Here are the photos from my trip to Bath back in October. The name of course comes from the fact that there are naturally occurring hot springs in the area that the Ancient Romans quite literally built bath houses around. The town was also big in the 18th century when the rich would escape London to "take the waters". If you've seen the movie The Duchess, based on the life of the Duchess of Devonshire, many of the scenes were filmed here. Jane Austen also lived here for some time. Anyway, it is still a small holiday destination, to this day. I have been once before, for a short day trip back in 2003, but I am happy that I was able to spend more time there this trip, especially now that I am more interested in architecture. My next visit will be for another conference in early June, and so I look forward to visiting when it is actually warm out.
There are two major architectural sites in Bath, the Circus and the Royal Crescent.
The Circus is a circular plan of apartments built in a neo-Palladian style. Andrea Palladio was an Italian architect of the late Renaissance who was completely classicizing in style, and I adore him. His work is clustered in Venice and the Veneto, but his influence is widespread. The British adopted his style in the 18th century, as can be seen here, but so did we, basing the White House and other important buildings on his designs.
The Royal Crescent, appropriately named for its crescent-moon shape. This was the place to see and be seen in the 18th century.
Closeup of the Royal Crescent
Misc. Bath street view. It's such a charming little town.
