on somewhat economical lines. He vaulted the roof with plaster, and it has been left to the modern restorer to make good his work in stone. Externally the church is a cruciform building with a central tower, characterized by two tiers of double windows and spired octagonal turrets at the corners. The tower is a rectangle, the N. and S. sides being shorter than the E. and W., and the transepts are correspondingly narrow. Though somewhat stiff and formal, the general design derives a certain impressiveness from the lofty clerestory, the immense display of windows, and a profusion of flying b.u.t.tresses. The fantastic reproduction of Jacob's Ladder, with its beetle-like angels, on the W. front, should be carefully observed, and note should also be taken of the elaborately carved wooden door and the figures above and on either side (Henry VII. and SS. Peter and Paul). The two ladders are flanked by representations of the Apostles, whilst below the gable is the figure of our Lord, with adoring angels beneath. The interior has something of the appearance of an ecclesiastical Crystal Palace--one vast aggregate of pillars and gla.s.s.

The details are poor (note the absence of cusps in alternate windows of nave), and the fan tracery (original in choir only) is exuberant. In some of the clerestory windows are fragments of old gla.s.s, and the very unusual feature of pierced spandrels to the E. window should be noted.

The one really beautiful thing in the interior is _Prior Bird's Chantry_ at the S.E. of the choir. The delicate groining of the roof, the foliage, and the panelling will be generally admired. Note the constant reiteration of the Prior's relics, with mitre, though priors did not wear mitres. There is an effigy of Bishop Montague under a staring canopy between the columns of the N. aisle. In the sanctuary is the tomb of Bartholomew Barnes, and a bra.s.s to Sir George Ivey. The oak screen across the S.E. aisle is in memory of a former rector (Rev. C.

Kemble) who did much to restore the Abbey. As a reminder of Bath's once fas.h.i.+onable days, the walls of the aisles are covered with memorials of local celebrities; amongst them there is a tablet to Nash (S. wall near S. transept). The tomb of Lady Waller in S. transept, and Garrick's epitaph on Quin (N. aisle of choir) should perhaps also be noticed. As Dr Harington's sprightly epigram suggests, this portentous display of mortality is not an inspiring study for visitors who come to Bath to take ”the cure,”

”These walls, adorned with monument and bust, Show how Bath waters serve to lay the dust.”

Among objects and places of interest in the outskirts of the city that deserve a visit are Sham Castle, an artificial antique on Bathwick Hill; Widcombe Old Church (built by Prior Bird); the chapel of St Mary Magdalen in Holloway (built by Prior Cantlow in 1495); Beckford's Tower on Lansdowne, and Combe Down (where a portion of the Wansd.y.k.e may be examined).

Bath gives its name, with sometimes more and sometimes less justification, to quite a number of articles, including Bath stone, Bath buns, Bath olivers, Bath chaps, Bath chairs, and Bath bricks (for the last, see pp. 26, 64).

_Bathampton_, a prettily situated village, 2 m. N.E. of Bath. Its church is in the main Perp., but the chancel arch is E.E., and the E.

window consists of three lancets. There are two rec.u.mbent figures of the 14th cent., a knight and a lady, at the W. end of the S. aisle; but the most remarkable feature of the building is a still earlier effigy, much defaced, within a niche in the exterior wall of the E. end. It seems to represent a bishop, since there are traces of a crosier, though some have taken it for a prioress. Some small remains of a priory are still to be found at the rectory near the church.

_Bathealton_, a parish 3 m. S.E. of Wivelis...o...b... The church has been rebuilt, and is of no antiquarian interest.

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