^ N-'i^ i LIBRARY ANNEX .?SsR*WS»«»5-^.*f»>?^>M*W-A**u» ^f4 N fc*^ CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 095703 BEQUEST JAMES McCALL Class of 1885 1944 in reit of 1909 which it is hoped helped in some measure to cement the bonds of amity between the M other City of Bat h and her Daughters across the Atlantic. 5. Argyle Street, (lath, Eng. Coronation Day of His Majesty King George V. 1 9 1 1 - Cornell University Library The original of tliis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028089914 ^- ,\l °Wbe ch>J'' THE ABBEY CHURCH. '-^S tT WAS • '"Eney stre^*^ BATH, OLD AND NEW. ,.3 ^^ ^^^ A HANDY GUIDE AND A HISTORY. WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATION'S. BY R. E. M. PEACH. Author of "Historic Houses in Bath;" "History , of the Bath Abbey Church;" . "-The Hospital of St: John Baptist;" etc. LONDON: MESSRS. SIMPKIN, MARSHALL &f CO., Limited. BATH: G. MUNDY, BRIDGE STREET. I I.: I;AI;Y ^,^,,,^_fi-<3r —^ Ij ,1,1 -HIHOOr., ''v.YiU'.IIJ'^-.) <^ CONTENTS. Pagt DEDICATION ... ... ... ... v. PREFACE ... ... ... ... vii. OLD BATH ... ... ^ MODERN BATH ... ... ...''' ... 3' THE B^THS ... ... ..^- ... <5j PUBLIC iftriLDINGS ... ' ... ' ... 7S CHURCHES ... , ... ... ... 80 EPISCOPAL CHAPELS ... ... ... iso CHURCHES (R.C.) ... ... ... 123 CHAPELS (Nonconformist) ... ... ...12$ PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS .... ... ...131 AMUSEMENTS— SOCIAL AND LITERARY ... 168 CEMETERIES ... ... ... ... 184 MUNICIPAL AND PARLIAMENTARY ... 187 BATHWICK ... ... ... ... igi LYNCOMBE ... ... ... ... 202 WIDCOMBE ... ... ... ... 207 LANSDOWN ... ... ... ... 262 APPENDIX. ANTIQUITIES of the surrounding Localities, with select Objects of Interest, duly set out in General Index ... 266 ILLUSTRATIONS. WOODBURYTYPE— GROUP OF SUBJECTS Front. ROMAN BATHS ... ... ... ... 4/ ABBEY CHURCH ... ... ... 8z VIEW FROM THE UPPER END OF BROAD STREET ... ... ... ... loi NORTH PARADE BRIDGE ... ... 1S3 BATH COLLEGE ... ... ... ... 201 PRIOR PARK ... ... ... ... 21/ MAP OF THE CITY AT THE END DEDICATION. To E. R WODEHOUSE, ESQ., and COLONEL R P. LAURIE, Members of Parliament for the City of Bath, I very respectfully dedicate the Historic and Descriptive Guide to Bath. A city which, in times of National crises, has chosen men such as William Pitt, Earl of Chatham; Bobert Henley, Earl of Northington ; Charles Pratt, Earl Camden ; Hon. John Jeffreys Pratt, afterwards Lord Bayham, Earl and Marquis Camden ; Earl of Breck- nock, afterwards Snd Marquis Camden; John Arthur Boebuch; Anthony Ashley, Lord Ashley, afterwards 7th Earl of Shaftesbury ; Robert Duiican-Haldane, Viscount Duncan, afterwards 2nd Earl Gamperdown; as well as other eminent politicians and statesmen, has, at the present critical juncture, fully kept in view the duty it owes to itself, the country, and its own traditions, in electing two gentlemen to whom the honour and integrity of the Em^e are superior to mere party and selfish considera- tions. R. E. PEAGH. Year of the Queen's Jubilee, 1887. PREFACE. In the year 1811 the late Rev. R. Warner published his smaller work on the city of Bath — ten years after he had published his larger quarto volume. This larger work, important as it is, containing a large body of admirably digested historical matter, and written with clearness if occasionally with the old-fashioned pedantry of an obsolete school,' lacks completeness. A competent author, with time and inclin- ation, and a thorough love of the subject, who would undertake to bring the work down to the present time, correcting its errors, and amplifying where necessary, and at the same time supplying those portions which for very insufficient though intelligible reasons Warner omitted, would confer a great boon upon the city. When he conceived and carried out his valuable historic enterprise, he omitted all notice of Lyncombe and Widcombe, Bathwick, and portions of Walcot. These parishes and districts were not legally incorporated with the borough nor subject to the local government, although they enjoyed otherwise the privileges and advantages of belonging to the city.^ A part of Walcot was enfranchised in the charter of George III. in the year 1794. Having devoted no little time and care in the prosecution of local enquiry and investigation, I can the better measure the loss we have suffered from the too literal adherence of Warner to a description of the city within the old recognised limits. Looking to Lyncombe and Widcombe, which for centuries before the dissolution were so closely " Warner was a voluminous writer, but with the perversity of men of his day, he never provided his works with that greatest of all comforts to his readers — an Index. So great was the difficulty of reference to his large history, that its real value was never fully appreciated. No one felt this more than the present author, by whom this want has been supplied. ° Warner lived to see all the city parishes incorporated and enfran- chised under the Reform Act of 1832, but he relinquished all his literary work when he left Bath in 1825 on accepting the Rectory of Timberscombe and Croscombe, which he held for a short time, when he was presented to Chelwood and Great Chariield. He died in 1857, at the age of 95. viit. Preface. identified with the monastery and the Abbey, no writer was so com- petent and so well qualified to tell us the story of these manors, their associations, viscissitudes, and varying fortunes as he. There is much to be told of the Church property, after the Reformation, which is only imperfectly described by Collinson and other historians. It would be interesting to know more of the Chapmans, and how they acquired so large a slice' of Church property in Lyncombe and Wid- combe, as well as in various parts of the city. We only get imperfect glimpses of the events of those times. We kpow that certain transac- tions occurred, but are not well-informed as to the causes, and of those who took part in them. We have been told that in Italy the fifteenth century was the April of the nation. The sixteenth century in England, by an inversion of the seasons, was the November, so much gloom and depression having been caused by spoliation and sacrilege of churches and religious houses. Then, again, we .should be all the richer for a more complete history of Bathwick before and after it became the property of the Essex family, from whom it passed into the hands of the Pulteney family, since whose time it has been an open book to those who choose to scan it. Turning, however, from Warner's greater to his smaller work, he has, so far as was possible within its limits, done something towards supplying the desiderata. This work, with some defects of arrange- ment, and certain errors of fact and theory, is, according to my judg- ment, the best summary of Bath history ever published down to the period to which it is brought. I confess I think it is scarcely a matter to boast of, but I am able to state that I have seen every guide worth seeing (and many that are not worth notice) relating to Bath. Warner's is the nearest approach to the ideal of what a guide to such a city should be. There is just enough historic matter in it to give point and value to the descriptions he has written with so much clearness and interest, of all that up to his day constituted the most important annals relating to the city. It has been frequently pressed upon me that to re-edit this small, scarce, obscure, ill-printed book would be a task worth undertaking. Although I have felt no little diffidence in carrying it into etfect, I have spared no pains, with the co-operation of some literary and professional friends, in endeavouring to make the book a full and trustworthy Guide. It is obviously a difficult process to reconcile the subject-matter of a Preface. ix. book published 76 years ago with new matter and new subjects, but I am sanguine in the belief that this task has been successfully accomplished. Indeed I have found less difficulty in removing anachronisms, than in rendering the new portions worthy of the old — in weaving the new web into the warp and woof of the old with unity, strength, and proportion. One special reflection has forcibly occurred to my mind in the pre- paration of the work, and that is, the immense growth and development of the city since Warner began his larger history in 1801, and his smaller work in i8n, ' and the period of the present re-publication. Regarding the ten years referred to as representing an average condition of the city at the beginning of the century, it may be taken as a period which in its main characteristics supplies a comparison and a contrast between the past and the present. In the condition of the streets, and the government of the city, in the building of churches and other places of public worship, but especially in the judicious and fostering care exercised by the council in relation to the Baths, the contrast is very marked. It is not too much to say that the history of the Baths from the earliest times until forty years ago is not altogether creditable to the city. Sometimes the waters were altogether neglected ; at other times they were made subservient merely to the vices and fashionable follies 6f the day. Then the corporation sought to make them simply a source of revenue, with little regard to their hygienic properties, and with total indifference to their great influence in the world of medical science. It has been reserved for the present generation to recognize the great importance of developing the springs to the utmost extent, and in increasing the bathing establishments conmensurately therewith. The corporation is justly entitled to the credit of having so enlarged and increased the Baths, that, at the present moment, they are without a. rival not only in England but in Europe, as to accommodation, ' It is as well to mention that in 1802, a little anonymous work was published by Cruttwell, called "An Historical and Descriptive Account of Bath and its Environs," at the end of which there is a "Sketch of a Bath Flora," by J. T. Davis, M.D. I suspect the work was done by Warner, as it is very much upon the lines of his History, and here and there I trace paragraphs identical with some in the book of 1811. The book of 1802, however, is deficient in arrangement, and I conclude was a failure when published, but nevertheless it is a bibiographical curiosity. *. Priface. luxurious comfort, and convenience of arrangement. The material interests of Bath are so interwoven with the possession of the healing waters, which Providence has beneficently vouchsafed to it, that it is a matter of wonder that it should have been at any time indifferent or blind to the fact. Apart from the obvious commercial advantages, there is at the present day an increased sentiment largely pervading the Bath public, that the waters in their ample abundance should be ^ perpetual source of healing to the poor and helpless, as well as to the rich. This consideration receives its practical fulfilment in the various institutions of the city, as the pages of this book will attest. One of the worst acts of Vandalism that ever brought discredit upon this or any other city was the destruction of the Roman Baths, and other works of historic and archseological importance in the last century. The corporation as a body, appears to have been wholly indifferent to the enduring interest of the relics then brought to light. As was the intelligence of the municipal mind, so was that of the citizens at large. There were men, to their honour be it written, who not only appreciated the unique value of the discoveries then made, as attesting the antiquity of the city, and investing it with an importance all its own, but who exercised their ability and their influence in vain to stay the hand of the destroyer. Some of these men, if they remonstrated and pleaded in vain, did the next best thing to succeeding, they have pre- served^notably Lucas — clear and ample records and plans, either of what they saw, or what was described to them by those who did see them. But what is so much to be deplored is the fact that there exists no pictorial or other illustration of the discoveries then made. I have endeavoured to give as accurate an account of them as I can in the short space at my command. The more recent discoveries need but few remarks here. They have been the subject of much discussion and controversy. It would be tampering with historic truth and patent facts, to state that the former experience has borne all the practical results which might fairly have been expected from it. When the future antiquary comes to describe the additional Roman Baths exca- cated in this decade, and the manner in which they have been dealt with during the year 1886, it is scarcely probable that he will feel much more satisfaction than the writers who have at different periods dealt with the earlier discoveries of 1755. One of the most conspicuous claims of Bath to distinction is its antiquity and its historical associations. Preface. xi. It is a humiliating consideration, tiiat even in I7SS, the municipal intelligence of the city had not grasped the importance of this fact. We live in an age in which the importance of antiquarian pursuits has been universally acknowledged, and archaeological investigation is generally cultivated. We might therefore have expected that, when a second great " find " was revealed by excavation, that it would have been safe, not only from destruction, but from the slightest mutilation. The relics that are preserved in their integrity are, no doubt, of the first importance, but too much has been obscured by the modern building, and, so far as the general public are concerned, practically lost. One portion was considered to be quite unique. The introduction of well-executed engravings, together with a Woodburytype representing some of the most interesting churches, will not fail to give the book additional interest. On the whole, I hope this little work may supply what has been long wanted, namely — a guide above the average, in quality and information, at a small price. R. E. PEACH. Bath, 1887. INDEX. Abbey of Bath -38, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 99, 100 Stone of which built— 18 Leger book of — 11 King Edgar grants Charters to— 19 or Priory of — ^21 Extends its Possessions— 21, 22, 23 Its Site, to whom granted — 22 House— 23, 34, 38, 44, 75 Yard— 66, 79 Place— 66 West Door of— 83 John de Villula's Norman Church— 89 Chapel of Prior Birde— 89, 90, 93 ,, restored by Sir G. Scott, at the cost of Mrs. Kemble— 90 The Eeredos- 92 The Altar rails— 92 The Pulpit— 92 The Reading-desk— 92 The Lectern— 92 East end— 92, 93 Nave, Interior of — 93 ,, Elevations of — 93 Listof Windows— 93, 94, 95, 96 The Bells— 96 Allen, Francis- 93 ,, ilalph (see under Widoombe) Anne, Princess- 134, 135, 237, 238 ,, Queen — 135 Aquae Solis, Prebendary Soarth's book on Roman Antiquities — 8, 9 Archery Club — 175 Arthur, King, defends his country against the Saxon Invasion — 18 Athenaeum, The— 175 Baldwin, Mr.— 65, 70, 77, 79, 133 Band, Bath— 175 Bath, Early History of — 1 „ The Temple of Minerva at — 4, 9, 10, 11 ,, Founding of, by Bomans — 5, 6 „ Kemains of Ancient Boman Edifices, preserved in Royal Literary Institution — 8 ,, List of Remains — 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,17 ,, Different Names under which the City was known — 4 ,, Greek Names of — 8 ,, Aquse Solis changed to Hot Bathun— 19 ,, Akemanceastre, or City of the Afflicted Men— 19, 44 ,, Conquered by Saxons — 19 ,, List of Writers on Roman An- tiquities of — 9 ,, Danish Dominion — 20 ,, Norman ,, — 20 ,, John de Villula makes it a Bishopric, removing it from Wells.; remains so until Bishop Savaric exchanges it for^Glastonbury — 21 ,, List of crowned heads who have visited— 28, 29 „ Number and Names of Citizens executed who were concer- ned in Monmouth's rebel- lion— 27, 28 ,, Parliamentary Struggles felt at —26, 27 ,, Charters granted to — 25, 26 „ Old Bridge— 24 „ Members of Parliament in Ed- ward I. 's reign — 23 Xtl). Index. Bath, Curious oath taken to enable strangers to be admitted into the privileges of the burgh — 24 '„ Soman remains at— 34 „ Monks of— 22 „ Founding of Nunnery at — 45 „ Maps of— 37 „ Transition Period— 242, 250 „ Nash's Reign— 250, 256 ,, Modem— 256, 262 ,, Municipal and Parliamentary — 187, 188, 189, 190 Baths, The Corporation — 7 „ The Eoman— 17, 34, 36, 37, 40, 42, 43, 44 „ The New— 69 „ The Kingston— 32, 60 „ The Hot— 32, 60, 71 „ The Cross— 32, 46, 50, 61, 60, 69, 70, 71 ,, The King's— 32, 40, 44, 45, 46, 47, 50, 62, 60, 66, 69, 71, 73 „ The Queen's— 32, 46, 50, 60, 69, 73 ,, The Abbey, called the Abbot's or Monk's~43, 44, 45 ,, Dr. Leland's Description of — 46,47 „ The Hot Springs— 10, 31, 32, 52 „ The PubUc— 45, 47, 65, 66 „ The City— 60 „ The Private— 60, 65 „ and Douche —71 ,, Douche-rooms — 66 „ Shower and Vapour— 66, 67, 68 ,, The extension of the King's and Queen's-74, 75, 76, 77 „ The Aix-les-Bains System — ^ fBerthold Vapour— 76 ■g Inhalation— 76, 77 ^ -j Pulverization — 77 'S Eeolining — 77 § Lwildbad— 77 „ The Private— 60, 65 ,, containing Edwin's Bath —72 „ Eeolining— 71, 72 „ ,, Eoyal Private— 73, 74 I, „ ,) ,. and Hot— 71 Baths, The Eoyal Private and Douche, -71 bo r ~ the Bladud or Marble, 71 the Alfred— 72 the Chair— 72 I the Shower — 72 " I „ Tepid Swimming — ^72, 73 „ The manner of Bathing — 48, 49, 60 „ The Bathes of Bathes Ayde— 1, 52 „ The Waters— 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 68, 75, 78, 137 „ Dr. Wilkinson's Theory as to their heat — 32, 33 ,, Dr. Peirce's description of— 52, 53, 54, 55 ,, Analysis of, by Profes- sor Attfield— 62, 63, 64 ,, Agration of— 63 „ The Pump-room— 11, 78, 79, 80 ,, „ The Windows of— 80 „ Hetling— 69, 71 Bathwiok— 191, 192, 193, 194, 194, 196, 197 „ In connection with the families of Neville — 194 „ Earl of Essex— 194 Pulteney— 194, 195, 196, 197 , , Sydney Gardens, Spring Gardens, and VUla Gardens— 197, 198, 199 , , Bath College— 199, 201, 202 Beokford, William— 185 Beddoes, Dr.— 59 Bell Tree Lane— 98, 143 Bennet, Philip— 113 Benuets, The (see under Widcombe) Bertana, an Abbess— 19 Bishop, Oliver King, of Bath and Wells— 22, 82 James Montague — 82 Wolsey— 82 Clark— 82 Knight-82 „ Adrian di Castello— 82, 85 Bladud— 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 67 Index, XV. Bladud, Figure of designed by W. Hoare, sculptured by Baron, 70 „ Verses on — 78, 79 Boating Club— 175 Bridge, the Cleveland— 182, 184 „ North Parade— 184 „ Suspension — 184 Burton, Mr. Deoimus— 73 Canesham, or Keynsham — 2 Carte, the Historian— 26, 27 Cemetery, Lansdown — 184, 185 ,, Widoombe— 185, 186 „ Abbey— 186 ,, Waloot— 186 „ Unitarian — 186 „ Bathwiok— 186, 187 St. Michael's- 187 „ The Roman Catholic — 187 Chapel, St. Catherine's— 24 „ St. Lawrence— 24 „ (Episcopal) Octagon— 120, 121 „ All Saints'— 121, 122 Kensington —122 „ St. Paul's— 122 „ Thomas Street— 122 „ Laura— 123 „ (Nonconformist), Argyll— 125, 126, 127, 128 „ Countess of Hunting- don's- 128 „ Wesleyan— 128, 129 „ Primitive Methodist — 129 „ United Methodist— 129 „ The Baptists— 129, 130 „ The Moravians— 130 ,, The Society of Friends — 130 „ The Catholic Apostolic — 130 „ New Church— 131 „ The Jews— 131 Chapman— 56, 113, 223, 224, 225 Charles IL— 136 Charlton, Dr.— 44 Church, St. James— 97, 98 „ St. Mary de StaUs— 97, 98 „ St. Michael- 97, 99, 100, 101 Church, Walcot— 102 Christ— 102, 103 „ Trinity— 103 ,, St. Stephen, Lansdown — 103, 104 „ St. Saviour, 105, 106 „ Reredgs, 105, 106 St. Andrew— 107 „ St. Paul— 108 „ St. Mark— 108, 109, 110 ,, St. Mary Magdalen — 110, 111 „ St. Matthew— 112 „ St. Thomas k Becket— 112, 113 „ St. Lulce— 114 „ St. Mary the Virgin — 114, 115, 116, 117 „ St. John, Baptisf^llS, 119 „ Hospitalj Church or Chapel — 119, 120 (R.C.) St. John and Priory —123, 124 „ St Mary— 124, 125 Chapels and Churches, extinct. List of— 98 . Clarke, the Traveller— 33 Club, Bath and County— 176 „ The City- 176 College, Partis, Weston— 164, 165 CoUes, Humphrey— 22, 23 Colthurst, Matthew— 22 „ Edmund- 23 Cricket— 175 Daubeny, Dr. — 61 „ Archdeacon — 102 Davis, C. B. Esq.— 35, 37, 39 ,, His theory of Removing the Abbey House— 37, 38 Dispensary, The Western— 161, 162 Dyrham, Battle of — 18 Edward L— 22, 23 „ II.— 23 „ IIL— 21, 67 Elizabeth— 25, 47, 74, 82 „ Her Visit to Bath— 25, 75 Falconer, Dr.— 57, 139 XVI. Index, Kelding (see Widoombe) Flower, Jeffrey— 93 Fox, Dr., Physician to Bellott's Hos- pital— 145 Garrick's Head— 138 Gate, North— 133 „ South— 133 George III. —26 Guidott-4, 8, 55, 56, 67 Guildhall— 131, 13^ 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138 „ Its Predecessor built by Inigo Jones — 132 Green, Emanuel, Esq. — 24 Harington, Dr. — 75 ,, s. The — see Appendix Henry I.— 21 „ VII.— 22, 82, 83, 85, 86, 92 „ VIII.— 22, 90 Hospital of St. John— 69, 75, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151,152 The United— 71, 157, 158, 159 „ Bellott's— 142, 143, 144, 145 „ St. Catherine's— 73, 145, 146, 147 ,, The Eoyal Mineral Water — 80, 152, 153, 154, 156, 157 Hotel, Grand Pump Room— 73, 74, 77 ,, By whom designed —74 Hudibras, Lud — 2 Infirmary, Bath Eye— 162, 163, 164 Institution, Royal Literary — 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182 James I. , Queen of — 69 „ 1I.-52, 70 John— 22 Jones, Dr. — 1, 52 Kemble, the late Rev. C— 91, 92, 98 Lansdown, near Bath— 18, 30, 134 Lansdown, Royal School— 262, 263, „ Kingswood College— 264, 265 Battle of— 265, 266, 267. 268 Leland, the Historian— 9, 19, 37, 38, 45 Lucas, Dr.— 34, 36, 38, 39, 42 Lyell, Sir C— 61, 62 Lynoombe— 202, 203, 204, 205, 206 Maroard, Dr. — 59 Malmesbury, William of— 28 Melfort, John, Earl of— 70 Manners, Mr.- 90, 91, 100 Monmouth, Geoffrey of — 1 Montague, Sir H.— 83 Nash, Beau— 78, 137, 241 ,, His Statue executed by Prince Hoare— 80 Nelson, Mr.— 141, 142 Nichols, Rev. W. L.— 98 Oliver, Dr.— 57, 78 Palmer, John — 79 Parish, St. Peter and Paul— 31 „ St. James— 31, 89 „ St. Michael— 31 „ Walcot— 107 ,, Widcombe— 113 Park, Royal Victoria- 176, 177 Pearson, Rev. C.— 99 Peirce, Dr.— 1, 2, 52, 55 Penitentiary— 159, 160, 161 Prior Park (see Widcombe) J, to whom sold with Abbey House— 23 Priors, William Holloway, alias Gibbes— 22, 111, 203, 204, 205 „ Birde— 38, 43, 89, 90, 113 Richard I.— 21 Roads, Fosse— 133, 134, 135, 237, 238, (also Appendix) ,, Via Julia— 133, 238 (also Appendix) „ Bath— 135 Index. Roads, Wansdike (see Appendix) Rooms, Assembly— 169 „ The New— 170 Salterns, Sir Nicholas— 89 Scarth, Rev. Preb.— 39, 116 SohooU, Blue Coat— 139, 140, 141, 142 „ TheGrammar— 165, 166 „ Weymouth House--167, 168 Scott, Sir G.— 87, 90, 91 Sherwood — 75 Station, Police- 190, 191 Stoner, Sir Francis — 67 Street, Hot Bath— 71 Bath- 71, 73 Waloot— 102, 133 James — 103 Westgate— 133, 236 Stall— 133, 236 Cheap— 133, 236 Union— 133 Beau — 145 Stukeley— 67 Sutherland, Dr.— 34, 36, 39, 44 Swainswick — 2 Swinford — 2 Tennis, Lawn — 175 Theatre, The Royal— 171, 172, 173, 174 Thermae Redivivse — 56 ,, BritannicsB — 56 Turner, Dr. William— 48 Villala, John de— 20, 21, 37, 38 His Palace— 37, 38 Wade, Marshal— 87, 99 Wade's Passage — 87 Walks, Harrison's — 136 Warner— 1, 5, 22, 25, 36, 39, 98, 99 Webster, Captain— 137, 239 Widcombe— 207— 228 , , Prior Park— 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 211, 213, 214, 215,216, 217,218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 234 Fielding— 208, 209, 227 Allen, Ralph— 138, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 222, 225, 225 „ Bennets, The— 224, 225, 226, 227, 228 William the Conqueror — 20 „ Rufus— 20, 21, 38 Wilson, J., Esq.— 104 Willcox, W. J., Esq.— 104, 110 Wood, the Architect—l, 2, 5, 108, 212, 228, 229, 232, 245, 246, 200, 261 ,, Anthony k — 90 APPENDIX. The Bath and West of England Society 269 270 271 Wansdike -271, 272, 273, 274, 275 The Fosse -275 Via Julia-275, 276 Stanton Drew — 276 Wellow-276, 277, 278, 279 Newton-St. -Loe— 279 Farley Churoh-280, 281 „ Castle— 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286 Corsham House-286, 287 Kelstou House— 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294 Haringtons, The— 288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294 Poynton, Rev. F. J.— 288 OLD BATH. ^ HE origin of cities and towns which lay claim to remote antiquity is always obscure, and generally fabulous. The early history of Bath partakes of both these characters. No decisive proof is to be obtained whether it was indebted to the Britons or the Romans for a "local habitation and a name ; " and Romance, in the absence of authentic records, has supplied their place with some of her own interesting but incredible inventions. Warner, in the excellent little book we are partially appropriating, as well as in his large History, quotes the Bladud legend much as it has been quoted by older and numerous writers during the eighteenth century, and assigns the story to the same authorities, namely : — Br. Jones, the author of a book, in 1572, called "The Bathes of Bathes' Ayde," and Geoffrey of Monmouth, in the twelfth century. In the version given by Warner, he introduces the pigs. Now, it is necessary, whilst giving the whole legend, to say that neither Jones, nor Geoffrey of Monmouth, makes any mention of the pigs, nor can we trace it in any authority what- ever earlier than Dr. Peirce, who published his Memoirs in 1697. Wood, the great local architect, not only gives a very circumstantial account of the pigs, but he evidently believed it, as he did every other amusing legend which he relates; and the only authority he quotes is very indefinite, so that we 1 Bath : Old and New. are led to think that he is one of the first writers after Peirce, who has embodied with the legend of Bladud the story of the pigs,i which he has amplified to a preposterous extent. Many centuries before the Christian era, Lud Hudibras swayed the sceptre of Britain. Bladud, a prince of the highest expectations, was the heir-apparent of this monarch, the darling of his parents, and the delight of a splendid court. By some fatal accident this great prince became a leper ; and, as the disease under which he laboured was contagious and incurable, the courtiers prevailed upon his reluctant father to banish him from the palace, lest he should contaminate their immaculate circle with this horrible malady. Lud Hudibras, therefore, dismissed the prince with tears and blessings, to which the queen, his mother, added a brilliant ring, both as a testimony of her affection and a mark of recognition when he should be fortunate enough to get rid of the disease. Shut out from society by the leprosy, Bladud could only aspire to the meanest employments ; and having travelled as far as Canesham (Keynsham),' a village six mUes from Bath, he offered himself to a man of that village, who dealt largely 1 Wood says, VoL I., p. 71, "The story has been handed down to the Elders of the present Age," i.e., when he wrote, in 1749, hut by whom the story was handed down, and who the Elders were, we are left to find out. Dr. Peirce, in his " Bath Memoirs," 1697, gives no definite authority as to the early tradition of the pigs. s Wood goes so far as to contend that Swinf ord derives its name from its contiguity to the ford in which the pigs plunged. Other writers .since have contended, in much earnest too, that Swainsickk was the place in which the prince took refuge, and that Uke the swine of the Scripture narrative, the herd ran down that steep place into the waters below ; only that, instead of being choked, they were cured of their foul disease, and hence the village really should be called Sioines- wiek, a method of determining village nomenclature more ingenious than accurate or scientific. Bath: Old and New. in pigs, to take charge of a party of these respectable animals. Being accepted by the swineherd, Bladud soon discovered that he had communicated his disorder to the herd ; and dreading the displeasure of his patron in case of a discovery, he requested that he might drive his charge to the opposite side of the river, under the pretext that the acorns were finer and more plentiful than in the spot where the animals then grazed. This was acceded to, and Bladud passed the river at a shallow, conducting his pigs to the hills which hung over the northern side of Bath, The health-dispensing springs of this place stole at that time uuperceived through the valley, obscured by wild aquatic plants, which spread themselves in matted entanglements over their surface. The swine, however, led by instinct, soon discovered this treasure, quitted their keeper, rushed violently down the hill, and plunged into the muddy morass below. If this piggish instinct proved nothing else, it would prove the superior intelligence of Bladud's herd over all pigs and piggish creatures which have flourished in earlier and later times. The Boyal swineherd, astonished at the circumstance (as well he might be), endeavoured in vain, for a considerable time, to entice his troop from the spot ; but acorns succeed- ing where eloquence failed, he led them back to their former pens, and on washing them from the mud and filth, he per- ceived, to his immense gratification, that many of the animals had entirely shed the scabby marks of their disorder, and the others were evidently improved in their appearance. Bladud, who had studied philosophy at Athens, and possessed a tolerable share of natural sagacity, wisely con- cluded that there could be no effect without an adequate cause ; and after revolving in his mind from whence this sudden favourable change in the pigs could proceed, it struck him, that the virtues of the morass into which they had plunged must have produced it. It required no great powers of reasoning to establish this Bath : Old and New. conclusion in his mind, that, if the waters cured the hogs of the leprosy, there was a probability they would be equally bene- ficial to a man in a similar situation ; resolving, therefore, to try their effects, he immediately proceeded to bathe himself in them, and after continuing their use for a few days, had the inexpressible happiness to find himself cleansed from his disease. The remainder of the story may be readily anticipated. Bladud marched back the pigs to his patron ; returned to court, shewed his ring ; was known and acknowledged with rapture ; proceeded to the place where he had found his cure ; cleansed the springs ; erected baths ; and built a splendid city on the spot. Here he lived and reigned for many years with great , honour ; but getting foolish as he became old, he applied himself at length to the study of magic, and scorning any longer to tread the earth like a common mortal, he determined to take a trip through the air, with no other aid than a pair of necromantic wings, which he had constructed, for unfortu- nately balloons were then unknown. The consequence was as might be expected : on a certain day he sprang from the pinnacle of a temple which he had founded to Minerva, in Bath, tumbled instantly to the ground, and at once put an end to his life and to his fame as a conjuror. ' Deficient as the above account is, in anything that could stamp it with probability, the inhabitants of Bath both gave credit to it, and valued themselves upon the British origin of the city, till within these hundred years ; and, notwithstanding the serious preaching of the Puritans during the usurpation and the wicked wit of Rochester, in the time of Charles the II. , who ridiculed the credulity of the Bathonians in a variety of I The monkish writers have given the following names to the supposed British city : Caer Palladur, Caer Badon, Caer Badin, Caer Gran, Caer yn ennaint twymyn. For a detailed definition of these terms, see " Guidott's Collection of Treatises on the Bath Waters," edition 1725, pages 66 and 67. Bath: Old and Mew. ways, the belief in Bladud and the swine constituted part of the creed of every true Batln, Man. ' The state of society in the interior of Britain previously to its invasion by the Romans renders it probable that Bath had no existence, under any form, till these conquerors had settled themselves in our country. The landing of Julius Csssar in Britain was little more than a discovery of it ; his successor, Augustus, sufficiently wise to know when he had enough, did not pursue the pernicious policy of extending the empire by foreign conquests ; the wary Tiberius followed the same maxim, and the preparations of the absurd Caligula evaporated in idle folly. In the reign of Claudius the event took place, when a Roman army, under the command of P. Ostorius Scapula, made a complete conquest of this part of Somersetshire, and secured their acquisitions by forming stations and erecting forts along the line of the country which they had subdued. ^ To this sera, then, we may attribute the first foundation of Bath, when the Romans, attracted by the appearance of those hot springs, whose uses they so well knew and so ' Warner quotes a manuscript written by Wood the architect, to show, not only that the writer believed all the traditional legends which he gives, but that he believed it to be his duty to impress their truth upon the principal inhabitants of the city. " We, whose names are hereunder written, natives of the City of Bath, having perused the above tradition, do"think it very truly and faithfully related, and that there is but one material circumstance omitted in the whole story, which is the grateful aoknowledginent Bladud made to his master, for, it is said, the king richly arrayed him, made him a knight, and gave him an estate to support his dignity. As witness our hands this 1st day of November, 1741." Whether any of the "natives" were simple enough to sign it, is not said. [This does not appear in Wood's Description of Bath.] ^ A memorial of Ostorius's success subsists in the name of the passage over the Severn, a few miles from Bristol, which is still called Ost Passage, or, as it is written now, Auat, which is also the name of the village, evidently a corruption of Ost, Bath: Old and New. highly valued, fixed upon the low and narrow vale in -which they rose for the establishment of a station and the erection of a town. To secure their acquisition by surrounding it with walls, would be the first object of these judicious conquerors ; these, according to a form usually effected by the Romans on such occasions, approached to a parallelogram, swelling out on one side so as to describe an outline somewhat pentagonal, and stretching in length from east to west about 400 yards, and 380 yards in the broadest parts from north to south. From subse- quent discoveries, these walls appear to have been twenty feet above ground in height, and in thickness sixteen feet at the b5i,se, and eight at the summit, strengthened with five towers, rising at the angles, and having four portals, or entrances, facing the cardinal points, which were connected with each other by two grand streets, dividing the city into four parts, and intersecting each other at the centre. The Station and Town thus established, received the name of vdara Bepjia, or Warm Waters, in allusion to its local natural phenomena, and communications were formed between it and the other Roman possessions in Britain by various roads ; one directing itself to Duroeorinium, or Cirencester ; another to Verlucio, or Westbury ; ' a third to Ischalis, or Ilchester ; and a fourth to Alone, or Amesbury. ^ Antiquaries are divided in opinion with respect to the situation of the Roman station' Verlucio or Verlucione ; some conceiving it to have been at Westbury ; others at Eddington, a few miles to the east- ward ; and a third party placing it at Warminster, three miles south of Westbury. Whatever may he the true site of this station, numerous remains of Eoman antiquity evince the presence of that people in the neighbourhood of all the above-mentioned places. A series of fine camps crowns the summits of those noble, sweeping hills, which rise to the east of the turnpike road, leading to Salisbury, between the towns of Westbury and Heytesbury ; whilst a little to the west of the same, between the villages of Norton and Bishopstrow, at a place called Pitt- mead, considerable remains of porticoes and tesselated pavements and sudatories and hypocausts, discovered at the close of the last century testify that the splendour of Roman social life was exhibited here, pro- tected by the encampments at a little distance above. Bath : Old and New. Having thus provided for their security, the spirit of superstition and of luxury which equally characterized the Romans of this age would induce them to raise temples to the honour of their gods, and erect baths for the accommodation of themselves in their new acquisition. The stone of the neighbouring Downs, and the hot springs which bubbled up at their feet, afforded them materials for both ; and it is probable, that shortly after the settlement at " the warm waters," those magnificent fabrics, discovered in 1755 (more fully treated of hereafter), and that temple of Minerva, whose present remains testify its original grandeur, were erected. But the splendour of Bath was in some degree progressive. The elegant Agricola, reposing a winter here from his successful campaign in Wales, would, in pursuance of his customary policy, decorate it with buildings, dedicated to piety and pleasure ; and the polite Adrian, 30 years afterwards, founded an establishment in it, which at once rendered it the most important place in the southern part of Britain. This was the Fdbrica, or College of Armourers, in which the military weapons for the use of the legions were manufactured from the iron ore that was dug up in the Forest of Dean, trans- ported across the Severn to Aust, and thence brought to Bath by the military road before mentioned. A century after this event, the station before us had the honour of Geta's residence within its walls, during the absence of his father, Septimius Severus, in North Britain, to quell an insurrection of the Caledonians ; and complimentary statues were raised, in consequence of the circumstance, of vSara Oep/ia, who received the appellation of AqucB Solis, a com- pliment paid probably to Heliogabalus (for the colonists were always ready enough to flatter the reigning emperor) who was priest of the Sun, and received his name from having borne that sacred office. The joint reign of Dioclesian and Maximinian increased the number of pious memorials at A^uoe Solis ; for the same Bath : Old and New. spirit of adulation incited its inhabitants to dedicate an altar, if not to erect a temple, to their two emperors. But their loyalty was for some time suspended by the successful usurpa- tion of Carausius, who seized upon Britain, and held it, in despite of the purple, for seven years ; when he fell a victim to the treachery of his friend Allectus, who caused him to be assassinated, from this period to the time when the Romans quitted England (about the year 450), we can collect no par- ticulars respecting Aqua Soils, excepting that a part of the sixth legion, a cohort of the twentieth legion, and some of the Spanish Velloneusian horse, were quartered in it ; whilst many fragments of masonry, coins, and inscriptions, authorize the conclusion, that it continued to be a place of great resort and considerable splendour, till the Roman eagle fled from our shores, and left the Britons to take care of themselves. ' Of the remains of ancient edifices constructed by the Romans at Bath, a very considerable number are preserved to the present day ; they were collected together, and were formerly deposited in a building near the Oross-Bath, erected for that purpose by the Corporation, but at present these remains are placed in the Royal Literary Institution. The principal of these fragments of masonry and sculp- ture are noticed. They form an almost unique collection from their beauty, curiosity, and variety. Guidott (p. 76) describes them, whilst many of them were still in situ in the medieval wall, into which they appear to have been inserted when those walls were built. The coins also he well describes, partly from his own knowledge, and partly from Camden, but the most complete work upon the Roman antiquities of Bath, I The Greek names of Bath were vdara Qepfia and ^aSiZa and its Latin names Aqiue Solis, Pontes, Calidi, T/urmw, Bacbnia, Bathonia, Balnea, Badonessa. Ptolemy places it in longitude, 17 degrees, 20 minutes, east from the Canary or Fortunate Isles ; and in latitude, 53 degrees, 22 minutes, and 32 seconds, north ; in longitude, 2 degrees, 21 minutes, and 30 seconds ; and in time, 9 minutes, and 26 seconds, west from London. Bath : Old and Mew. embodying all the results of the research of the most eminent antiquaries, as well as his own independent labours, is that of Prebendary Scarth, jlgwce Solis. ' The remains of the Temple of Minerva^ are the most remarkable objects to be noticed. They consist of the Tympanum of the Temple ; fragments of columns, cornices, and pilasters, and three pieces of frieze ; all of beautiful design and masterly workmanship, testifying that the struc- ture to which they belonged was equal in magnificence to any specimen of classical architecture in the kingdom. The Tympanum, when perfect, appears to have been in length, at the base, about 27 feet, and to have contained the following ornaments : In the centre, the head of Medusa, cut in strong and coarse lines, with her serpent locks and pinnated crown ; surrounded with two wreaths of the olive and the oak. Two Genii, one on each side treading upon spheres, supported this central ornament ; whilst beneath, on a level with their knees, were seen two helmets each sur- mounted by the favourite bird of the Goddess of Wisdom.' ' Aquce Solis, or Notices of Roman Bath, etc., 1864, copiously illustrated. The following is an approximately correct list of writers on the Boman Remains of Bath : — Leland, in his Itinerary, about 1539 ; Harrison, in Hohnshed's Chronicles, 1577 ; Horsley's Britannioa Bomana, by Leman, 1732 ; Guidott on the Bath Waters, edit. 1725 (not 1676 edit. ) ; Musgrave's Bib. Brit., 2 vols., 1719 ; Sutherland's Attempt to Revise Antient Medical Doctrines, London, 1763 ; Luoaa on Mineral Waters, 1756, Vol. II., relating to Bath ; Warner, 1797 ; Lysons' Rehquie Boma- nse ; Carter, Pownall, Wood, CoUinson, Phelpa, Whitaker, Schart. The late Rev. Joseph Hunter, assisted by Mr. Lonsdale, catalogued the Bath collection up to his own day, but discoveries have since been made. ^ On the same spot where the fragments of Minerva's temple were discovered, several horns and soillla of young heifers were dug up : the appropriate victims of the goddess, which had been offered on the altar of her temple at Bath. ' With so many proofs of the Tympanum having related to Minerva, it is somewhat singular that Pownall, with so much recondite learning, should have endeavoured to prove that it exhibited the Bath : Old and New. Parts only of this piece of masonry remain ; but they are sufficient to prove the correctness of the above statement of its original design. The cornices and friezes, found together with the tympanum, assimilated with its -magnitude and beauty ; though mutilated in form, and flattened in their sculpture, they exhibit much elegance of pattern, and skill in workmanship ; and prove to demonstration that the edifice they adorned must have been constructed before the Arts began to decline among the Romans ; that is, at no great distance of time from their first settling themselves at Bath. The fate and fortune of this temple afford some very curious particulars of local history. The Romans, considering Minerva as the deity presiding over hot springs,' would naturally provide a fane for the worship of the Goddess as speedily as possible after they had taken possession of, a spot, which seemed to be so peculiarly under the tutelage of her divinity. They had already a temple dedicated jointly to Vesta and Pallas, at Rome ; and to this they assimilated, in some measure that which they erected at Bath. As in the former a fire was kept continually burning ; so a perpetual one illuminated our temple also. The attendants on the services of each indeed were different : Virgins alone being appointed to the one, whilst at Bath, men, and even married ones, were admitted to that honour.^ But the most remarkable difference between the services of these two places of heathen worship was this : that in the former the perpetwi ignes were supplied with billets of wood ; whilst the altar of the latter was fed by fossil coal, cherubic emblem of the Sun, and was part of a temple dedicated to Sol. If he had looked into Vignolius de Columna Antonini, page 3, he would have seen the representation of a sculpture in porphyry (found in Nero's baths) of an undoubted head of Medusa, which is nearly a fac-simile of the Bath antiquity. ' "Quibus fontibus prsesul est Minervse numen." — Solinm. ' This appears from an altar among the Bath Antiquities bearing the following inscription :— Diis manibus Caius Calpernius receptm Sobcre- dos Dete SuUnis fixit ann. l.xxv, Calpumia Conjnx faciendum ouravit. Bath : Old and New. i t probably from the mines of Newton, about three miles distant from Bath ; a circumstance worthy of remark, as it points out the first use of fossil coal in Britain, and entitles Bath to claim the honour of introducing to the knowledge of the Britons one of the most necessary as well as comfortable articles of domestic consumption. As long as Britain continued subject to the Roman dominion, and classical mythology was the religion of its inhabitants, so long the temple of Minerva at Bath was pre- served in its original splendour ; but when the mighty empire, according to the Poet, " With heaviest sound a giant statue fell, Push'd by a wild and artless race, From off its wide, ambitious base. When time his northern sons of spoil awoke. And all the blended work of strength and grace, With many a rude repeated stroke. And many a barbarous yell, to thousand fragments broke ; " tAen the glory of Minerva's temple was eclipsed by the for- tunes of Rome, and participated in the general injury sus- tained by all the examples of her art and magnificence. But though defaced, it was not destroyed ; since we have a docu- ment, not to be disputed, which leads us to suppose that the temple, after being dismantled, had been converted into a place of Christian worship ; which demonstrates that its portal at least existed to the middle of the 16th century. An ancient MS. on vellum, the Leger Book of Bath Abbey, belonging to the Marquis of Bath, aflfords us this most curious piece of information, describing an inscription which, in the year 1582, was then to be found in the portico of the ruined temple of Minerva.' This is the last notice preserved to us of this celebrated structure. As its remains covered a spot ' The inscription was as follows : " Eat istud Epitaphium sculp- tum in dextro in ostio ruinosi templi quondam Minervse dedicati ; et adhuo in loco dicto sese studiosis offerens, 1582, 7° Decemb. in CIvit Bathon." t z Bath : Old and New. (the site of the present Pump-room) applicable to more useful purposes, such of them as remained above ground were removed to other parts, or used in the erection of new build- ings which rose upon the spot it had once occupied. Besides the fragments of the above-mentioned temple, the following altars, inscriptions, and specimens of Roman masonry are also to be seen : — The pediment of a Sacdlum, or little temple, dedicated to Luna ; with a broad, full, female countenance in the centre, encircled by a crescent. A Aitii>iios, or double altar, consecrated to the two gods, Jupiter and Hercules bibax, sufficiently pointed out by the accompanying emblems of the two deities. It was probably consecrated in Bath, during the joint reign of Dioclesian and Maximinian ; the former of whom affected the name of Jove, the other of Hercules. The coarseness of the workmanship shows it to be a production of the latter empire. The representation of Geta on horseback, a bass-relief. The upper part of the stone only is come down to us, contain- ing the body of the prince and the head of his horse. A bass-relief of Garausius, dressed in chalmys, which is fastened on the right shoulder with a fibula or clasp. A rudely-carved dolphin on the upper part of the stone seems to point out the profession of the person represented, that of a naval officer. Two fragments of a portal : one representing a Genius with a strigil (or instrument used in the baths) in his hand ; the other a similar intelligence, with a bunch of grapes. A Pyla, or Columella, a small plain pillar, which formerly supported the statue of a deity. Its height is between three and four feet. A sepulchral Gippus, commemorating Caiiis Galpurnius, a priest of the goddess Sulinis (the local name of Minerva at Bath), who died at the age of seventy-five ; the inscription is as follows: Dw's Manibus. Gains Galpurnius receptus Sacerdos Decs Sulinis vixit arm. Ixxiv. Calpurnia Cotijux faciendum curavit. Bath : Old and New. 13 A votive altar dedicated to the above-mentioned deity, about thirty inches high, and twelve wide, with this inscrip- tion : DiOi Sxilini Minence Stdinis Maturi filius votum solvit lubens merito. A votive altar consecrated by a Libertus, or manumitted slave, to the same goddess, in discharge of a vow made for the restoration of his master, Afidius Maximus, a soldier of the sixth legion. Dem Suluni pro salute et incolumitate Aufi- dii Maximi legionis VItje mctricis militis Aufidius ejus Libertvs votum solvit lubens merito. Another altar of a similar kind, and consecrated by the same person, in return for the additional privilege of heirship conferred on him by his master. It bears this inscription. DecB Sulini pro salute et incolumitate Karci Aufidii Maximi legionis VIiM victricis Aufidius ejus adoptaius heres Libertus votum solvit lubens merito. An inscription carved under the relief figure of a horse- soldier, trampling upon a prostrate foe : only the lower moiety of the figure is preserved. The person represented was a soldier of the Vettonesian horse, a Spanish body, and citizen of Caurium, a town in Lusitania. The inscription runs thus — Lucius Vitellius Mantani filius Tancinus Gives Hispanice Gauriesis Vettonum Centurio Equitem Annorum XLVI, Stipendorum XXVI. Bic situs est. A votive altar dedicated to the Cretan Jupiter, and Mars, under his local name Nemetona ; erected by one of the strangers \(a native of Treves in Germany) who had visited Aquce Solis, and probably received some benefit from its waters. The inscription is Peregrinus Secundi filius Givis Treveris Jovi Gretico Marti et Nemetona votum solvit libens merito, A mutilated altar, with an imperfect inscription, having the words na sacratissim, avotum solvit, Vlarus] Vetticus Benignus Llubens] MleritoJ. A sepulchral monumental stone to the memory of Julius Vitalis, a native of Belgio Britain, and a stipendiary of the 14 Bath : Old and New. twentieth legion, who died at Bath, in the ninth year of his service, and the twenty-ninth of his age. He belonged to the fahrica, or college of armourers, established in this colony, mentioned a few pages back, and was probably buried at the expense of the community. The inscription is as follows : Julius Vitalis Fabriciensis Legionu Yicesimce Vcderianee Victrids Stipendiorum Novem annorum VigiiUi Novem Natione Belga ex Gollegio FabricB elatus. Hie situs est. A monumental stone commemorating the pious act of Caius Severius, a discharged veteran (having completed his twenty years of service) and centurion, who had restored and re-dedicated a temple which had fallen into disuse and decay. The inscription runs thus : Locum Religioaum per insolentium erutum i!irtut[ei] et n[umine] aug rep^vrgatum reddidit Caius Severiims Emeritus Leg[ionis\' An altar dedicated to the Solar Miiherva ; the inscrip- tion is, Sulevis Sulinus Scultor Bruceti filius Sacrum fecit lubens merito. A votive altar to the memory of a discharged veteran belonging to the twentieth legion, who died at the age of forty-five. Caius Tiberius, his heir, erected this testimony of his aflfection for his deceased patron. The inscription is imperfect. ' I Mr. Whitaker would infer from this inscription that the insolence of Christianity had overthrown this edifice ; an interpretation neither sanctioned by history nor the meaning of words. The first signification insolentia, in Ainsworth's dictionary, is dimse. = Most of the sepulchral monuments were dug up to the southward of Waloot Street, the ancient Fosse-way leading to Bath from the east- ward ; it being the wise practice of the Romans to bury their dead, not in their towns, but in Pomoeria, or cemeteries, adjoining to them ; which ranged along the roads, and offered to the passing traveller, in these grave-stones, perpetual memorials of his own mortality. Hence the frequent commencement of classical monumental inscriptions is Siste Viator. The greater part of the other fragments were dug up on the site of the present Pump-room, where stood the temple of Minerva, to which they for the most part belonged. Bath: Old and New. 15 A fine votive altar, dug up in the Cross Bath in 1809, about 3 feet 6 inches high, with the following imperfect inscription : DEAE SULINI MIN ET NVMTN AVGICO. VMATIVS RNINVS SES VE S(olvit) L(ubens) M(erito). The follovnng is an approximately accurate list of all the principal Roman Remains which will he found in the Royal Literary Institution. The list contains some already described more fully in the preceding pages. Sculptures once in the walls of Bath, selected from Drawings given by Guidott. Corinthian column. Pediment of Temple, and Inscription supposed to belong to it. Fragments found under the Pump Room. Fragments of sculptures of the Seasons. Head of Luna, with Fragments and Inscriptions found with it. Roman Female Head found in Bath, now walled into the Porch of a House in Musgrave's Alley, Exeter. Roman Pig of Lead. Medicine Stamp, and Sculpture of a Dog carrying a Deer, found in Bath on the line of the Foss Road. Altar to Jupiter and Hercules Bibax. Altar in the Buttress of the Parish Church of Compton Dando, with the figures of Hercules and Apollo. Altar to the Loucetian Mars and Nemetona. Altar erected to the goddess Sul Minerva, by Sulinus, the Son Maturus. Altar to Sul Minerva et numina Augustorum, erected by Curiatius Saturnius. Altar erected to the goddess Sul by Marcus Aufidius Lemnus, for the health and safety of Aufidius Maximus. 1 6 Bath: Old and New. Altar dedicated to the goddess Sul for the health and safety of Aufidius Maximus, by his freedman, Aufidius Eutuches. Altar to the Sulevee, erected by Sulinus the carver. Funereal Stone to Calpurnius Receptus, priest of the goddess Sul. Funereal Stone to Rusonia Avenna. Funereal Stone to a Soldier of the Twentieth Legion. Funereal Stone erected to Julius Vitalis. Funereal Stones found at Bath, but now lost. Portions of two Stones erected to Roman Cavalry, the lower being that of Tacinus, a Spaniard. Altar erected by Vettius Benignus. Altar erected to commemorate the restoration of a " Locus Religiosus." Funereal Stone to Succia Petronia. Funereal Stone to an Alumna. Part of an Inscription put up by Novantus in conse- quence of a dream. Inscription found at Combe Down, having been used as a covering Stone to a Coffin of the same material. ' Fragment of a Marble Tablet, and Fragment of an Inscription on Sandstone. Stone found in Bath. Stone found in Bath. Roman Fragments found in Bath. Locket found in Bath, under the Pump Room. Penates, Roman Keys, and Fibula. Roman Flue-tile, semi-circular ; Flue-tile, with opening on the side ; Flue-tile, wedge-shaped, with circular holes as if to admit a pipe ; pattern of Roman tesselated Pavement found under the new building of the Mineral Water Hospital ; pattern of Pavement found under the Bluecoat School. Small Roman Vase of Black Ware, found in the Sydney Gardens, a.d. 1828. Roman Urn, found in Bath (Red Ware). Bath: Old and New. 17 Samian Bowls, restored from Fragments found in Bath. Roman Bowls and Samian Ware, restored from Frag- ments found in Bath. Fragments of Samian Ware found in Bath. Samian Ware, and patterns enlarged. Samian Ware found in Bath. Roman Glass Vessels found at Combe Down, a.d. 1861 (actual size): Roman Ampulla of Glass, found in a Stone Coffin at Swainswick, near Bath, a.d. 1840. Fragment of Sculpture found at Wellow. Tesselated Pavement found at Newton-St. -Loe Cups found on the site of a Roman Villa, Combe Down. Bronze Articles found on the site of a Roman Villa, Combe Down. Capital of Column found near Warleigh. Several fragments of the hollow or tubulated tile, and one perfect one, used by the Romans, for the vapour channels which heated their hypocausts. Under the coping of the wall in the yard of the Corpo- ration Baths, is an inscription restored by Governor Pownall, which claims at least the' praise of considerable ingenuity, if we do not admit its genuineness. He supposes it commemo- rates the public spirit of Claudius Ligurius, one of the College of Armourers, who repaired and repainted the ^des Salutis, or Temple of Health, in the city of Bath, which, 'e nimid vetiistate, from length of time, had fallen into decay ; and that the charges were defrayed from money which had been found by him, deposited in a lotiga seria, an earthenware vessel. The restored inscription stands thus : Aulus Claudius Ligurius Sodalis Ascitus Fahrorum Collegia Longa Seria defossa bano ^dem e iiimia vestuslate labentem de inmnta illic Pecunia refici et repingi curavit. The whole of Roman Bath (and probably of the subse- quent structures within its walls, by the Saxons and Normans) was constructed of a fine oolite or granulated freestone from 2 1 8 Bath : Old and New. Lansdown. It does not appear that the inexhaustible mass of the same precious material to the south of the town was known, or at least attended to, till within the last century. The only attempt for stone, except on Lansdown, seems to have been made on the lofty ground called the Pits, near Cottage Crescent ; which exhibits numerous holes or depressions from whence the stone was brought with which the Abbey church was built in the fifteenth century. No sooner had the Romans withdrawn their protection from this country, than its natives, enervated by that deep and tranquil slumber of peace, in which they had for four centuries reposed, quickly yielded to the successful incursions of the more hardy inhabitants of the North ; and the Saxons, under the command of ^lla, and his three sons, Cymenus, Pleting, and Cissa, rushed into Somersetshire, approached Bath, and, encamping on Lansdown, laid close siege to the city. At this period the gallant Arthur was performing prodi- gies of valour to save his undeserving countrymen from the Saxon yoke. Hearing of the operations of the foe in the west, he passed rapidly into that country, came up with the Saxons before they could take possession of the city, and defeated them in a bloody and obstinate battle. To this success he added a, similar brilliant victory, about twenty- seven years afterwards, and again saved Bath from the devas- tation of the Saxon sword ; for Cedric, with his lieutenants, Oolgrin^, Cheldrick, and Bladulfe, having marched a power- ful army into its vicinity, the British hero suddenly poured his unconquerable troops upon them ; attacked them on the theatre of his former success ; killed two of the leaders, and slaughtered with his own hand four hundred and forty Saxons. ■ It was not till the year 577 that Aqu(z Solw fell into the hands of these destroying conquerors, who, under the com- mand of Ceaulin and Guthwin, overcame Oommail, Oandidan, and Farinmail, the three British kings of Gloucester, Ciren- cester, and Bath, at a place called Dyrham, eight miles from ' This is the legend or tradition, but the wonder is how it was done, and what the Saxons were about. Bath: Old and New. 19 the latter place, and took possession of their respective dominions. On this occasion Aqu.(e. Solis changed its appellation for the more appropriate name of Hot-Bathun, or Hot Baths, and soon became the resort of the invalid ; an inference suggested by the subsequent name that was bestowed upon it, Akeman- ceastre, or the city of the afllicted men. It now received the privileges of a Saxon burgh ; had its Gerefa, or justiciary, appointed to it, who presided in the monthly meeting of its citizens, called the burgemote or folemote, instituted for the regulation of the police and the administration of the laws within the burgh. Nor was a monastery wanting to give consequence to the town ; Osric, the Saxon king of the Huicii, presented the pious female Bertana with one hundred families, their goods, lands, and chattels, who founded herewith a convent for the reception of support of a certain number of nuns in the year 676. But amid the tempestuous events of these times of ignorance, darkness, and confusion, the institution of Osric fell into decay ; and when the renowned Offa, king of Mercia, wrested Bath from the prince of Wessex, in the year 775, he found only the name of Osric's nunnery remaining to direct him to a spot where he might establish a college of secular canons. Torn to pieces during the incursions of the Danes, Bath was nearly extin- guished and forgotten, when the brilliant reign of Athelstan commenced, and raised it again to wealth and consequence. Here he established a mint ; and aided the sinking fortunes of Offa's Abbey by several large donations of estates in the neighbourhood of the city. Edgar, who had been crowned and inaugurated at Bath, acknowledged his regard for the place, by granting charters to the Abbey, and giving privileges to the town ; favours of which the inhabitants testified a grateful recollection for some centuries, by praying, as Leland tells us, "in all their cere- monies, for the king's soul ; and at Whitsuntide, at the which time men say that Edgar there was crowned, there is a king Bath : Old and New. elected every year of the townes men, in the joyful remem- brance of King Edgar, and the privileges given to the town by him." During the Danish domination in England, the monarchs of that line frequently made Bath the place of their temporary residence. Its mints also continued to work ; since several coins of Canute the Great, struck here, are stUl remaining. On the restoration of the Saxon princes, and the general survey of his kingdom, made by Edward the Confessor, (the ground-work on which Domes-day book was built), Bath was assessed at twenty hides, and paid towards the Danegald, or land-tax of the times, the sum of two pounds. Bath made part of the dower of Editha, the queen of Edward, who received all the issues and profits of its courts, the tolls and imposts, fines and amerciaments, arising within the burgh, for upwards of eleven years, when the cold-hearted lord (having quarrelled with her father, the powerful Earl Godwin), transferred his mean resentment to the daughter, deprived her of her dower, and confined her in the monastery of Wherwell in Hampshire. Reverting thus into the posses- sion of the crown, it was numbered amongst the royal demes- nes, when William the Conqueror made his general survey, by which it appears that Bath had then one hundred and fourteen burgesses : twenty-four under the king, and ninety belonging to other lords, which, allowing five to a family, would produce a population, in the latter end of the eleventh century, of five hundred and seventy souls. The Norman conquest had produced much general evil in the country, and Bath, together with other cities, had experienced great injury in consequence of it, but this was partial and light to the distress with which it was visited in Rufus's reign ; when in the insurrection raised by Odo, bishop of Bayeux, Geoffry, bishop of Coutance, and Robert de Mow- bray, the two latter took the place by assault, and, in the spirit of the times, delivered it over to plunder and burning. To the liberality of a foreigner, J ohn de Villula, a native of Bath ; Old and New. 2 1 Tours, Bath was indebted for its restoration ; purchasing it of Rufus for five hundred marks in 1090, and obtaining permis- sion to remove the pontifical seat from Wells hither, he rebuilt the city, erected a new monastery upon the ruins of the old one, and united the bishopric to this institution. Henry the First extended the privileges which his brother Rufus had granted to John de Villula, now bishop of Bath, by adding the hidage of the city, who transferred the same, together with the city, its issues, and profits, and a variety of lands and tenements, to the monastery of St. Peter, appointing it to be governed by a prior, in the stead of an abbot, and reserving the patronage of the same to himself and his successors in the see ; all of which was confirmed by King Henry, when he visited Bath in 1106. The bishops of Bath, as patrons of the monastery, retained possession of the city till 1193, when Savario, bribed by the addition of the rich Abbey of Glastonbury to his see, gave it, in exchange for the same, to Richard the First. But the prior still continued tenant of the city, under an annual rent of £30, exclusive of the tallages, or levies, which were made by the king, whenever extraordinary emergencies called for them. One of these occurred in the year 1230, in order to defray the expenses of an expedition to France, and amounted to £20. Another in the forty-seventh year of the reign of Edward the Third, when the sum of £13 6s. 8d. was assessed upon Bath. By a census taken four years after this event, it appears that the number of lay inhabitants in the city, above the age of fourteen years, amounted to five hundred and seventy ; and of clerics in the Archdeaconry of Bath, to two hundred and one. During this period, the Abbey or Priory of Bath had been gradually extending its possessions, in consequence of the munificence of monarohs and private persons who, by a very convenient superstition, fancied they could ensure the happiness of heaven without the trouble of practical religion, by shaking ofi' the superfluities of their fortunes into the laps of idle monastics. Under this impression, the worthless king 22 Bath: OU and New. John annexed to the Abbey of Bath two priories at Water- ford, and a valuable farm called Barton farm, in the immediate neighbourhood of the city. Edward the First also bestowed upon it land in Walcot ; two fairs : one at Lyncombe, the other on the Barton farm ; and the advowson of Hampton church ; whilst many pious individuals increased the rent-roll of the monastery by mUls, fisheries, and lands in different parts of the country. Though the monks of Bath had displayed some praise- worthy spirit in the fourteenth century, by cultivating the manufactory of cloth, yet this was merely temporary ; for in the reign of Henry the Seventh, when the good Bishop Oliver King obtained the see of Bath and Wells, he found such enormous abuses, and monstrous indolence, amongst the drones of the cloister here, as obliged him to proceed to regulations of the severest nature. By these he lessened the stipends of the different officers on the establishment, and controlled their sumptuous fare. But with a liberality equal to his vigour, he afterwards undertook, at his own expense, the restoration of the great church, which the monks had suffered to dilapidate, and consumed almost all his fortune in the praiseworthy act. Warner says, " The day of retribution for priestly juggle and conventual abomination at length arrived, and Henry the Eighth swept away the drones of Bath with other rubbish of the same kind, in the year 1539." ' William HoUoway, alioLi Gibbes, was the prior. Its clear yearly value was found to be £676 2s. 3|d. The site of the Abbey Henry granted to Humphrey CoUes, who afterwards disposed of it to Matthew Colthurst. His son Edmund presented the dilapidated Abbey Church, ' The policy of the Reformation and all that it nationally involved, it is no part of our business to enter upon ; but as to its immediate con- sequences in many instances, nothing could have been more disastrous. The incidence of the measure was, too often, cruel, audit was espeoially so in Bath. For nearly fifty years the pubUo services were without any provision whatever, except in one or two churches. Bath : Old and New. 2^ with the land upon the east, north and west of it, to the mayor and citizens ; ' and sold the Abbey house, with the park called Prior's Park, to Fulk Morley, from whose descendants the former estate devolved, through the late Duke of Kingston, to Earl Manvers. " The citizens of Bath had returned members to the national senate as early as 26 Edward I. , when Henry Bayton and Thomas Missletre were appointed its representatives ; and they had writs regularly sent to them for the same purpose, as often as parliament was summoned to meet. But as none of those advantages attached in these times either to a borough or its representative, which are now experienced by both ; and as, on the contrary, the privilege was attended with a heavy charge to the burgesses, who generally paid the expenses of their members ; Bath, for two successive parliaments in the first and second years of Edward II., declined the honour of being represented in parliament. In the succeeding reign the citizens of Bath acquired (by paying a fine of £20) the privilege of appointing from amongst them- selves their own assessors and collectors, who were to manage their proportion of taxation, when any public levies were made for the use of the state ; a privilege of which the importance will be obvious, when we advert to the practices of the public assessors of the fourteenth century, who, not fettered by any restrictions, at the time when the laxity of the laws permitted every species of subordinate oppression on the part of the crown and its ministers, had nothing to consult in their exactions but their interest or caprice. Hitherto all the royal grants to Bath had been addressed to its citizens at large without any exception, or the exclusion of particular orders in favour of particular persons. All the citizens had a right to assemble in the Guildhall, to consult ■ It had been refused when it was offered immediately after the dissolution, the Corporation distrusting the legal power of Colles, or the good faith in which the offer was made by the Commissioners. = This is further explained in oonneotion with Prior Park. 64 Bath : Old and New. on public business, to nominate the representatives, and to give their voices in whatever concerned the welfare of the guild. Strangers, sojourners, and the children of such as were not citizens, were alone shut out from participating in the rights and privileges of the burgh ; though a qualification to enjoy them was easily obtained by the payment to the com- munity of a small fine, and taking in full court the following curious oath : — "I will buxom (obsequious) and obedient be to the mayor of Bath, and to all his successors ; and I will attach myself to no other authority, to the inconvenience of any burgess of Bath. Neither will I try a suit with any burgess of Bath, except in the mayor's court, if so be the •mayor have inclination or ability to do me right. St. Catherine's day I will keep holy every year ; and St. Catherine's chapel and the bridge, ' I will help to maintain and sustain to the utmost of my power. All other customs and freedoms which belong to the aforesaid freedom I will well and truly keep and maintain, on my behalf. — So help me God and all His Saints." But as the circumstances of indisposition, private business, or absence, frequently rendered it inconvenient, or impossible for the younger or more engaged members of the community to attend the meetings, it became usual for them ' A very common misconception prevails with respect to this bridge. Many antiquaries state that the present bridge, before the late alterations, was identical with the structure erected in olden times, on which stood the ancient chapel of St. Lawrence. This cannot be so. The Old Bridge was taken down in 1754, and the Chapel was removed long before that date. It is probable that the bridge is built upon portions of the old piers, but the former structure must have been wider, and have extended much further laterally in each direction to have admitted so small a chapel, even as was that of St. Lawrence. The only map in which the Chapel is depicted is Smith's, of which Mr. Emmanuel Green has written an interesting description. The original map is dated 1572, and may be seen in the British Museum. The super- structure of the bridge, since that date, has, no doubt, been rebuilt at leaat twice, and probably three times. Bath: Old and New. i% to depute the older and more considerable citizens to transact, in the name of the whole, the concerns of the burgh as they occasionally occurred ; the mayor (originally appointed by the authority of the lord, and afterwards nominated from the body of citizens by themselves) ever presiding in the assemblies of the freemen. In the lapse of years, however, this prefer- ence to the management of the burgh, which had been received at first with reluctance, as it induced additional trouble, without being attended with any advantage, became, by a change in the opinions and manners of the country, a desirable thing ; and before the reign of Elizabeth, the se?fc< hoAy to whom the care of the city had been delegated, demanded as a right, under the sanction of prescription, the privilege of continuing their paternal cases, in exclusion of the rest of the- citizens. It is true, the pretension had been litigated before the middle of the sixteenth century, as soon as the freemen perceived the advantages which would result from a participation in the rights enjoyed by the self -elected Corporation ; but the interest of the members of this body prevailing with Elizabeth, ' she granted a charter ^ to them on ' In 1812, the question of freemen's rights was tested by a Mr. John Allen, a pawnbroker, in conjunction with a Mr. S. Colleton Graves. They were elected by the Freemen, but the election was null and void. The whole story is told by a Mr. C. Hibbert, in an amusing book published in 1813, entitled " A View of Bath : Historical, Political, and Chronological, " &o. &o. The usual protest as to popular rights was, of course, resorted to, but these two men were willing to be elected by the voices of three dozen Freemen, whereas the law prescribed that the representatives should be elected by three dozen aldermen and city councillors. So far as this contention for ' ' popular rights " was concerned, it was a piece of vulgar olap-trap. = Warner inserts a note to the effect that the Queen visited Bath in 1591, and the fact has not, until lately, been doubted. Recent inves- tigation, however, has shown that the Queen never visited Bath after 1574, the circumstances connected with which visit are well known. 3 This Charter, the full text of which is given in Warner's larger History, is not so much a new Charter, as the recognition and oonsoli- 26 Bath : Old and New. the 4th of September, 1590, which at once determined the questions of exclusive right, by declaring Bath to be a sole city of itself, and a certain number of the citizens to be a body corporate and politic, by the name of " Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of the City of Bath;" and granting to these associated few a great variety of franchises, privileges, and immunities. Under this charter the Corporation proceeded to exercise the rights and have ever since acted, till the year 1794, when a new charter' was granted by his Majesty George in., with a trifling extension of ancient privileges, which, until the passing of the Municipal Corporation Act in 1835, constituted the jurisdiction of the Corporation. The confusions of the seventeenth century were felt at Bath, and the standards of Charles and the Parliament were alternately displayed on its' walls. By the former £7,000 were expended on the fortifications here, in the early times of the troubles, in order to put it into a state of defence ; but these were insuflicient to resist the attack of the Earl of Bedford, who, having obliged the Marquis of Hertford to retire into Wales, took possession of Bath, together with a larger portion of Somersetshire. Here, also, Sir William Waller shortly afterwards stationed his forces ; and retired within its walls, after the battle of the 5th of July, 1643, on the summit of Lansdown, the field of which is marked by the freestone monument to the memory of Sir Bevill Grenville, who perished in the conflict on the part of the King. But the dation of previous ones. The Royal Charters relating to Eath are very numerous, but the practical value of these documents had been much abused and impaired in the course of centuries. Messrs. King and Watts have done great service to the city, by publishing, in 1886, a history of the municipal records, in which they have given a very interest- ing and clear account of the Charters from that of Richard I. down to that of Queen Elizabeth. This volume is an important contribution to local literature, the more so that the authors have given the sub- stance of each document, translated and transliterated, so that it requires no recondite scholarship to understand it, especially as it is explained by the historic facts and incidents bearing upon it. £aih: Old and New. dy battle of Roundway-Down, in which shortly afterwards Waller was worsted, put Bath into the possession of the royalists ; and a Governor was appointed to the city, with a stipend of £2 per week. On the 29th July, 1645, the republicans once more obtained possession of the city, by the treachery, as it should seem, of the Governor ; and though an attempt was made iu favour of Charles II., by Major-General Massey, yet it con- tinued to acknowledge the control of the Parliament, or the Protector, till the Restoration, when its loyalty was mani- fested by processions, fireworks, and every demonstration of joy. Its attachment to the reigning prince was displayed even in favour of James II. , and the Corporation shut the gates of the city against the Duke of Monmouth, when he appeared before them. The few adherents which the unfortunate prince reckoned within its walls were apprehended, and the six following persons being tried by the bloody monster JeflFreys, fell immediate victims to his undistinguishing and vindictive cruelty : — Walter Baker, Henry Body, Gerard Bryant, Thomas Clotworthy, Thomas Collins, John Carter. The warrant under which these martyrs were executed was as follows : — Somersetshire. 3 " ^'^^^.rd Hobbes, esq ; sherrife of ys \ countie aforesaid, to the con'"'"" and other his Mat'M officers of the cittie and burrough of Bath greeting ; Whereas I have rec* a warr* under the hand and seale of the right Hon'''e the Lord Jeffreys for the executing of several rebels within y^ said cittie. These are therefore to will and require yo" immediately on sight hereof to erect a gallows in the most pubUke place of yo' said cittie to hang the said trayto" on, and that yo^ provide halters to hang them with, a sufficient number of faggots to burn the bowells of fower traytors, and a furnace or cauldron to boyle their heads and quarters, and salt to boyle therewith, halfe a bushel to each trayto'', and tarr to tarr y™ with, and sufficient number of spears and poles to fix and place their heads and quarters ; 28 Math: Old and New. and that yo^ warne the owners of the fower oxen to be ready with a dray and wayne and the said fower oxen at the time of execution, and yo* yo''selves togeather with a guard of fortie able men att the least to be present on Wednesday morning next by eight of the clock, to be aiding and assisting to me, or my deputie, to see the said rebeUs executed. Given under my seale of office this 16th day of November, A" i" Jacobi secundi 1685. " EDWARD HOBBES, Vic. " Yo" are also to provide an axe and a cleaver for the quartering of the said rebells." The Jacobite principles remained strongly rooted in Bath long after the revolution, and Carte the historian stood at the head of a party who favoured the fallen fortunes of the Stuarts, and encouraged the claims of the Pretender in 1715. This Junta was discovered, and the clerical partizan escaped the rod of justice, as did many others. The government were not anxious to catch them. Carte was Rector of Bath and, after all, was more weak than wicked. Continually the object of Royal favour, Bath can boast the visits of more crowned heads than any place in the kingdom. The following monarchs and princes have made it a place of temporary residence : — Osric, Offa, Edgar, ' and most of the princes of the Saxon line ; Rufus the Norman, Henry the I. and II. ; Edward the I., n. , and III. ; Henry the IV. and VII ; Edward VI. and Elizabeth ; Charles I. and Queen Henrietta Maria (1644) ; James I. and Charles II. ;° Princess Anne with her husband, Prince George of Denmark, in 1692 ; and again when she was Queen in 1702. ' From his sixteenth year, when Edgar was appointed king, till the thirtieth, he reigned without the insignia of royalty. But then, the princes and men of every order assembling from all parts, he was crowned with great pomp at Bath, on the day of Pentecost, 973, he survived only three years, and was buried at Glastonbury.— IFi'Htam o/ Malmesbury, par. 160. ' When he was Prince of Wales he also visited the city, in 1644. Bath : Old and New. 29 In 1734, the Prince of Orange ; James II. and his Queen, Mary of Modena ; Frederick Prince of Wales and his consort, 1734; the Princess Amelia, 1728. In 1740, the Princess Mary, daughter of George II. , with her niece, Princess Caroline, daughter of Frederick Prince of Wales ; George IV., when Prince of Wales, honoured Bath with his presence, and accepted its freedom, in 1796 ; his Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester ; and their Royal Highnesses the Uuke and Duchess of York, who paid the same compliment to the city in 1795. In 1813, the Duke of Cambridge, and in the same year the Count de Provence (Louis 18th) ; in 1817, the Duke of Sussex ; in 1817, Queen Charlotte ; in 1821, Prince Leopold (afterwards King of the Belgians) ; in 1824, the Duke of Clarence (afterwards William IV.) ; in 1830, the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria (now her Majesty Queen Victoria, in the jubilee of her reign) ; in 1843, the Prince Consort ; in 1881, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught. MODERN BATH. I AVING given a slight historical view of the origin and progress of ancient Bath, it is necessary to describe its present position. This wiU include a short account of everything within it calculated to minister to the votary of pleasure, or the victim of indisposition, the philanthropist, the man of taste, the scholar who seeks tran- quillity and rest, the economist, or philosopher. In salubrity of situation it cannot be exceeded, nor in beauty and pic- turesqueness is it excelled by any city in Europe. Placed in the bottom of a narrow valley open to the east and west, it is constantly ventilated by a stream of air which perpetually renews its atmosphere, and prevents that stagnation of the pabulum vitce, which is so often the occasion of epidemic in many other places. Contagious diseases are little known in Bath, whilst examples of longevity are more numerous than in any other cities or towns of a similar magnitude. More- over, the average death-rate which has to be measured by the exceptional standard of so many elderly people in Bath retiring, who have already borne the "heat and burden of the day," in the military, naval, and other professions in various parts of the world, is relatively lower than that of other larger towns. Planted originally on the spot where its hot waters boil up, it continued for ages to be confined to the dimensions which the Romans had at first marked out for it, and until 1755, the ancient, or perhaps more correctly speaking, the mediajval walls, enclosing a space of about fifty acres, formed the boundaries of Bath. But even before the demolition of the walls, the spirit of enterprise was awakened, and buildings began to rise in all directions beyond the confines of the city. The large resort of " company " greatly encouraged and Bath : Old and Nnv. 3 1 sustained the spirit, and the city spread rapidly in all direc- tions, streets multiplied with uninterrupted progress beyond the parent city, until the population, in 1811, had increased in a century from 2,000 or 3,000 souls to 38,000, and at the present time it is nearly 55,000. Built of the beautiful oolite or granulated egg-like freestone, which forms, in a great degree, the surrounding hills, the houses are as remarkable for neat- ness as for splendour ; and being thrown over the sides of the broad acclivity of Lansdown (which rises to the north), in groups of streets, squares, parades, circuses, and crescents, they present to the eye an appearance singularly imposing, graceful, and beautiful. Connecting their buildings with those of the original city (which only included the parishes of St. Peter and Paul, St. James, and St. Michael, intra muros), they now constitute our city. To describe this city, its history, rise, and development, with all its institutions, is the object of this work. Of these objects, the Hot Springs, which first gave an existence and name to our city, are entitled to priority of description. Of the Hot Spkings and Baths. The phenomenon of springs issuing from the earth's surface considerably hotter than the temperature of the at- mosphere, and preserving uniformly, at all seasons, their heat and supply, must early have caught the notice of the casual observer, and fixed the attention of the scientific enquirer. We have seen, accordingly, that the hot waters were imme- diately objects of regard with the Romans, on their arrival into these parts, and we have now to notice, that numerous attempts have been made by philosophical and scientific men to account for their high and unvarying temperature. Some have attributed this effect to the operation of subterraneous fires, burning in sullen silence far beneath the crust of the earth, and happily discharging by these springs those vapours and gases, which without such spiracula, would burst the 32 Bath : Old and New. limits of the prisons in which they are generated, and con- vulse the country around them with an earthquake or a volcano. Others deduce their heat from a subterraneous chemical decomposition, effected by the passage of their water through immense accumulations of pyritical strata : but the only satisfactory hypothesis, and probably the true one, because, whilst it accounts for all the phenomena, it involves no objections against itself, is that proposed by the late Dr. Wilkinson. The Doctor's theory rests upon this supposed general law in geology, verified by many curious facts, and much solid reasoning, that the temperature of warm springs depends on the different depths below the surface of the earth from which their waters originally proceed. The Bath Hot Springs, he observes, are found flowing on a bed of firm, argillaceous, blue marl, which is itself placed over the white lias : ' a circumstance which has occasioned the supposition, that the springs may originate in the latter stratum ; but as the Bath waters possess some properties which the white lias does not exhibit, we may therefore suppose that the warm springs ' The blue marl is not visible in any part of the reservoirs, except that of the Kingston Bath. The beds of the other reservoirs have been raised by large quantities of alluvial matter, brought from the neighbouring districts ; hence arise the nuts (the occasion of so much wonder, and so much nonsense) and other extraneous matter found in cleansing the springs ; substances which are not produced by them, but imported into the Baths with the materials employed to elevate their level. The relative elevation of the different beds of the Hot Bath, Cross Bath, King's Bath, and Kingston Baths, were well ascertained at the great flood of Jan. 25, 1 809 ; the flood line was 7 3/'o inches above the bottom of the King's and Queen's Baths ; 7 inches above the bed of the Cross Bath ; 2 feet 6 g/io inches above the bed of the Hot Bath ; and 8 feet 2 s/m inches above the bed of the Kingston Baths. Hence 8 feet : 2 3/,,, inches + 7 3/io inches = 8 feet : 93/; inches, the difference of level between the beds of the King's and the King- ston springs, being the measure of the alluvial matter deposited on the natural bed of the springs supplying the King's and Queen's Baths. Recent excavations have altered all this. Bath : Old and New. 33 are determined from a source still deeper than it. Now, as the earth is believed by most philosophers to be the grand depository of caloric, and as the deeper it is penetrated the higher its temperature is perceived to be ; it follows, that if the source of a spring be sufficiently profound, it may have that degree of heat communicated to its waters at the point of its formation, as shall enable it to retain, on reaching the surface of the earth, a degree of temperature, not only equal to that exhibited by the Bath springs, but to that astonishing elevation which is found in those of Iceland ; which, after having spouted into the atmosphere to the height of 60 or 70 feet, are found in their descent to equal the heat of boiling water. As the Doctor's theory accounts satisfactorily for the heat of the springs, so does it make provision for the uniformity both in their temperature and supply which has been an object of wonder for ages — " Attributing," says he, "the warmth to the depth to which the spring descends, is ascribing it to a cause which must remain invariably the same, as long as the same structure in that part of the earth continues. To vary this temperature, would be to alter the direction of the strata ; which could only be effected by some tumultary operation of nature." But whatever uncertainty may be supposed to cloud the natural history of our springs, their early application to the purposes of public utility is unobscured by any shadow of uncertainty ; since the most satisfactory testimony exists of baths having been constructed here by the Romans, shortly after their settlement in the neighbourhood of Bath. "Among the ancients," says that most enlightened and interesting traveller. Dr. Clarke, ' ' baths were public edifices under the immediate inspection of the Government. They were con- sidered as institutions, which owed their origin to absolute necessity, as well as to decency and cleanliness. Under her Emperors, Rome had nearly a thousand such buildings : which, beside their utility, were regarded as master-pieces of architectural skill, and sumptuous decoration." ' The I Travels through Kuseia, 148. 34 Bath: Old and New. remains of Roman Tke.rm.(z discovered at Bath, whilst they evince the truth of the above observations, authorise their application to the city before us. These remains were brought to light in 1755, and, fortunately for the admirers of Roman antiquities, examined and described, first by Dr. Lucas, and afterwards by Dr. Sutherland, physicians, who at that time practised in Bath. " The site of these magnificent buildings seems to have extended over the ground occupied by the Monastery or Abbey-house ; their walls stretched to the Abbey-green and the back of Church street, and containing a centre and two wings. The ruins occurred at a depth of twenty feet below the surface of the ground ; and consisted, first, of a Bath running north and south, forty-three feet in length and thirty-four in breadth, included within walls eight feet in height, built with wrought stone, lined with terras, and ornamented with twelve pilasters ; secondly, of a semi-circular Bath, to the northward of the former, measuring from east to west fourteen feet four inches, and from north to south eighteen feet ten inches, ornamented with four pilasters, and containing a stone chair, eighteen inches high, and sixteen inches broad ; thirdly, two large Rooms, to the eastward, each thirty-nine feet by twenty-two, designed for Sudatories, " having double floors, on the lower of which stood rows of pillars composed of square bricks, which sustained a second floor formed of tiles, and covered with two layers of firm cement mortar, two inches thick ; the stones and bricks having evident marks of fire, and the flues being thickly charged with soot. One of the furnaces which heated these hypocausts^ was stiU visible ; and at its mouth were scattered pieces of charcoal and burnt wood, testifying the use to which it had been applied. ' Dr. Lucas on Mineral Waters, p. 228, par. 111. Sutherland's attempt to revive ancient Med. Doctrines, p. 17. » A Sudatory was the hot room in a Bath ; the term is almost interchangeable with Caldarinm. 3 A furnace with flues under a bath for heating the air. Bath : Old and New. 35 RITICS and antiquaries, in reference to recent Roman discoveries, differ/ not so much as to their nature and character, as they do upon certain minor considerations. All are agreed as to the his- torical importance of the discoveries of 1877 Granting, in a sense, to the city surveyor (Mr. C. E. Davis) aU that he claims as to his indomitable energy, hisintelligentmethods, and his careful super- vision, it is impossible to resist the evidence adduced by a cloud of witnesses as to the fact that con- siderable traces of these remains were discovered by 1 Mr. Davis, in his Guide to the Roman Baths, says, pages 21 — 22, " It is possible that when the British lost the battle of Deorham in 577, and when Bath was taken and sacked, a stand -was made at the baths, and that there a body of the British were taken and slain, and their impromptu fortress destroyed. It would weary them (those to whom he was speaking) were he to give the reasons for this belief." It is not worth while to speculate upon the powers of his hearers' endurance, but we confess we should be glad to have Mr. Davis's reasons for this " belief," especially as he added that " much could be said in its support." Surely, it is worth while, when such a novel fact as this is discovered in British History, to give the grounds upon which it rests. We do not feel satisfied to leave the reasons in Mr. Davis's brain, and we should be grateful to him if he would establish the fact by stating them clearly, so that modern readers may know something of the tactics of the ancient British soldiers who took refuge in the Baths, like rats in a hole. EOMAN DOORWAY. 36 Bath : Old and New. Sutherland, ia 1764, ' after the researches of Lucas^in 1755. Dr. Lucas's description extends only to these re- mains ; but subsequent alterations in this part of the city having occasioned a larger space of ground to be laid open, Dr. Sutherland had the opportunity of detecting some further vestiges of the ancient Koman Baths. "Since the time," says he, "of Lucas's publication, the ground has been further cleared away, and another semi-circular Bath appears to the southward, of the same dimensions exactly with the first, and answering to it exactly in position" ; to which he adds, " whenever the rubbish that covers the eastern [it should have been western] wing of the Eoman ruins comes to be removed, similar Balnea Pensilia will doubtless be found." Warner afterwards states, we think under some miscon- ception, that, " in consequence of further disturbances of the foundati'm, another wing of these extensive buildings was discovered, exactly tallying with that described by Dr. Lucas, and giving the complete ichnography of the Koman Baths in their original state; evincing tliat they occupied an area, 240 ft. from east to west, and 1 20 at the broadest part from north to south; and that they were highly deco- rated withtesselatedpavements, columns, pilasters, and every ornament of classical architecture, and accommodated with those various conveniences, which rendered the Roman method of bathing so much more pleasurable and salutary than our own."' ^ Sutherland, Alexander, M.D., of Bath. An attempt to ascertain and extend the virtues of Bath and Bristol Waters, by Experiments and Cases. Bristol, 8vo, 1758. Second edition, London, 1764, 12mo. In 1763, he published his "Attempts to revive Ancient Medical Doctrines relative to Waters." (Part II. contains the Natural History, Analyses, and General Virtues of Bath and Bristol Waters). This work contains a Plan of the Roman Baths discovered in 1755. ^ The essay was deemed worthy of a notice in The Literary Magazine by Dr. Johnson. The date of the book is 1756. ' The constant and long-continued use of these Baths may be in- ferred from the seven stone steps which led to them being worn several inches out of their level. Their waters were carried off by a regular Bath : Old and Netv. 3? Such were the Roman Baths in this city ; at once the most splendid as well as the most ancient structures of this description erected in this country. But independently of these considerations, we cannot dis- regard the earlier historical evidences that something was known, although not of a definite kind, of the existence and position of the later Roman antiquities. Mr. Davis states, in his "Guide to the Roman Baths," that, "In that year [by mistake he quotes 1754 instead of 1755] the Abbey House, which formed a portion of the palace of John de ViUula, Bishop of Bath, 1088 to 1122, was removed by the representative of the Duke of Kingston," etc. Why this statement should have been made and perpetuated it is difficult to conceive, except it be to support his own peculiar theory. The Abbey House and the grounds and precincts originally occupied the whole of the south side of the Abbey to the confines of the Abbey Green, or, rather, to the Abbey Gate ; ' the palace standing a little further westward, but south of de Villula's Cathedral, which extended further westward, as well as eastward. No well-informed local antiquary would or could confuse the ruins of the Bishop's Palace with the Abbey House. They were totally distinct, the former having been a ruin when the latter was built. The fact adnrits of absolute demonstration. Leland, whose visit to Bath took place shortly before the dissolution, after referring to the Cathedral, built by John of Tours (de ViUula), portions of the west end of which were still standing, says: — "This John of Tours ereotid a Palace at Bathe set of well-wrought channels into the river Avon. The prevision of Lucas as here stated, as to " another wing," has not been verified by recent explorations. It was based upon the theory that the Eomans always built their baths in duplicate. In other respects he is quite accurate. ' This is amj51y confirmed by Johnson's Map (erroneously called Jones's Map, because it was sometimes bound up with Jones's book on the Baths), Gillmore's Map, as well as many other early maps. jS Bath : Old and New. in the Soutl, Weat side of the Monasteries of S. Peter's at Bathe; one gret square Tour of it with other Euines yet appere." This is conclusive evidence that the palace did not occupy the site, or any part of the precincts of, the Abbey House. Two distinct buildings cannot very well stand upon the same site, and such statements as that and others made by Mr. C. E. Davis indicate either a want of knowledge or a desire to make his facts fit and prove liis theories in order to establish claims to a larger share of credit than he is entitled to. Nor is this all, for, again quoting Lucas, p. 243, part 3, he says : — " The government of Bath, and the conduct of the baths, were early vested, and long continued, in clerical hands. WiUiam Bufus granted them to Bishop John of Tours in the year 1090, who raised it from the ruins and devastations occasioned by the Saxon wars, and restored the baths, with the principal buUdings, in some measure. For, he did iwt rebuild those of the Bomans, the foundation and ruins of which were htried under his palace." This is a clear indication that liucas and the antiquaries of his day possessed a general as well as a traditional knowledge of the existence of the Roman remains on the spot where they have since been found, for nothing can be clearer than the fact that the palace occupied the site as near as possible to that on which the Poor Law Offices stand. ' Who claimed to have discovered the Roman Baths of 1755 ? No one. And yet, in the sense in which Mr. Davis claims to have discovered those of 1877, some one, whose name never occurs, was accidentally the means of revealing them, and would have been entitled in like manner to the credit of having been a " discoverer." There has been in ^ This is the " Monasterie " built by Prior Birde, as Leland states, finished years before the old cathedral was wholly destroyed, and there- fore some time before the west end of the Abbey was begun. After the dissolution the monastery was always designated the Abbey House, of which further information will be given in connection with the Abbey. = This is confirmed by the further fact, that portions of the founda- tion were met with daring the excavations. Bath: Old and New. 39 neither case that intuition and profound knowledge of the past as that which inspired the researches of a Smith, a Layard, or a Parker. The earlier explorations to keen and intelligent antiquaries always afforded a clue to further dis- coveries, or developments of already indicated antiquities. Chance and the pecuniary means effected what the antiquary, qua antiquary, could not accomplish. Moreover, whatever the extent of our gratitude might have been for the persevering industry and the creditable energy displayed by Mr. Davis during the progress of these excavations, it is reduced to the minimum by his later resolu- tion to obscure many of the most interesting relics almost as effectually as if he had left them amidst the Saxon ddbris in which he found them. The earlier antiquaries — Lucas, Sutherland, and their cotemporaries — never ceased to lament over the ignorant Vandalism of those despoilers with whom they had to do. But we have now to contemplate the spec- tacle of a man rising to a pitch of unexampled, but pardonable enthusiasm in the pride of his " discoveries," and asserting that "alone I did it,'' and then shocking the whole anti- quarian world by quietly — we had almost written cynically — putting " a stopper over all." This is very like the Hidalgo's dinner — very little meat and a good deal of table-cloth- We might have lived without hope, but why were our hopes deceived? Did Mr. Davis forget his Shakespeare, or did he only remember the sentiment which he should have forgotten — " To keep the word of promise to our ear. And break it to our hopes " ? When some future Lucas, Sutherland, Warner, or Scarth, is found to write the history of these "discoveries" and to describe the Roman relics, despite " Reports," and excuses founded upon indifference, or ignorance, or false economy on public grounds, he will not have reason to boast of the superior enlightenment of those who have exercised authority in matters antiquarian. The Society of Antiquaries, 40 • Bath : Old and New. to whom local antiquaries looked for prompt and energetic action, counsel, and co-operation, did little or nothing, on the plea that little or nothing was all it could do. When it was too late to arrest the mischief, and to stay the hand of the destroyer, the society entered upon a course of futile remonstrances and indignant protests, which, throughout the contest, in its early stages, it avowed it would not and could not do. The late action of the society has simply had the effect of adding to the bitter regrets already felt by local antiquaries, without affording even a modicum of consolation. In fact, so far as the Society is concerned, its conduct has been characterized neither by dignity, firmness, nor wisdom. We began by fixing our hopes upon it ; we should have ended by laughing at it, if the occasion had not compelled us to weep at its impotence and vacillation. 'Roman Eemaiiis discovered between the year 1877 and the present time, loith explanation of terms for the general reader: — During the restoration of the Abbey, excavations made in the cellars on the south side of it resulted in laying open the large Roman culvert which formerly served to carry the waste water of the baths to the river. The evident advantage of reverting to this arrangement induced the Baths' Committee to restore it, rebuilding a great portion, which, as it approached the springs, had been destroyed. As these springs rise in the centre of the King's Bath, it became necessary to excavate them. On removing the floor, the builders almost immedi- ately came upon the top of a wall, 3 ft. in width, and built of solid block stone. Further excavation proved that this was the original Roman reservoir, some 10 ft. in depth, enclosing an area approximately octagonal in shape, and about 40 ft. in diameter. The inner face of the wall was lined with lead, varying from J in. to 1 inch in thickness. From this reservoir the Romans distributed the water to their various baths, etc. , by means of either lead pipes and ducts, or channels of stone. Bath : Old and New. 41 o 42 Bath : Old, and New. In the further progress of the work during 1879 and 1880, the builders met with portions of the large central bath alluded to by some of the writers of the last century, and westward of those described by Lucas. This bath, one of the most interesting of Roman re- mains, was excavated in 1882. It is now open to public view, and will continue to be so, permanently. The bath itself is about 4 ft. 6 in. in depth, the floor being covered with stout lead, laid upon slabs of stone, averaging 1 ft. thick. In form the bath is rectangular, the four sides being formed with steps, the area enclosed within the top one at the margin of the floor, being 82 ft. 6 in. long, and 40 ft. 3 in. wide. Around this is a paved ambulatory, 13 to 14 ft. wide, the whole being enclosed by walls, 2 ft. 3 in. thick, which form a hall 110 ft. long and 68 ft. wide. In the longitudinal walls (on the north and south sides of the hall) are exedrse,' three in each wall, the central of which being rectangular in shape, whilst on either hand is one of apsidal form. On the steps of the bath are piers, the spaces between each being originally spanned by arches forming an arcading around the bath, and parallel with the outer walls, at a distance of about 1 2 ft. This width was spanned by an arched roof of hollow bricks, surfaced with concrete and tiles on the outside, and thus ensured a covered ambulatory^ surrounding the bath, the space over the bath itself being entirely open to the sky and unroofed. Excavations were continued through the doorway at the west end of this bath, and revealed the existence of a bath almost circular, 29 ft. in diameter, and enclosed by a hall, 54ft. Gin. by 39ft. 6 in. On the south side a doorway com- municates with the vestibule (probably the apodyterium)' and the latrinae,* whilst on its western side is the caldarium' 1 Exedra. This term has different meanings ; in its present application ezedra means a smaU circular apse. 2 Ambulatory, a kind of cloister, or a gallery for taking exercise'in. 3 Apodyterium signifies an undressing-room. 4 Latrina, a sink or water-cluset. 6 Caldarium is an apartment used as a sweating-room. £ath : Old and NeUO. 43 (29 ft. by 18 ft. 6 in.) and its hypocaust, as well as other baths and chambers. Southward of the caldarium is the laconium,' about 16 ft. in diameter, and at its S.W. comes the labrum,' a subsidiary adjunct to the caldarium ; yet, by present arrangements, the labrum is made a special object of care, whilst the caldarium itself and other important chambers and baths which exem- plify the bathing system of the Romans are unnecessarily, and with wanton Vandalism, out into sections by the walls which are to form the various rooms, corridors, etc. , placed within their area in the recent building.' The concrete and tiles of the proposed new floor almost complete the virtual obliteration of some of these interesting and unique remains, which are more complete than any to be seen even now in Rome itself. It may interest the readers to know something of the Abbey Baths, called the Abbots' and the Monks' Baths, linking, though imperfectly, their classical with their modern history. When the workmen were employed in making the exca- vation under Birde's Monastery, at the distance of- 8 feet from the surface (considerably above the level of the Roman buildings), they turned up several stone coffins, still containing the moulderii^g remains of persons of both sexes, and a variety ' of coins from the mints of diflferent Saxon kings. Here, then, we have evidence not only of the conversion of the eastern wing of the Baths from their original designation ; but also an index to point out when, and the people by whom, this conversion was made. It unquestionably occurred when the Saxon invaders wrested the country from the degenerate Britons, after the Romans had been recalled to Italy, to defend their own declining empire. Devastation and ruin ■ Laconium is a semi-oiroular termination to a room In a set of -Baths. ° Labrum, a vessel, the brim of which turned over on the outside, like the lip of the human mouth ; such a vessel usually stood in the caldarium. s See article in Th£ AiUiquary, April, 1857. 44 Bath : Old and New. would of course be the immediate consequences of the irrup- tion of such barbarous conquerors into places decorated with the examples of classical art ; and the Roman Baths in our city would suffer from the spirit of havoc that attended the progress of Saxon conquest. When the storm of war however had ceased, the new possessors of Bath would turn their attention to the enjoyment of their acquisition, and apply its local advantages to their proper use. The Abbey Baths were repaired ; and their extensive and elegant buildings made the residence of those kings, who (under the Heptarchy) ruled over the kingdom of Wessex, and occasionally held their court at a city, which, from the healing power of its waters, was denominated Akemancester. As the spirit of religion, how- ever, formed a striking feature in the character of our converted Saxon ancestors, a part of this building would be dedicated to its services, and we accordingly find that they retained the Northern Bath for the purposes for which it was built, but converted the Eastern or large one into a place both of worship and interment. At the time of this alteration, as it should seem, a singular change was made in supplying with water the Baths that were suffered to remain. Hitherto the whole had been fed by a spring, which. Dr. Sutherland tells us, bubbles up strongly within 4 or 5 feet of the Eastern Bath. This, however, for some reason not to be discovered, was stopped up ; and the bathing water derived from the Ring's Bath, by a sluice or channel constructed for that purpose. To this communication the Abbey Baths were indebted for their supply through a long series of ages, till within half a century, when one of the workmen employed to dig the foundation of the houses built upon the site of the old Abbey House, raised accidentally with his pickaxe a large flat stone, evidently artifically placed, and carefully cemented. No sooner had he displaced the ashler, than a strong, hot spring burst forth and diffused itself over the surface of the ground ; pointing out the source from which the old Roman Baths had been originally fed, but which had been hidden Bath : Old and New. 45 and unknown for centuries.' The then tenant availed him- self of the discovery, and converted the spring to the supply of his baths : and though the Corporation (the grantees, under Elizabeth, of the public hot springs) attempted to cut it oflf by an alteration of the drain for the King's Bath, yet its action, uninterrupted by the attempt, proved that it was an indepen- dent spring, and entirely unconnected with that of the King's Bath.= In the year 676, Osric, a neighbouring Heptarohal king, (with the consent of Kynewulf, king of Wessex,) founded a nunnery at Bath, on the site of the present' Abbey and ground immediately adjoining, transferring, by these means, its baths exclusively to the use of the religious orders, who monopolised them tp the Dissolution, when Henry the Eighth alienated them. The Public Baths. Though no historical documents, or ancient monuments, remain to prove the remote use of the other hot springs of Bath, yet probability demands that we should admit their application to public purposes, as early as that of the Abbey Spring. Equally copious with it, of a similar temperature, and separated from it only by a short distance, they also would unquestionably be discovered, collected, and made use of, at the same time. Their recorded history, however, began 800 years ago, when we find them in the possession of the Monastery ; and have a document still remaining in the thirteenth century, issued from the Exchequer to the Sheriff, levying upon the prior and monks the sum of £13 lis. , the ' In Leland's time the origiual Abbey Baths spring had been com- pletely forgotten. "There goeth a sluice (says he) out of this bath (the King's Bath), and served in tymes with water derived out of it two places in Bath Priorie, tised for baths ; else void, for in tliem le no spryngs. " 2 This was further certified in the year 1810, when the repairs which took place at the King's Bath did not in the smallest degree affect those of the Abbey Baths. 46 Bath : Old and New. amount of an estimate of reparations necessary in the Queen's and King's' Baths. Just previously to the Dissolution, Leland visited and described the Baths as follows : — " There be two springes of whote water in the west south- west part of the towne, whereoff the bigger is cauUed the Cross-Bathe,' bycause it hath a cross erected in the middle of it. This bathe is much frequented of people diseasid with lepre, pokkes, scabbes, and great aches, and is temperate and pleasant, having 11 or 12 arches of stone in the sides for men to stande under yn time of reyne. Many be holp by this bathe from scabbes and aches. " The other bathe is a two-hunderith foote of, and is lesse in cumpace withyn the waulle than the other, having but seven arches yn the waulle. This is caulled the Hote- Bathe ; for at cumming into it, men think that it would scald the flesch at the first, but after that the flesch ys warmid it is more tolerable and pleasaunt. " Both these bathes be in the middle of a lite street, and joine to St. John's Hospitale ; so that it may be thought that Reginald bishop of Bathe made this Hospitale near these two commune baths to socour poore people resorting to them. " The Kinges-Bathe is very faire and large, standing almost in the middle of the towne, and at the west end of the Cathedrale chirch. " The area that this bathe is yn is compassid with an high stone waulle. ' ' The brimmes of this bathe hath a little walle cumpasing them, and in this waul be 32 arches for men and women to ■ So called probably from some of our Anglo-Norman Kings having used it as a Bath. A common error prevailed even amongst our informed historians, that this allusion meant the Baths now distinguished by that title, but'Leland's reference refutes this. 2 The Cross was taken down in 1783, the water having corroded the marble, and endangered the foundation of the fabric. Bath : Old and New. 47 stand separately in. To this bathe do Gentilmen resort. " Ther goeth a sluise out of this bathe, and served in tymes with water derivid out of it two places in Bath Priorie usid for Bathes : els voide, for in them be no sprynges. " The colour of the water of the baynes is as it were a depe blew ae water, and rikith like a sething potte continually, having sumwhat a sulphureus and somewhat a pleasant savor. " The water that rennith from the two small bathes goit by a dike into Avon, by west bynethe the bridge. " The water that goith from the Kinges-Bath turneth a mylle, and after goith into Avon above Bath bridge. " In all the three Bathes a man may evidently see how the water burbeleth up from the springes.'' In the reign of Elizabeth the Public Baths were granted to the Mayor and Corporation of Bath. Till the middle of the 15th century, it was a common practice (still, we believe, adopted in Russia) for males and females to bathe in them at the same time, in puris natwralibus : a custom prohibited by an injunction of Bishop Beckyngton, in 1449 ; who ordered the distinguishing habiliments of breeches and pettieoats to be worn on these occasions. Inveterate habits, however, are not easily eradicated. The Bishop's injunction was frequently disregarded ; several instances of indecency occurred, till the end of the 16th century, when it was necessary for the Corporation to interfere, (after they became possessed of the Baths,) either to punish or prevent this gross violation of decorum.' Owing to the confusion occasioned by the change of ■ The smoking of tobacco, on the introduction of that plant into England in the 16th century, became generally fashionable ; and its offensive use in places of public resort and amusement occasioned a satirical poem of Skelton'a (the laureate), entitled "Eleanor Rummim." The practice seems to have found its way Into the King's Bath, as the bowls of several small pipes, of an old pattern, were turned up in 1810, when the Bath was emptied and cleaned. 48 Bath . Old a7id New. property which had taken place at Bath, in consequence of the dissolution of its Monastery, the Baths there had been so much neglected, that Dr. Wm. Turner, a celebrated physician in Queen Elizabeth's reign, though an inquisitive man, had never 'htari, of their existence till his return from Germany, whither he went to inquire into the nature of the foreign hot springs. He visited, however, and examined them, and suggested several hints for their improvement in his work written on the subject of Baths ; but notwithstanding his publication, no measures were taken to render their accommo- dation more complete till the conclusion of the 16th century. As chapter xix. of this work relates to the manner of bathing, in Elizabeth's reign, and the time of year when the baths could be used with best effect, both essentially differing from the present practices, it may be amusing to the reader to introduce it here : — " Now for the manner of bathing. I wUl not set down what the physician is to do, but leave that to his judgment and discretion, but what is fit for the patient to know ; for there are many cautions and observations in the use of bathing drawn from the particular constitutions of bodies, from the complication of diseases, and from many other circumstances which cannot be comprehended in general rules, or applied to all bodies alike ; but many times upon the success, and the appearing of accidents, the physician must ex re nata capere consilium, and perhaps alter his intended course, and perhaps change the bath to a hotter or cooler, etc. In which respect, those patients are ill-advised, which will venture without their physician upon any particular bath, or to direct themselves in the use of it ; and this is a great cause that many go away from hence without benefit, and then they are apt to complain of our baths, and blaspheme this great blessing of God bestowed upon us. " It is fit for the patient when he goeth into the bath, to defend those parts which are apt to be offended by the bath ; as to have his head well covered from the air and wind and Bath : Old and New. 49 from the vapours arising from the bath ; also his kidneys (if they be subject to the stone) anointed with some cooling unguents, as romium, comitisscB, infrigidans Oaleni, Santolvnwm, etc. Also to begin gently with the bath, till his body be inured to it, and to be quiet from swimming or much motion, which may offend the head by sending up vapours thither ; at his coming forth, to have his body well dried, and to rest in his bed an hour, and sweat, etc. " A morning hour is fittest for bathing, after the sun hath been up an hour or two ; and if it be thought fit to use it again in the afternoon, it is best four or five hours after a light dinner. For the time of staying in the bath, it must be according to the quality of the bath and the toleration of the patient. In a hot bath an hour or less may be sufficient ; in a temperate bath, two hours. For the time of continuing the bath there can be no certain time set down, but it must be according as the patient finds amendment : sometimes twenty days, sometimes thirty, and in difficult cases much longer ; and therefore they reckon without their host, which assign themselves a certain time, as perhaps their occasions of business will best afibrd. For the time of the year, our Italian and Spanish authors prefer the spring and fall, and so they may well do in their hot countries ; but with us (con- sidering our climate is colder, and our baths are for cold diseases) I hold the warmest months in the year to be best, as May, June, July, and August ; and I have persuaded many hereunto, who have found the benefit of it : for both in our springs and after September our weather is commonly variable and apt to offend weak persons, who, finding it temperate at noon, do not suspect the coolness of the mornings and evenings. Likewise in the bath itself, although the springs . arise as hot as at other times, yet the wind and air beating upon them do them much harm, and also make the surface of the water much cooler than the bottom ; and therefore Claudius wisheth all baths to be covered, and Fallopius finds great fault with the lords of Venice, that they do not cover 4 50 Bath: Old and New. their bath at Apono. We see also that most of the baths in Europe are covered, whereby they retain the same tempera- ture at all times ; and it were to be wished that our Queen's Bath and Cross Bath, being small baths, were covered, and their slips made close and warm. By this means our Baths would be useful all the year, when neither wind and cold air in winter, nor the sun in summer, should hinder our bathing. Moreover, for want of this benefit, many who have indiffer- ently well recovered in the fall do fall back again in the winter, before the cure be perfectly finished ; and as this would be a great benefit to many weak persons, so it would be no harm to this city, if it may be a means of procuring more resort hither in the winter time, or more early in the spring, or more late at the fall. " I desire not novelties, nor to bring in innovations, but I propound these things upon good grounds and examples of the best baths in Europe ; and so I desire to have them con- sidered of, referring both this point, and whatsoever else I have said in this discourse, to the censure of those who are able to judge. "I do purposely omit many things about the virtues and uses of our baths, which belong properly to the physitian, and cannot well be intimated to the patient without dangerous mistaking. For, as Galen saith, our art of physick goes upon two legs — reason and experience ; and if either of these be defective, our physick must needs be lame. Experience was first in order : — ' Per varios usus atiem experientia fecit, Exemplo monstrante 'dam.' ' Prom much Experience th' art of Physick came. Directed by Example to the same. ' Reason followed, which, without experience, makes a mere contemplative and theorical physitian. Experience without reason makes a mere empirick no better than a nurse or an attendant upon sick persons, who is not able, out of all the experience he hath, to gather rules for the cure of others. Bath: Old and New. 51 Wherefore they must be both joined together ; and therefore I refer physitians' works unto physitians themselves." From this period, Bath filled (during the season) with the affluent and noble, who, washing oflf their maladies in its healing waters, adorned the Baths with various ornaments and conveniences, in grateful testimony of the benefits they had experienced. In the year 1687, Mary, the Queen of James the Second, having heard of the wonder-working powers of the Bath Waters in cases of barrenness, resolved to try their effects. She bathed for some time in the Cross Bath, and had the satisfaction to find that fame had not exaggerated in her praises of these fecundating springs. The Queen con- ceived ; and John, Earl of Melfort, as a memorial of the happy event, erected in the centre of the Bath a splendid pillar. This was constructed of marble, of a circular form, and crowned with an hexagonal dome supported by three Corinthian columns ; the whole decorated with a profusion of emblematical ornaments.' The following commemorative inscription ran round the cornice and frieze ; — "In perpetuam Rbgin^ Marine Memoriam, Quam, Coelo in Bathonienses Thermas Irradiante, Spiritus Domini, qui fertur Super aquas, Trium regnorum hseredis Genetricem effecit. Utrique parenti, natoque principi Absit gloriari. Nisi in Cruce Domini nostri Jesus Christi ; Ut plenius hauriant AqVas CVM gaVDIo eX fontlbVs saLVatorls. Deo trino et uni, Tribis digitis orbem appendenti, ' It must be noted that there was a pillar or cross previous to this, of great antiquity. That referred to above was removed in 1783, on account of its insecurity. 52 Bath ; Old and New. Ac per crucem redimenti, Hoc tricolumnare trophseum Vovet dicatque JoHAiTNES Comes de Mblfort." Remotely as the Hot Springs of Bath were used for the purpose of bathing, they do not appear to have been drank medicinally till some time in the 16th century. The following extract from Dr. Peirce's Bath Memoirs (1697) wUl throw a curious and interesting light on this point : — " That they were drank above an hundred and twenty years ago, appears by a book of one Jones, a physician, ' in the 28th page of which book, there are particular directions for the drinking these waters, as to the time of , the day, the manner and quantity, etc. , to which book I refer the reader, that desires farther satisfaction in this particular. = " But as to the antiquity of their inward use, this I know (and did at my first coming to live here) by the information of the ancientest people that were upon the place, and that were born and bred here ; and there were two — a man and his wife, one or both of them bath-guides to the King's Bath (Newmans by name), that made nine score between them ; for what one wanted of four score and ten the other exceeded. These people lived and were conversant about the Bath, long before any pump was set up ; they, and many others of great age, asserted that these waters had been drank time out of mind, for two purposes — i.e., to quench thirst and to keep soluble. They that used the Baths for cold distempers, as palsied and withered limbs, etc. , were forced to continue long in them, and to sweat much, which rendered them both thirsty and costive, to both which the Waters were a known remedy ; for it had been long observed, and is now very well I Printed at London, for William Jones, in the year 1572, intituled " The Batlies of Bailies Aide,' and dedicated to Henry, Earl of Pembroke. ' We give at the end of the book a short appendix, in which will be found a list of the chief works on the Waters of Bath, and on the Antiquities, as a guide to the collector of such work. Bath : Old and New. j 3 known, that a draught or two of the Bath Water quencheth thirst better and more effectual than double the quantity of beer or ale, or any other usual beverage ; and when, by spending the moistures in long and much sweating, the bowels were heated and dried and ' rendered constipate, a large draught of this water, with a little common salt, would infal- libly give a stool or two. This was then (and long before had been, none could remember when it began) the common cus- tom of bathers, which I myself have been an eye-witness of above threescore years ago (being a schoolboy here some time before I was sent to Winchester). I have seen others drink, and have drank myself of it, not from the pump, nor from the water that people bathed in, but from a contrivance which had been erected, time out of mind, before any pump was thought of ; and nobody then living could tell when it was first set up. " It was a pyramidal stone, hollow in the middle, artifi- cially placed over one of the larger springs, on the south-east part of that wooden oonveniency, now standing in the King's Bath, and was taken away to make room for that structure (and great pity it was that ever it was removed). A square wall was made about this spring, the hollow of which was about 18 inches diameter, and near upon the same depth. The top stone had a mortice proportionate to the tenant of the pyramidal stone which went in and held so close, that none of the extraneous water could get into its hollow ; and the strength of the spring was so great, that it forced itself up through the cavity of the pyramidal stone, which was a foot and more above water, when the Bath was at fullest. This water discharged itself at a copper spout, about three inches above the highest water-mark ; and to this spout some set their mouths and drank ; others put cups, and received the water sincere from the spring, and used them to the purposes before mentioned. "This was the chief, and usual, inward use the Waters had been, and wore put to, when I first came hither, for my own 54 Bath : Old and N'eiv. health's sake, in the year 1653. But there were some physicians, even then, chiefly those that had travelled, and had been at Aken in Germany, Aquisgrane (Aix-la-Chapell, the French call it), and at Bourbon in France, and some that had con- versed with them, though they themselves had never travelled, that encouraged the inward use of them, to sweeten the blood ; but the advice was taken, and followed then, but by very few. " Sir Thomas Brown, of Norwich, my worthy good friend, with whom I had the honour to correspond by letters, after the death of those ancient physicians I found here (many years before he himself died), in a letter to me, bearing date July 12th, 1677, in which he recommended to my care Mrs. Bridget Eeade, of SuiFolk, and proposed her drinking the waters, as well as bathing, for a Chlorosis Cachexia, etc. , had these words : — ' If my old friend Dr. Bave had taken more notice of my counsel, the drinking of the Bath waters might have been in use long ago ; for above thirty years since I writ unto him to bring the drinking of them into use, according to the custom of many other baths beyond sea, which he very well knew, but would not hazard his /:redit in such a new attempt, which notwithstanding had not been an innovation, but rather a renovation, or renewing a former custom.' " Amongst others, that greatly encouraged the drinking of them, was Sir Alexander Frayser, chief physician to King Charles the Second. He waiting upon his Majesty and Queen Catherine in '63 (whose court was then at my house, the Abbey, in Bath), I had the advantage of being first known to him, and it was the first time that ^ever he had been here. He then made several enquiries concerning these Waters ; and writ to me afterwards about them, to which letters I gave answer. He at length concluded that they were from the same mineral with those of Bourbon, where he had formerly been waiting on the Queen mother,' and whither he had sent many patients ; but now resolved to send all that needed such a remedy to this place, and save them the expense and hazard ' Queen of Portugal. Bath: Old and New. 55 of a voyage by sea, and a long journey afterwards by land : for that he was fully convinced that these Waters would do as well as those, and perhaps better, because in our own climate, and therefore, probably, more suitable to English bodies. He from that time sent several persons (and some of great quality) hither, and recommended them to my care, and came at length himself with his countryman, the Duke of Loutherdale (Lauderdale), in the year 1673 : the Duke, for more than ordinary corpulency and scorbutical distempers, and he himself for an old cough and cachectick habit of body ; and both went oflF much advantaged, the Duke losing a large span of his girt, and Sir Alexander getting more breath and a fresh and better-coloured countenance, being pale and sallow and black under the eyes when he first came down. It was he that occasioned the erecting of the little drinking-pump in the middle of the King's Bath, but done at the charge of the city, from whence most, if not all, of the water that was about that time drank, was got. But afterwards (the number of water-drinkers greatly increasing, and the benefit by it being more remarkable), the dry-pump (as it was till then called, but since the drinking-pump) was fitted purposely to that use, and the pavement made before it for the reception and better accommodation of the water-drinkers, as it is at this day. " And here, by the way, it may be observed that these Waters were thus drank long before Mr. Guydott came to the Bath, or ever saw it ; though he arrogates to himself the drinking of them, in his Epistle to the President and Censors of the College, prefixed to his ' Thermae BritannicM ' in these words : — ' Methodum bibendi istas aquas thermales, secundum artis et rationis regulus primitus k me excogitatam (verbis absit invidia),' where it should have been said, Verbis abest Veritas. But this en passant" j I Guidott and Peirce were fierce rivals. Guidott wielded a very formidable pen, which was occasionally unduly bitter and violent. He was in the habit of indulging too freely in stimulants, which did not 56 Bath: Old and New. The Bath physicians, however, of the period when the above extract was written, made up for their long neglect of the internal use of the Waters by prescribing to their unhappy patients potations sufficiently large to have cleansed the Augean stable. Nunc tempus est bibendum was the motto with which they hailed every new comer, and according to his size and strength he was condemned to swill daily from a gallon to ten pints of this wonder-working fiuid. " Those that are (if I may so speak) a size stronger in constitution, larger bodies, and more violent distempers (says Dr. Guydott), may take a pottle at first in an hour's time, and so rise up by steps before mentioned to a gallon, which I judge sufficient for the middle sort ; and those that are of the largest size, and thought fit to bear the greatest proportion, may begin with five pints, and come up to ten." This Sau- grado practice, however, so happily calculated to drown every other disease in a dropsy, has been long disused ; and the more merciful medical system of the present day contents itself with administering the diurnal quantity of three half- pints of the Water. Some general information respecting the application of these springs to diseases will naturally be expected in a work of this description. It is essential, in the first instance, to advert to a theory which has been extensively propagated, viz. — that the Bath Waters possess no medicinal properties different from common water heated to the same temperature. That some of the efiects produced, both externally and moderate his tendency to invective and satire. His ability and great natural gifts of intellect and person were pre-eminent, but this weak- ness gave his opponents (especially Peiroe) an adyaBtage of which they fully availed themselves. Guidott published two works, that mentioned above, and a Collection of Treatises relating to the City and Waters of Bath. The reader who collects " Bath Books, " will observe that of this book there are two editions : the earlier one dated 1676, the later and posthumous one, in 1725, with Chapman's Thermse Eedivivae at the end : this is the edition to buy. "Thermos Britanuicaj" is «, very scarce book. JBath : Old and New. s 7 internally (but eapeoially the former), by the Bath Waters are in common both with itself and simple water of the same temperature, it would be neither true nor philosophical to deny ; but after conceding this, it is by no means admitted that their specific medical powers depend on the properties of heat and fluidity alone. Their effects, when internally used, of raising the pulse, increasing^ the secretions (especially that of urine), and of exciting highly the whole system, when taken even in moderate quantities, cannot be estimated by the impartial observer as a possible effect of a simply hot fluid. Although it must in candour be admitted that their external effects are chiefly to be accounted for on the principle of temperature alone, yet acute and able observers have thought them more stimulant, when used in this way, than common water. The opinion of their acting merely by temperature, if false, must be injurious, both in superseding the application of a powerful remedy by one comparatively inert, and by the application of the active powers of the mineral water deleteriously, where common water would be harmless. Chemical knowledge, general observation, and particular facts, equally prove the futility of this opinion. The chaly- beate impregnation of this and similar springs have certain obvious and sensible effects, which are jirobably owing to the peculiar state of combination in which the chalybeate principle exists, and to the increased activity afi'orded to it by dilution and heat. Their visible operation, when taken moderately, is distinctly marked ; and their influence, when either taken under unsuitable circumstances, or in excessive quantities, has repeatedly produced fatal effects, by inducing apoplexy, haemorrhages, and dangerous inflammatory diseases. The reputation of the Bath Waters is not formed on theoreti- cal or speculative grounds. Numerous and authenticated facts evince their superior efficacy to the common modes of relief in various afflictive and obstinate diseases ; such are to be found in the writings of Drs. Charlton, Oliver, and Falconer. The Bath Waters, when taken internally in the accus- 58 JBath: Old and New. tomed quantities, act speedily on the whole system as a stimu- lant, through the medium of that sympathising organ, the stomach. They increase the actions of the blood-vessels, the excitement of the nervous system, and the various secretions, particularly those of urine and perspiration. When these effects ensue in a limited and moderate degree, it is an indica- tion of their suiting beneficially the state of the system to which they are applied. When they occasion headache, thirst, or general excess of heat, or if they sit uneasily on the stomach, their quantity is to be diminished or their use relin- quished. The diseases for which their external and internal uses are indicated are various, and are those only in which a powerful and diffusible stimulus is required. Such are many affections of the liver and digestive organs, consisting in want of tone and capacity to perform their functions, induced fre- quently by residence in warm climates, and often by luxurious indulgence in eating or intemperance in drinking ; in jaun- dice, hypochondriasis, and chlorosis ; but especially in that state of gout termed atonic, which is so frequently an ulti- mate condition of regular and inflammatory gout. In this disease the Bath Waters possess unequalled powers, not only of exciting the system to regular paroxysms of the disease, but of removing, by their stimulus, the debility consequent on its presence. The local and external application of Bath Water is, as we have demonstrated from the most unques- tionable documents, highly efficacious in palsy, chronic rheumatism, and cutaneous diseases ; and it is also equally so in the local affections of scrofula and rheumatism, affecting the principal joints, as those of the knee, hip, and elbow ; as well as in lameness, contractions, and apparent abolition of power in different organs, arising from accidental or constitu- tional causes. A vulgar and general error, arising from the influence of old opinions, may here be taken notice of, that the warm bath of different degrees is relaxant, on the same principle that heat lessens the cohesion of inanimate substances. Such Bath: Old and New. 59 an analogy is very erroneously applied to its eflfeots ' on the living animal system, to which it is simply a stimulant, and may be applied according to its degree, and to the state of the system, so as to act moderately or excessively, and conse- quently either to strengthen or exhaust. Many valuable facts may be found on this subject in Dr. Marcard's Observations on the Waters of Pyrmont : and much scientific reasoning and observation in Dr. Beddoes's Essay on Consumption, second edition. For the various and extensive range of disease in which warm bathing is appropriate, the construction, copious supply, and nice regulation of temperature in these baths, admit of their easy and advantageous application. Whilst thus describing the principal morbid affections in which experience has established the salutary powers of the Bath Waters, we cannot too strongly inculcate that they are stimulants of the most active kind, and consequently capable of producing all the mischievous effects of stimuli, when unsuitably or excessively applied. Whenever there exists in the system either extraordinary fulness, a general inflammatory state, or any local inflammation, if there be the smallest indication of any disorder of the head or chest, consisting either of too great determination of blood, or increased action of the blood-vessels ; in these, and all analogous conditions, the internal use of the Bath Waters is peculiarly deleterious. Such observations as the past are intended solely to extend general information concerning the use of these celebrated Waters, and not to supersede the necessity of the professional directions of those who are in the habit of observing their ' Chemical analysis has evinced that one of the principles of the Bath Water is carbonate of iron, held in solution by carbonic acid. This exists as a constituent of the fluid, at any temperature above 100 " ; under that degree it does not appear to be volatilized. Hence it follows — 1st, that the water should be drunk at a temperature above an hundred ; and secondly, that it should be taken as speedily as pos- sible after having been pumped, in order to prevent the escape of this gaseous and doubtless eflicacious principle. 6o iBath ; Old and New. effects. The Bath Waters are employed both internally and externally, by the sjeneral Bath, or by the Pump, which is termed dry-pumping. The Hot Bath water, the King's Bath water, and Cross Bath water, are all administered internally ; and as the first are all above the temperature of 100° they may be drunk with equal success, because they all possess the same chemical and medical qualities. The latter being more dilute, and at the temperature of 90° is certainly far less stimulant than the two former, and as such is generally employed either at the beginning of a course of the Waters, or when there are doubts concerning the propriety of their use ; a situation which is frequently connected with a pertinacious desire in the patient to employ them. In the quantities employed, we have observed, in another part of this work, that the moderns fall very short of the practice of their predecessors. More than a pint and a half is seldom taken in the course of the day, and this quantity is generally divided into three portions. Two of these quantities are taken before breakfast, allowing the space of half-an-hour between each, and the third is taken at noon. The City Baths are open and private ones, all which are commodiously contrived. The Open Baths are two : the King's Bath and the Cross Bath ; the temperature of the former is 112°, of the latter 94°. The Private Baths may be rendered of every temperature inferior to that of the heat of the spring, and may be employed at any hour of the day ; though the precise time is generally considered as indifferent, yet the morning, on account of convenience, is usually preferred. The continuance in the Bath may be for any time, from the space of ten minutes to an hour, and is to be determined by avoiding the production of any degree of faintness or debility. The same indications of the disagreement of the Bath Waters internally apply also to their external use ; and on the occurrence of such, they must be admitted with caution, or discontinued. Bath: Old and New. 6i The dry-pumping, as it ia termed, consists in the applica- tion of the Bath Water by a pump supplied from the spring. This is directed immediately, in topical diseases, to the part affected, and by its degree of heat and impetus constitutes a very valuable remedy. Prom fifty to two or three hundred strokes of the pump (as they are termed) are applied at once. These may be repeated daily, or every other day. We have now only to notice, that the diseases in which the Bath Waters are generally employed, are commonly of such duration and of such a nature as to demand more persever- ance in the use of this remedy than is usually afforded. The continuance of their use has frequently been known to produce their wished-for effects, when a shorter trial has promised no relief ; and the same event has often succeeded to a repetition of their use, after a moderate interval subsequent to their being first employed. Of the Waters, the late Sir C. Lyell ' said :— " What renders Bath a peculiar point of attraction to the student of natural phenomena is its Thermal and Mineral Waters, to the sanatory powers of which the city owes its origin and cele- brity. The great volume and high temperature of these Waters render them not only unique in our islands, but per- haps without a parallel in the rest of Europe, when we duly take into account their distance from the nearest region of violent earthquakes or of active or extinct volcanoes. "Dr. Daubeny, after devoting a month to the analysis of the Bath Waters in 1833, ascertained that the daily evolution of nitrogen gas amounted to no less than 250 cubic feet in volume. This gas, he remarks, is not only characteristic of hot springs, but is largely disengaged from volcanic craters during eruptions. In both cases he suggests that the nitrogen may be derived from atmospheric air, which is always dis- solved in rain-water, and which, when this water penetrates ■ Inaugural Address at the Meeting of the British Association, 1864. 62 Bath : Old and New. the earth's crusts, must be carried down to great depths, so as to reach the heated interior. When there, it may be subjected to deoxidating processes, so that the nitrogen, being left in a free state, may be driven upwards by the expansive force of heat and steam, or by hydrostatic pressure. This theory has been very generally adopted, as best accounting for the constant disengagement of large bodies of nitrogen, even where the rocks through which the spring rises are crystalline and unfossiliferous. It will, however, of course, be admitted, as Professor Bischoff has pointed out, that in some places organic matter has supplied a large part of the nitrogen evolved. Carbonic-acid gas is another of the volatilized substances discharged by the Bath Waters." On the subject of causation, Sir Charles differed in opinion from many eminent geologists and scientific men, but the matter scarcely enters into the practical consideration of the question we are discussing. One fact remains, in which all agree, namely, that in temperature, volume, and general characteristics, no appreciable change has taken place from the remotest times until the present.. Analysis of Bath Water as it flows from the Spring, and of Aerated Bath Water, by Professor Attfield, F.I.C, F. C. S. , Professor of Practical Chemistry to the Pharmaceu- tical Society of Great Britain, author of a Man/ual on General Medical and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, etc. London, 17 Bloomsbury Square, W. C. ; August 30th, 1879. I find that one gallon of Bath Water contains in round numbers 1G8 grains of the various solid substances on which its medicinal virtues depend, and 69,944 grains of water, together forming 70,112 grains-weight, or 70,000 grains Bath: Old and New. 63 measures. The water is therefore slightly heavier than rain- water in the proportion of 1001 '6 to 1000 '0. ' The analytical data on which the foregoing statements are founded are given in the following tables. The first table shows the name and quantity in imperial grains of the various elements, etc. , contained in one imperial gallon of the Water, and is given to meet the requirements of medical practitioners, chemists and druggists, and analysts generally. The second table gives the forms in which these elements, etc. , are probably contained in the Water, and will be more useful to the public. Names or the Elements, etc. , in Bath Watek, and the Quantities in Grains in One Gallon. Chemical Before After Name. DefinitioD. Aeration. Aeration. Calcium Ca 30-9523 - 31-1670 Magnesium - Mg 4-0112 3-9277 Sodium Na 13-4546 - 13-4508 Potassium K 3-0044 3-0933 Ammonium NH, -2370 -2000 Iron Fe. •5876 •5525 •s /-Carbonates CO3 - 5-7346 - 5-5176 ■i 1 Chlorides CI 10-5893 20-5577 :g j Nitrates NO3 - 1-2421 1-1537 d ^Sulphates SO, 85-7706 86-3614 Silica SiO, 2-7061 2-6101 188-2898 168-5918 With the sodium and potassium are associated traces of rubidium and lithium, and with the calcium a trace of strontium. I It may here he stated that the Bath Waters have been successfully aerated by Mr. Cater, and that the Professor states that the Waters remain for medical purposes without change of any kind. This fact is stated for those who, for whatever reason, desire to take the Waters in an agreeable form, and are unable to visit Bath. Apart, however, from medical reasons, no aerated Waters can be more agreeable than Sulis Water. 64 Bath : Old and New. Names of Compounds Natuballt Contained in the Bath Water, and the Quantities in Grains in One Gallon. Carbonate of Calcium Before Aeration. 7-8402 After Aeration. 7-6501 Sulphate of Calcium Nitrate of Calcium 94-1080 •5623 95 0664 •6000 Carbonate of Magnesium Chloride of Magnesium Chloride of Sodium ■6611 15-2433 15-1555 ■4700 15-0159 15-3833 Sulphate of Sodium Sulphate of Potassium Nitrate of Ammonium 23-1400 6-7020 10540 22-8516 6-9000 -9000 Carbonate of Iron 1-2173 1-1444 Silica 2-7061 168-2698 2-6101 168-5918 Names of the Natural Gases in Bath Water, and the Quantities in Cubic Inches in One Gallon. Oxygen Gas '74 Nitrogen Gas 4 '60 Hydro-carbons none Carbonic Acid Gas 4-17 9-51 The Aerated Bath Water will, of course, contain, in addition to the gases just mentioned, large volumes of the ordinary aerating-gas — namely, carbonic-acid gas — a gas already natur- ally present to some extent. . John Attfield. Bath : Old and New. 65 THE BATHS. The King's and Queen's Public and Private Baths. Private Baths and Douches. The Private Baths occupy the upper story ; the Public Baths are on the basement story ; they are built according to the plans of Mr. Baldwin, the foundation stone having been laid May 10, 1788. On the upper story there are four baths, of which one is a reclining bath, lined with white porcelain tiles, fitted with traps, by means of which it is supplied with hot and cold mineral water ; the other three are large baths similarly lined, each of which will hold 864 gallons of water, with a depth of four feet six inches. In each there is a Douche for the local application of the water, if required, while the bather is in the bath. They are sufficiently large to aflford space for the free movement of the bather, and occupy the greater portion of the Bath-rooms, which are twelve feet long, seven feet wide, and eleven feet high ; also, two handsome Aix Douches, with one, or two, attendants ; the fittings are of the most elaborate kind ; the ceilings, 19 feet in height, are also decorated with white encaustic tiles. The hot water is thrown up from the bottom of the bath, and the cold water is turned on from a tap above the steps, and as it flows over them into the bath, mingles with the hot water. To all the baths convenient and comfortable dressing rooms and closets are attached, containing every requisite for the invalid. In addition to the baths, there are also two douche rooms, and a room containing a thermal vapour and shower bath of the most approved construction. S 66 Bath : Old and New. Douche Rooms. These rooms are each connected with a dressing room, and are for the local application of the water, or " dry douching," so called, in contrast with the douche used in the bath. The distribution of the water may be regulated by the attachment of large, small, or perforated nozzles to the douche pipe, so that a larger or smaller stream may be made to ascend on the part douched, or it may be more gently applied by means of perforated or rose nozzle. Here also are provided tepid, and cold, as well as hot Mineral Water douches. Shower and Vapouk Bath. There is a Shower and a Vapour Bath in the basement. In the former, the mineral waters are used ; and it is so arranged that the height from which the water descends can be regulated as occasion may require. The vapour of the latter is derived from the mineral waters. It forms a useful adjunct to the Mineral Baths. Public Bath, This bath is reached by descending a spiral staircase from the vestibule of the Private Baths. This is the King's Bath, which is open to the sky. It is somewhat more than fifty-nine feet in lenjjth, and nearly forty in breadth. When filled, it is computed to contain 56,332 gallons of water, with a depth of four feet and a half. At the eastern end of the corridor there is an inclined passage for wheel-chairs, which is approached by an entrance in Abbey place, communicating with the Abbey Yard. On the eastern side, there were other recesses, which admitted of being partially closed in ; the centre one contained a douche. The colonnade has recently been removed. On the south side there is a stone chair and bench, the former bearing the following inscription, "Anastasia Grew Gave this, 1739. " Above the stone chair is a mural tablet recording the gift of an ornamental balustrade for the bath, by Sir Bath: Old and New. 67 Francis Stonor, in 1697, the ornamental portion of which between the balusters was restored a few years ago, and a balustrade of the same pattern placed on the eastern side of the bath. Not far distant from this is a figure of Bladud in a sitting posture, and below it an inscription on copper, dated 1699. According to Stukeley, this statue formerly occupied a niche in the North Gate above the arch, where, in 1363, it represented King Edward III. It was taken down from thence and somewhat altered by a common mason to represent King Bladud, and then transferred to this Bath. It bears the following honourable testimony to the accom- plishments and services of this ancient British monarch : "BLADUD, Son of Lttd Hudibeas, Eighth Ring of the Britons from BiinTB ; A great Philosopher and Mathematician, Bred at Athens, And recorded the first Discoverer and Pounder of these Baths, Eight Hundred and Sixty-three years before Christ, That is. Two Thousand Five Hundred and Sixty-two Years To the Present Year, One Thousand Six Hundred and Ninety-Nine." Many of the brazen rings, attached to the walls of the bath, commemorate the benefits received by the donors from the use of the waters ; others were placed ther« for the benefit of bathers by the Corporation. According to Guidott, there were 208 rings in all the baths, of which not twenty-nine remain at the present time. Some, it is said, were sold for old brass, one or two of which have been recently recovered. Thermal Vapoub and Shower Bath. In order to utilize the vapour from the Springs, rooms have been fitted up adjoining the King's Bath with all the appliances 68 Bath : Old and New. which science can suggest and experience recommend. In one corner of an apartment, which is tiled throughout and laid with a tesselated pavement, is a box-like structure. Herein a patient may take his seat, the whole of his body, with the exception of his head, for which an opening is specially pro- vided at the top, being subjected to the action of the vapour that rises in full volume direct from the springs beneath. Through a central reservoir or drum in another part of the room the vapour is conveyed in various ways, being either inhaled or locally applied by means of various ingenious con- trivances. In cases of gout, rheumatism, or any of the varied forms of skin disease, such facilities are invaluable, the treatment being proved to be most eflfectual. At no other spa either in England or on the Continent can the water or the vapour be used to such advantage, and a higher temperature can be gained here than elsewhere — viz., from 112° to 115°. The appointments of the baths are as complete as they can be made, whether we regard the comfort of the bathers, the efficiency of the appliances, or those sBsthetic considerations which modern taste and refinement can suggest. This bath may be regard'ed, historically, as the oldest in the system of baths. It was, undoubtedly, in the time of the Romans, the most capacious as well as the most luxurious of all the noble series of baths then constructed ; and so, of the open or uncovered baths, it continues. Beneath the bath the spring rises over a surface of about 40 feet square. Around these springs the Romans formed a reservoir, octagonal in shape, 40 feet at its narrowest and 49 feet at its widest part. The walls forming the reservoir were 3 feet in width, built of solid block stone, and lined with lead, varying in thickness from Ve-in- to 1 inch. From this reservoir the water was con- veyed by pipes and ducts to the various baths around. The destruction which followed the departure of the Romans caused these Baths to be filled with debris, but in course of time this formed a foundation, through which the water forced its way. Formerly a stone floor was laid, so perforated as to Bath : Old and JStew. 69 admit the rising springs. This floor, with the accumulation of debris beneath, has been removed down to the Roman level, and the Roman reservoirs again serve their original pur- pose. The whole space is covered by arches of cement and concrete, the upper surface of which forms the floor of the present King's Bath. The Queen's Bath [Late]. The Queen's Bath is now a thing of the past. The open- ing up of the Roman Remains necessitated its removal. It was a square of 25 ft. , attached to the King's Bath, and supplied with water from it by an arch, connecting them together ; but of a temperature somewhat lower. It received its name from the following circumstance : — As Anne, the queen of King James the First, was bathing in the King's Bath, there arose from the bottom of the oisterm, just by the side of her Majesty, a flame of fire like a candle, which had no sooner ascended to the top of the water than it spread itself upon the furnace into a large circle of light, and then became extinct. This so frightened the Queen, that notwithstanding the physicians assured her the light proceeded from a natural cause, yet she would bathe no more in the King's Bath, but betook herself to the New Bath, were there were no springs to cause the like phsenomenon ; and from thence the cistern was called the Queen's Bath. It was soon enlarged, and the citizens erecting a tower or cross in the middle of it, in honour of the Queen, finished it at the top with the figure of the Crown of England over a globe, on which was written in letters of gold, Anna Rbgina Sacrum.'' The Ckoss Bath. This is a cheap public bath, of an irregular form. The spring supplying it rises at a depth of fourteen feet below the flooring of the bath, and yields half a hogshead of water a ^ A portion of the remains of this erection is to be seen in the disused Hetling Pump-room, which stands opposite St, John's Hospital. *]. 143 long and fifteen broad. It stood in what formerly was called Bell-Tree Lane,i leading from the Hot Bath to Stall Street, upon a piece of land belonging to the Hospital of St. John. It was founded, in the reign of King James the First (for the reception of twelve of the poorest strangers who should be licensed to come to Bath for the use of its waters) by Thomas Bellott,' Esq., steward of the household, and one of the executors of Lord Burghley. At this period the springs were open to the free use of the poor from all parts of the kingdom, and an Act of Parliament in 1593 (three years after), confirm- ing to the diseased and impotent poor a right to use and enjoy the baths of the city for the restoration of their health, and also enjoining the justices in every part of the realm to Iwense them to journey to this spot, and to order the different parishes through which they passed to make a certain pecu- niary allowance to defray their expenses. The authority of this statute was continued and confirmed by two succeeding ones of the first of James I. , another in the third of Charles I., and a fourth in the sixteenth of the same king, which expired in the twelfth year of the reign of Queen Anne, 1714. From this period the operation of the Acts ceased, and indeed " The street is now called Beau Street, = Bellott has been described as steward to Lord Burghley, as steward to the Earl of Salisbury (Lord Burghley's younger son), and as steward to the Koyal Household. The truth is, he was a friend of Cecil, Lord Burghley, through whose influence he obtained an appointment at the court of Elizabeth, which he retained through a part of the reign of James I. Like Burghley himself, he was by birth somewhat above the middle rank of life, kind and benevolent in disposition ; and in Bath, during his absence from court, as we know, he found an ample field for its exercise. He retained the friendship of Burghley until his death, and was one of his executors. Nor was the friendship of Salisbury less warm and sincere than that of his father. On the Earl's last visit to Bath, he received the affectionate attention of his venerable friend, Bellott. 144 Bath : Old and New. the necessity for them was precluded by the Royal General Hospital, designed two years afterwards, for the use of the poor not inhabiting the city of Bath. In aid of this benevo- lent institution of Mr. Bellott, and to further the intention of these statutes, as far as they related to this city, Lady Eliza- beth Scudamore, who was using the baths in tlie year 1652, gave the annual sum of £8 to be paid by the Corporation as a stipend to a physician who should afford advice to the poor coming to Bath for the use of the waters. Bellott's Hospital having been originally built on land belonging to that of St. John's, paid for some years a (5ne for the same ; but in 1672, Tobias Rustat, master of St. John's, exonerated the institution from its dependence on that charity, and granted the ground, free of every charge or imposition, to the mayor, aldermen, and citizens of Bath. The following inscription was formerly over the doorway of the court of Bellott's Hospital recording this act of liberality:' —"This house (with the garden adjoyning), commonly called Bellott's Hospitall, being part of the lands belonging to the Hospitall of St. John Baptist in Bath, was freely granted without fine to the Maior, Aldermen, . and Citizens of Bath, by Tobias Rustat, Esq., brother and lessee to John Rustat, clerk, master of the said Hospitall of St. John, to the end it may be re- stored and continued to the same use to which it hath been applyed by Thomas Bellott, gentleman, since his first obtayn- ing the same of the master, co-brethren, and sisters of the said Hospitall, March 25th, A"- D"- 1672." When the Hospital was founded, and for some years after, it was open only during the months of April, May, and Sep- tember. The inmates were twelve in number, and all were men, each receiving fourpence per day. In times past the institution was greatly mismanaged and abused. The old 1 In oonsequenoe of this transaction, it was sometimes called Ruscot's or Rustat's cliarity. Bath: Old and New. 145 building was comfortless, and ultimately almost uninhabitable — so much so that at times there were no occupants. In 1860 the Hospital was rebuilt, and it is a model institu- tion in its arrangements, securing to the inmates every com- fort in their several apartments, with the advantage of a well- kept, trim little pleasure-garden for air and exercise. At present there are ten inmates : six females and four men, to each of whom an allowance of fourpenoe a day is made, not for their maintenance, but by way of assistance. The maxi- mum period is two months, during which time they have the use of the bath on the spot, under the advice and direction of Dr. Fox, a skilful physician. St. Catherine's Hospital. St. Catherine's Hospital, or the "Black Alms," is situated on the north-west side of what was formerly called Bimburie Lane. The tradition is that it was founded by seven maiden sisters named Bimburie, from whom also the street took its name. It is to be remarked that so deeply, so thoroughly, 'had the spirit of corruption and peculation penetrated all public bodies after the Reformation, including the Church itself, having to do with the administration of public funds and public institutions, that within one century after the reign of Edward VI. the history of this foundation was not known. Guidott, a physician, writing in 1676, knew nothing more than the Bimburie tradition as to its origin, and Wood, in the next century, says : — " Saint Catherine's Hospital is a meaner Building than the former (St. John's), though it be two Stories high : It is eighty-five Feet in Front, to the South, twenty Feet in Breadth, and contains fourteen Rooms : It is situated in Bynebury Lane ; it receives, at this time, thirteen poor People, Inhabitants of Bath ; ten of whom are cloathed with Sable Garments, from whence this Hospital is vulgarly called 146 Bath: Old and New. the Black- Alms-Eouse ; and every poor Person in it hath an Allowance of about fourteen Pence a Week (the rest being pocketed by the Corporation, who had possession of the property). In Doctor OuidoWs Time an Opinion prevailed that this Hospital was originally founded and built by seven maiden sisters, surnamed Bimhmie ; but be that as it may, this I am well assured of, that the present Structure was erected by the Corporation of the City about the Tear 1553, and then named Saint Catherine's Hospital." It is clear that Wood, a singularly well-informed historian, knew nothing of the original endowment. Warner gives the following account of the Hospital : — " The second hospital in point of antiquity now existing at Bath is the Black Alms,' or Hospital of St. Catherine. This institution owes its origin to Edward VI. , who granted, on the 12th of July, 1652, to the corporation of Bath, a variety of messuages, tenements, lands, rents, &c. , lying in and near that city, formerly belonging to the monastery of Bath, and which had come to his hands by virtue of an act made in the first year of his reign, for surveying colleges, chauntries, free-lands, fraternities, etc. These were granted to the corporation for the express purpose of founding a grammar-school, and reliev- ing ten poor folk within the said town for ever ; to which ends the profits, issues, rents, and revenues of the said messuages " Called the Black-Alms from the coloiir of the gannent worn by the paupers belonging to it, by the order of the corporation, as a mark of lamentation for the loss of the royal founder of the charity (Edw. VI. ) in the flower of his youth ; called also T!ie Bimberries, from its situa- tion in Bimberry Lane, said formerly to have had an hospital founded by two sisters of the name of Bimberry ; and having its third appella- tion, St. Catherine's Hospital, in compliment to Queen Mary (in whose reign the building was completed), the mother of which princess was Catherine, — Wood, 199. [The theory of Queen Catherine is doubtful. Queen Mary, so far as we know, took no interest in Bath, nor were any proceedings pending during her reign. Dr. Tunstall, with more reason, attributes the designation to the fact that St. Catherine was the patroness of the city of Bath,] Bath : Old and New. 147 were to be wholly and solely applied. The same spirit of peculation, however, which had been manifested with respect to the charity of St. John, appeared in this case also ; and abuses of the same glaring nature were for many years carried on by the chamber of the city without interruption. But in the year 1737, application being made to Chancery in this respect, a writ of execution issued from the court against the corporation, grounded on the statute of charitable uses, to prevent future abuses, by directing solemnly certain specific regulations, by which the charities were to be thereafter conducted. " In 1820 there were ten poor women in the Hospital, receiving three shillings and sixpence per week ; but when, in 1825, the Royal United Hospital was built, the site of St. Catherine was required, and the old building was therefore pulled down and the present structure erected. At present there are fourteen inmates, all females, each receiving five shillings per week. Bach inmate on election receives the tra- ditional black cloak, and one only, which must ^e accounted for, and, when needful, renewed at her own cost. Besides the increased number and the increased allowance, each inmate gets an allowance of coal of the annual value of fourteen shillings. At the back of the Hospital there is a very prettily laid-out garden, and all the oflS.ces are conducive to the com- fort and happiness of the almspeople. Hospital of St. John Baptist. Reginald Fitz-Joceline, successor to Bishop Robert, founded the hospital dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and endowed it with lands and tenements in Bath and its vicinity, and with a tithe of the hay of all his episcopal demesne lands. To these donations Walter the Prior and the monastery of Bath added a tithe of hay of the demesnes of the monastery, and a tithe of all the bread, cheese, and flesh that should be 148 Bath : Old and New. consumed in the same, and in the house of the prior ; and were rewarded by the bishop for their liberality by having the institution and its concerns placed under their management and control. But the hospital being thus separated from the see of Bath and Wells, the subsequent Bishops of that diocese began to feel an inconvenience, from the circumstance of an estab- lishment not connected with the see gathering a tithe upon their demesnes ; and, accordingly, in the early part of the fourteenth century, Walter, Bishop of Bath and Wells, quashed the grant of Reginald Fitz-Joceline, and gave to the Hospital, in lieu thereof, the sum of one hundred shiUings, to be received annually by the master and brethren from the hands of the bishop's bailiff. The hospital made part of the possessions of the priory (to which it paid annually lis. 2d.) till the dissolution of the monasteries, when its value was estimated at £22 16s. lO^d. but not falling under the intention of the dissolving act, it escaped the general destruction of religious houses, was suffered to survive the wreck, and became vested in the Crown. At this time Queen Elizabeth consolidated all the churches of Bath into one rectory, and vested the presentation of them, together with the patronage of St. John's Hospital, in the mayor and chief citizens of Bath, subject, notwith- standing, to the rules and orders on which it had been origin- ally founded by Reginald Fitz-Joceline. But the value of the property had now considerably increased in the city and neighbourhood of Bath ; and the rents of the lands and tenements given to the hospital had risen gradually to a re- spectable annual sum, presenting a bait so tempting that it at length overcame the integrity of those who were entrusted with its patronage. In the year 1616, the corporation made an order that the mayor of Bath for the time being should be master of the Hospital of St. John. This was carried into execution, and for nearly half a century the income of the Bath: Old and New. 149 charity went into the cheat of the corporation, or was divided amongst its members ; the paupers being discharged, the buildings neglected, the chf[,pel desecrated, and converted into a post-office or an ale-house. After the most shameful abuses and misappropriation,^ a Bin in Chancery was filed, and some improvement was the result of a decree made by the Master of the Rolls, Sir John Trevor, in 1716, His Honour directed that the chapel should immediately be rebuilt, which was accordingly done by Mr. Killigrew, the architect (who received the sum of £540 from Mr. Bushel, the then mayor of Bath, for the same), and dedicated to St. Michael. From the period when Sir John Trevor's Award was con- firmed, in 1717, until the death of Dr. Chapman (the third of that ilk), in 1816, there was little or no change in the manage- ment, so far as the inmates were concerned. The charity was not managed so that its benevolent purposes might be increased and the largest amount of good got out of it. The resources of the institution were managed so that the master and stewards and lawyers might be enriched to the largest extent. The leasing and sub-leasing were regulated, not with the view of legitimately getting a larger reserved rent for the benefit of the brethren and sisters, and the recovery of pro- perty after the lapse of such leases, but mainly with the object of obtaining larger capital sums, which were sadly diminished before any portion (we have scarcely any record of an,i/) found its way to the inmates. The Rev. J. Phillott was appointed in 1816, and during his time leases were recklessly granted, regardless of the future welfare of the hospital. Except of those granted during the early part of his mastership, the commissioners took no cognisance, nor could they do so very well ; but it appears that fines on the granting of new leases soon after his ' See Mr. Peach's History of the Hospital, and the chapter in this book, "Municipal and Parliamentary." 150 Bath: Old and New. appointment, amounting to £5,000, were received, of which they gave no particulars. The possessions o£ the hospitals in and about Bath were much built over, and a great increase of annual value resulted. In 1838 the Commissioners of enquiry into charities reported that the value of the property was then upwards of £11,000 per annum. Parts of the property are now of much less value, but others have probably improved. We think, there- fore, that the present value may safely be estimated to exceed £10,000 per annum, a noble endowment for any charity. In the year 1851 the Hospital was decreed by the late Lord Chancellor Truro to be a municipal charity, and the patronage was accordingly by an order of the Court of Chancery, dated in 1853, vested in the trustees of the municipal charities of Bath. In the legal proceedings the late Mr. J. W. R. Forster took a warm and intelligent interest, and his exertions and professional skill largejy con- duced to the preservation of the Hospital as a public insti- tution, instead of being sold for private purposes, as proposed by the Town Council of the day. Immediately upon their appointment, the Trustees proceeded to prepare a scheme for the management of the charity and its property, and the administration of its revenue. Grave difficulties, however, presented themselves, especially those resulting from the system of leases for lives, which for 150 years had prevailed, and upon the faith of the continuance of which a large expenditure had been incurred by lessees. Eventually, after several years' correspondence with the Charity Commissioners, the Trustees consented to the institution of proceedings, and the Commissioners certified the case to the Attorney-General of the day, who, on the 11th of August, 1864, filed an information against the master, co-brethren, and sisters, for the establishment of a better scheme of management and administration. Bath: Old and New. 151 In May, 1865, on the death of a person upon whose life, with those of others, numerous and valuable leases of the Hospital property had been granted, it became known that these leases would be renewed upon the old system ; the Attorney-General thereupon filed a supplemental information to restrain the proposed renewals ; the order was refused on a hearing, but the Attorney-General immediately appealed to the superior court and obtained the order, since which no such grant has been possible. In December, 1865, the master, the Eev. James Phillott, who had held the appointment for nearly half a century, died. Since that time he has been followed by all the co- brethren and sisters save one, who now alone survives — the one link between the old and new regime. In January, 1874, a public inquiry was held by the Attorney-General's solicitor, Mr. Clabon, as to the terms desired by the citizens of Bath. An interesting meeting was held, and all desirous of propounding their views were patiently heard, and the most desirable were eventually grafted into a scheme, then already prepared, and which, with a few alterations, is now in force. Acting upon the advice of his council, based upon his reading of the history of the Hospital, the Attorney-General of the day had unwillingly come to the conclusion that as a Church Charity the administration must be entrusted only to members of the Church of England ; but, inconsistently with this view, he admitted persons as inmates without reference to their religious views. Convinced that the exclusion of the trusteeship of persons not members of the Church of England was wrong in principle, and feeling that some of the oldest and most valued members of their body who had assisted in their long struggle, would thus be unable to continue their assistance, the Trustees decided to oppose the proposal. In this they were aided by an influential body of fellow citizens, who 154 Bath: Old and Neuu. obtained leave to attend the proceedings at their own costs, and in due course the question was brought before the Vice-Chancellor, Sir Richard Malins, who, after three days' argument, decided against the proposed exclusion. The scheme was remitted to the chief clerk for revision, and eventually on the 8th June, 1871, it was finally established by the court. It follows that, as the increasing revenue becomes available, so the Trustees will be able to extend the benefits of the institution. This must take the form of non-resident henefi- ciares. The hospital itself only admits a small number. One great advantage belongs to the system on which the hospital is managed, and that is that the recipients of its bounty are not, and have not been, paupers in receipt of parish relief. The Royal Mineeal Watee Hospital. The foundation stone of this, the Royal Mineral Water Hospital, was laid in 1737, by the Right Honourable William Pulteney (afterwards Earl of Bath). This institution was established for the relief of poor per- sons from any part of Great Britain and Ireland afflicted with complaints for which the Bath Waters are a remedy. Its erection was began in 1738, but it was not open to patients until 1742 ; and during a period of 149 years has been the means of afibrding a great amount of relief to the sick and helpless. Ralph Allen delivered free of cost, from his quar- ries on Combe Down, all the stone required for its erection, besides contributing on several occasions large sums towards its maintenance. Wood, the architect, gave all the several draughts, plans, and other papers relating to the Hospital, together with his care, labour, and the cost of surveying and directing the building, as a free gift and benefaction ; and this generous action was further enhanced by the addition of Bath: Old and New. 153 a considerable donation of money. Nash, better known as " Beau Nash," was unwearied in Iiis exertions to collect sub- scriptions and donations, and succeeded in a few years in obtaining more than £2,000 for the charity. In 1861, an additional building, on the site of the old Bath Rectory, was completed at a cost of £20,000, equal in extent to the original Hospital, and connected with it by corridors. It contains spacious day rooms for the patients of both sexes, a commodious and beautiful chapel, board-room, dispensary, and all the apartments of the officers, and in its rear is an airy exercising ground. By this arrangement of the offices the whole of the space they formerly occupied in the old build- ing is given up for increasing and greatly improving the night-wards of the patients. It is a NATiONAii CHARITY, and one of its peculiar features is that no interest is required to gain admittance to its advan- tages — no recommendation of subscribers, governors, or any other person. All that is necessary is that the persons who desire admittance be in such condition of life, that the expenses attendant upon a residence in Bath would be more than could be afforded by them ; that they are proper objects of charity ; and that the Waters are applicable to their cases. The Hospital, since the alterations and additions were com- pleted in 1861, provides accommodation for 160 patients — 98 males and 62 females. They are gratuitously supplied with medical and surgical advice, food, washing, medicines, and the attendance of nurses. In consequence of the increasing number of applicants, arising partly from the extension of railways and partly from an increasing appreciation of the efficacy of the Waters, the want of better and adequate accommodation was much felt, and the Governors decided on making considerable alterations and additions to the Hospital, and converted the whole of the old building into dormitories, and erected male and female day wards (a feature not by any means yet common in our metropolitan or provincial 154 Bath: Old and New. hospitals), a suitable chapel, and a convenient airing-ground for the patients. For effecting these objects it was necessary to have recourse to the public for assistance. As a national, not a local charity, it has just claims upon public support. It is the only institution of its kind in the kingdom, and by its means the use of the Waters is gratuitously provided for the afflicted poor of every parish. It requires the support of voluntary subscriptions and donations. In order to obtain admission into the Hospital, it is necessary to forward to the registrar a report of the case, con- taining the name, age, occupation, and parish of the appli- cant ; the name and brief history of the disease, comprising its origin, date, progress, and treatment ; the present symptoms, stating the parts principally affected, and to what extent. In cases of paralysis, the condition of the sphincters, memory, and speech should be noted ; also the state of the patient's general health ; and whether the complaint be accompanied with cough or spitting of blood ; heart disease, (if valvular, the particulars should be stated) ; brain disease, as evinced by epilepsy, etc. ; acute inflammation of any part ; fever; abscess; suppuration of the joints, or ulcer of any kind. On the site of the old public-house called "The Sedan Chair," in Bridewell Lane, admirable recreation rooms have been erected. Whilst digging the foundations for the building in 1884, a portion of fine tesselated pavement was discovered. This has been carefully placed in a recess in the wall of the lower room. [The following lines, being written for the Hospital, they are an inseparable part of its history, and cannot be dispensed with. The names of Anstey and Harington are symbolical of benevolence and sympathy.] Bath: Old and New. 155] THE HOSPITAL IN THIS CITY. By Anstey. " Oh ! pause awhile, whoe'er thou art, That drink'st this healing Stream ; If e'er Compassion o'er thy Heart Diffus'd its heav'nly Beam ; Think on the Wretch whose distant Lot This friendly Aid denies : Think how, in some poor lonely Cot, He unregarded lies ! Hither the helpless Stranger bring, Relieve his heartfelt Woe, And let thy Bounty, like this spring, In genial Currents flow : So may thy years, from Grief and Pain, And pining Want, be free ; And thou from Heaven that Mercy gain The poor receive from thee. " Dr. Harington has displayed his versatility of talent in this beautiful imitation of Spenser, hung up in the same room : " Alwhyle ye drynke, 'midst Age and Ache ybent, Ah creepe not comfortless besyde our Streame, (Sweete Nurse of Hope ;) Affliction's downwarde sente, Wythe styll smalle Voyce, to rouze from thryftless Dreame ; Each Wyng to prune, that shyftythe everie Spraie In wytless Flyghte, and chyrpythe Lyfe awaie. Alwhyle ye lave — suohe Solace may be f ounde : ' When kynde the Hand, why' neath its healynge faynte ? Payne shall recure the Hearte's corruptede Wounde ; Farre gonne is that which feelethe not its Playnte. By kyndrede Angel smote, Bbthbsda gave Newe Vyrtues forthe, and felte her troubledde wave.' 156 Bath: Old and New. Thus diynke, thus lave — nor ever more lamente, Oure Sprynges but flowe pale Anguishe to befrende ; How fayre the Meede that foUoweth Contente ! How bleste to lyve, and fynde such Anguishe mende. How bleste to dye— when sufferynge Faithe makes sure, At Life's high Founte, an everlastyne Cure ! " The chapel, which owes so much of its beauty to the late James Brymer, Esq. , is highly creditable to the architect, the late Mr. J. Blkington GUI, and to Mr. H. Ezard, Jun., the carver, working under the architect's direction. On the left hand of the entrance to the chapel a circular brazen plate is inserted into the wall, bearing the following inscription : — "THB LATE JAMES S. BRYMER, ESQ., PKE3ENTED FIVE HUNDEED POUNDS TO BE SPECIALLY APPLIED TO THE HOLT ADOENMENT OF THIS CHAPEL, FOE THE PEOMOTION OF THE MOKE EBVEEENT WOESHIP OP ALMIGHTY GOD. 1859." On the opposite side is a stained-glass window, representing a tree, with a label bearing appropriate texts. On the right hand side of the ante-chapel is the memorial window, erected by the President and Governors of the Hos- pital, to the memory of the late J. S. Brymer, Esq. , in which are represented the incidents described in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Below the lower compartment is the following inscription : — "TO THE GLOBY OP GOD, AMD IN MEMOEY OP JAMES S. BRTMEE." The whole is encompassed by a vine bearing grapes, beyond which is an ornamental bordure. Opposite to this window is an organ made by Sweetland, of Bath, which was purchased by subscription. Bath: Old and New. 157 The ante-chapel is divided from the chapel by three arches. The caps of the pilasters are finely carved, each representing a different subject — the water buttercup, the wild poppy, three fish, the fig-tree, two birds drinking from a cup, the pomegranate, the phoenix and the pelican being here used for decorations. The five two-light windows in the southern wall are also of stained glass. In the tracery at the top of each, a coat of arms is inserted, viz., the arms of the Brymer family, the Bath arms, the Royal arms, the Prince of Wales' arms, and the arms of the see of Bath and Wells. The apsis is lighted by seven circular-headed windows ; the subjects in these all refer to Scriptural incidents connected with water, viz. : — the Baptism of Jesus by St. John the Baptist ; Christ at the Pool, of Siloam Healing the Sick ; Christ Washing the Feet of His Disciples ; the Baptism of the Eunuch by St. Philip ; Christ and the Woman of Samaria at the Well ; Naaman the Syrian in the Waters of the Jordan; and Moses Striking the Rook. The rest of the details of this beautiful chapel are in excellent taste, and carried out in the true spirit of sacred art. The Royai, United Hospital. The Water Hospital had been productive of such signa benefits in the relief it had afforded to so large a number of patients, that " to afford the poor of Bath the same advantage with strangers, some charitable characters founded another hospital in the year 1747, for the reception of diseased paupers belonging to the several parishes of St. Peter and St. Paul, St. James, St. Michael, Wakot, and Bathwick. It continued to be called the Pauper Charity till 1792, when a great improvement being made in the establishment, it changed its appellation to the "Bath City Infirmary and Dispensary." 158 Bath : Old and New. In 1786, chiefly through the influence and beneficence of Mr. James Norman/ an eminent surgeon, the Casualty Hos- pital, for the use of poor people accidentally injured, was established. These two institutions having accomplished their mission, the growth of the city and the advancement of medical and surgical science rendered a more comprehensive scheme indispensable. In 1826, therefore, these two institu- tions were united, and hence the United Hospital was called into existence ; the original building, costing £7,000, being opened in June of that year. The site chosen for the first portion of the edifice was in Bean Street (formerly Bell-Tree Lane'_), Mr. Pinch being the architect, whilst the small chapel was designed by Mr. G. P. Manners. It would be diflScult to speak too highly of the institution, or to exaggerate the amount of practical good it has effected in alleviating suffering and promoting the beneficent purposes of the good and charitable. Like all such institutions in the midst of a growing population, in the course of years the building was found to be inadequate for the population and the increasing needs of that class for whose benefit it was originally design- ed. On the death of the Prince Consort, therefore, an energetic and successful effort was made to add a wing in commemoration of his memory. Mr. J. B. Gill was employed to design a new wing to the older building, on the west side, which is called " The Albert Wing,'' and this, together with various enlargements and improvements, cost upwards of £17,000. In the lobby of this wing there is a fine bust of the Prince ; on the plinth the inscription suggested by the Queen — " His life sprung from a deep inner sympathy with God's will, and, therefore, with all that was true, beautiful, and right." The prefix "Royal," moreover, was by special license permitted. ' Father of the late Mr. George Norman.- » For History of which see Author's " Historic Houses," 1st series. Bath: Old and Neim. 159 In the lobby of the original building, on the right hand side, is a bust of Col. Gore-Langton; on the left hand another of George Norman, the eminent surgeon, son of James Norman ; and in the corridor of the first landing there is a bust also of Sir Astley Cooper. There is a small chapel, calling for no special remark, the Rev. H. B. Swabey being the chaplain. Architectural effect has not been aimed at, but the new part has been well and consistently worked in with the old ; the plain superstructure has been relieved by a rustic basement, and on the entablature under the cornice the following inscription is engraved — "The Prince's Ward, erected in memory of Albert the Good, 1864." It should be mentioned that the capacity of the institution is for 120 beds, and that to provide for so large a work as this it is dependent chiefly upon the voluntary aid of the public. The courteous Secretary, Major Ormond, is always accessible to those who want information or who desire to augment by their gifts the resources of an institution which seeks to help those who are unable to help themselves. "In silence Steals on soft-handed Charity, Tempering her gifts, that seem so free, By time and place. Till not a woe the bleak world see, But finds her grace. " The antiquary will find a relic of Roman tesselx to delight his heart and possibly to open it at the same time. The Pbnitentiaet. " And is there in God's world so drear a place, Where the loud bitter cry is raised in vain ; Where tears of penance come too late for grace, As on th' uprooted flower the genial rain 1 " In 1805 the population of Bath had increased to 35,000, i6o Bath: Old and New. and with increase, a more than proportionate amount of vice had increased with it ; so, at any rate, the Rev. R. Warner says. Acting upon that conviction, that active philanthropist and excellent author, co-operating with Mr. Charles Phillott (then Mayor) and others, established the Penitentiary in the situation in Ladymead which it at present occupies. ^ In his Guide of 1811 he enters with minuteness into the objects of the institution, and the reasons for its establishment, which we need not repeat here. It is enough that we should say that the statement is too obviously true to admit of criticism or denial, and there is no necessity to reiterate arguments for the continuance and maintenance of an institution which is eminently useful to society, and which in the past has proved an inestimable blessing to thousands who, without such aid, might have been lost, body and soul. In its earlier time it was bounteously supported by an eccentric philanthropist, Mr. Parish, a rich West Indian planter, who lived for many years and died at 40, Pulteney Street.' Since then it has been most nobly helped by many other charitable persons too nume- rous to mention. One admirable characteristic of the Peni- tentiary commends itself to the utilitarian, and that is that it is partly supported by the industry of the inmates, especially by washing and needlework. In this particular a double object is attained, namely, the promotion of a life of industry and the fitting of the penitent for the practical duties of life after the needful two years' training and probation in the house. In a word, there is no maudlin sentimentality, but on the part of the executive a wise regard and attention to the moral and religous training of those, many of whom, at least, have not only been without God in the world, but are wholly ignorant of all the social, moral, and practical habits of life. Is not this at once a justification of the existence of the Penitentiary, and an answer to those who object to it on the Pharisaical ' It was enlarged in 1845. a See Historic Houses. Bath: Old and New. i6i ground that they are not, they thank God, as other men or other women, or even as these penitent Magdalenea ? There is a chapel capable of holding 300 persons, and the chaplain performs Divine service every Sunday afternoon, and visits the institution daily. We do not offer any apology for making this permanent appeal to the wealthy for support to an institution which is carried on for noble purposes, by laudable and disinterested exertions. We would ask visitors — yea, and citizens too — on passing the uniraposing edifice in Ladymead, to give a side- glance at that inviting brass plate in the wall, and to remem- ber that vagrant coin in the pocket, whether it be much or little, and when it is slipped into the box through that brass plate, the giver need not blush, even if he or she be caught in flagranti delicto by passers by "on the other side." We may remind " good Samaritans " that, although the matron will be pleased to welcome them any day and every day (except Sundays), Thursday afternoons are most conven- ient to enter upon business matters. Surely it must be the duty of all to sympathize with this great work, to help to realize the poet's aspiration, when " Sinners ! whom long years of weeping Chasten'd from evil to good." Dispensaries. The Western Dispensary is in Albion Place, Upper Bristol Road ; the Southern in Claverton Street, Widcombe ; and the Eastern in Cleveland Place, established in 1832. The last- named was built in 1845, from the design of Mr. H. E. Good- ridge. On the principal story is a spacious and handsome committee room, with waiting room and three private chambers. The elevation consists of a centre and side screens, the former decorated with two three-quarter columns and two pilasters, supporting a pediment ; above the principal 11 1 62 Bath: Old and New. entrance is a tablet, bearing, in characters of gold, this inscription : — "In memory of John Ellis, Esq., formerly of Southwark, and for many years a resident of Bath, to whose persevering labours and munificent benefactions this Dispen- sary mainly owed its pecuniary support. He died October 31, aged 86.— Erected July, 1838." It is enough that we should say that these institutions deserve liberal support, by which alone they subsist. Bath Eye Infirmakt. President — H. D. Shrine, Esq. At a meeting held August 26th, 1811 (Dr. Sims in the chair), it was resolved that an Infirmary for the relief of the Indigent Blind or those labouring under the various diseases incident to the Bye be established at Bath. The Eight Hon. Earl Camden, K.G., was elected President, besides fourteen Vice-Presidents. This meeting was adjourned to October 9th, 181] , when the rules for governing the Institution were agreed to. The first building used for the Eye Infirmary was a house at the bottom of Bath Street, on the right hand side opposite to St. Michael's Place. On January 10th, 1820, it was resolved that the establishment be removed to the house at the end of Kingston Buildings, near to the (at that time) General Post Office. At a committee meeting held May 27th, 1833, it was announced that notice had been received to quit these pre- mises at Michaelmas, and the Infirmary was removed to 1 Pierrepont Place. In 1846 it became necessary to leave Pierrepont Place, and negotiations were entered into for the purchase of 1 Fountain Buildings, for the remainder of a term or lease of 28 years. The terms asked being considered too high, this failed, and it was decided to rent 15 Bladud Build- ings. After an occupancy of many years, the lease having Bath: Old and New. 163 expired, the present house, 2 Belvedere, fell vacant, and the committee were able to conclude a lease for 21 years. This lease expired in 1882, and after an unsuccessful attempt to build an Infirmary on the shifting land opposite Walcot Church, the committee entered into an arrangement with the owner of 2 Belvedere, to continue there as annual tenants. The surgeons to the institution have been : — Mr. Lucas, elected 1811, resigned 22nd December, 1812 ; Mr. John Smith Soden' succeeded and held the appointment until December, 28th, 1840, when he resigned, and his son, Mr. John Soden, was elected as his successor. On December 29th, 1846, at the desire of Mr. Soden, Mr. Boult was requested by the com- mittee to undertake the oflSce of assistant surgeon, and on January 19th, 1849, was appointed surgeon. On December 29th, 1855, Mr. Soden resigned the office of surgeon and was elected consultini; surgeon, and Mr. Boult carried on the work alone until he died suddenly in January, 1863, when on February 2nd of the same year, Mr. F. Mason was elected to succeed him, and has most successfully continued the work up to the present time. The average annual number of patients for the first 10 years was 326 ; for the last 5 years, 1300. In 1863 there were 4 beds for in-patients ; there are now 11. On looking through the minute-book we find many subjects of local interest, such as the following : — " At a meeting of the committee, held February 20th, 1823, the following communi- cation was read : ' The committee of the United Bath City Infirmary and Dispensary and Bath Casualty Hospital have ' Mr. John Smith Soden obtained his special experience in Egypt, where he saw much service under Aberoromby and other commanders. He has frequently spoken to us of the effects of the climate upon European soldiers during the arduous campaigns in which he was engaged. In 1822, the governors of the institution and J. Parish,^ Esq., respectively presented Mr. Soden with a testimonial for his valuable services to the charity. 164 Bath : Old and New. the honour to forward to the committee of the Eye Infirmary a copy of a letter received from the Corporation of Bath, and beg to draw their attention to the suggestion contained in it.'" "Dispensary, February. Gentlemen, — The circumstances of the union of the Bath City Dispensary and Infirmary with the Casualty Hospital, as well as the situation and plans of the proposed new buildings, having recently been under the consideration of the Corpora- tion, and having been approved by them, I am instructed to apprise you of their having voted £700 for the joint purposes, in addition to the £300, formally voted towards the erection of a new Casualty Hospital. At the same time, I am desired to intimate that, as they consider the Eye Infirmary so imme- diately connected with the objects and public benefit to be derived from local institutions of this description, it would be highly gratifying to them if any arrangements could be made by the committee in effecting the union of that establishment with the Dispensary and Casualty. I am. Gentlemen, Your obedient servant, (Signed) P. Gboege, Town Clerk. The Committee of the Bath City Infirmary and Casualty Hospital." The ofi'er of amalgamation was politely but firmly declined by the committee of the Eye Infirmary. Partls's College, Weston. This college had been the object of a specific bequest in the wiU of the late Fletcher Partis, Esq., but owing to an informality the bequest was void under the Statute of Mort- The widow of that gentleman, however, fulfilled every mam. Bath: Old and New. 165 condition of the will. The institution, which occupies a lovely position on the margin of Newbridge Hill, was opened in 1826. The provisions of the deed are in favour of thirty decayed gentlewomen, each of whom, in addition to a good residence, has an annuity of £30, the condition being that she must possess, and not exceed, a similar private income of her own, or secured to her. Of the thirty ladies, ten of the number must be widows or daughters of clergymen of the Church of England. There is a domestic chaplain, and the general management is under the direction of thirteen trustees, of whom the Bishop of the Diocese is one and also the visitor. The Geammak School. The Grammar School is one of many similar institutions which were established by Edward VI. by means of the revenues of the dissolved monastic and other religious houses. In common with most of these endowed schools, that of Bath suffered by the peculation and imperfect administration of the governing body — the Corporation. When the Bath Grammar School was established, there was a house ^ on the west angle of the West Gate, assigned, in addition to the endowment, as a School-house, which was used as such for little more than one hundred years. The school was then removed to the nave of St. Mary's Church, at the east corner of the North Gate, the tower of the church being used as the city prison. After ' Of which a representation is now before us. It was two stories in height, apparently of considerable depth, and contained many rooms. In later representations of the West Gate we miss this house, which, we think might have been removed when that gate was fortified against the Puritan party by Charles I. This would have been about the time when the school was removed to the old church of St. Mary, inXra mmos, desecrated after the Reformation. 1 66 Bath: Old and New. many vicissitudes and gross abuses, an enquiry, in 1734, led to some improvement. In 1738, too, through the vigorous and honest efforts of the then master, the Rev. Walter Kobins, a further reform was brought about. When the St. Mary's Church, with the walls and gates, was removed, the present building in Broad Street was erected, in 1752, during the mayoralty of Francis Hales. To augment the resources of the school the Court of Chancery, in 1738, annexed the benefice of Gharlcombe, and it appears that until 1811 this, together with some fees not strictly legal, was the master's entire remuneration, in which year £80 per annum was added. The education provided by these schools was very much the same in all of them — the rigid classical curriculum. This has now been much modified. In 1872 a scheme was sanction- ed by which the benefice of Charlcombe was to be sold and the purchase money capitalized. The school is under a board of governors, consisting of citizens, partly elective, partly co-optative, and partly ex-officio, to whom Mr. Ernest Shum is the secretary. The letters patent of Edward VI. founded by the same document (of surpassing beauty as a work of penmanship) the Grammar School and St. Catherine's Hospital, otherwise the Black Alms. By the scheme of 1872 the two institutions were separated to the extent that they are administered by different bodies, but the governors of the school receive the entire income derivable from the property of the old founda- tion, and pay a fixed annual sum of £280 to the Trustees of the Hospital, which is now governed by a scheme settled by the Charity Commissioners on June 29th, 1877. The Headmaster receives £150 per annum and a third of the capitation fees, the scale of which is £9 per annum in the senior and £5 in the junior department. The fees are remitted to boys who gain exhibitions. Bath : Old and New. 167 Weymouth House Schools. These Schools are in connection with the parishes of St. Peter and St. Paul and St. James. At present something like four hundred children are educated. The history and origin of the Schools are as follows : — Henry Southby, Esq. , a gentleman, of Bath, succeeded in establishing there, in the year 1785, Sunday Schools, for the instruction of the children of the poor in that knowledge which alone " maketh wise unto salvation." The regulations upon which it was established expressed, 1st. — That the appointment of the masters and mistresses should be in the rectors of Walcot and Bath. 2nd. — That the books of instruction should be such only as are in the list of those recommended by the Society for Promoting Christian Know- ledge. 3rd. — -That the children should attend divine service every Sunday at the Abbey. 4th. — That all children recom- mended from the parishes of Bath, Walcot, Widoombe, and Bathwick, should be admitted into the schools. The children admitted originally amounted to 1000, out of which 160 boys and girls were selected, and received into a house fitted up for the purpose in St. James's Street (called the School of Industry) for a certain number of hours every day, where they were to be taught the principles of the Christian religion ; and employed in sewing, knitting, and making nets, under the superintendence of proper mistresses, and the occasional inspection of ladies and gentlemen, and clothed in a neat uniform out of the funds of the institution. The remainder of the children were to be divided into separate schools, and instructed on the Sundays only ; but from that number the occasional vacancies in the selected chUdren were to be filled up. Upon this plan, and to this extent, the Sunday Schools were carried on for many years. The Schools have suffered lately from several causes, but it is hoped they may be able to surmount all difficulties, and i68 Bath : Old and New. long be the means of accomplishing in the future what they have done since they were established. AMUSEMENTS, &c. An ancient Latin writer, an acute observer, and celebrated moralist, of Roman antiquity, has remarked, that pleasure, in all its variety of forms, is constantly to be met with in all those places where hot springs are found. Our own city confirms the truth of the observation : a place in which the Genius of Amusement seems to have erected her many-coloured throne, and which elegant dissipation has singled out for her peculiar residence. Not that we are to conclude it has always been so remarkable for its variety of elegant diversions as it is at present. For these we are mostly indebted to the active ex- ertions of fancy in modern times, ever on the stretch to satisfy the insatiable appetite of fashionable life, for new modes of destroying time, and fresh inventions for obviating enrmi. For many centuries after the practices of Roman and British dissipation had sunk, together with their elegant baths, before the fury of the Saxon invaders, the hot waters of this city were chiefly frequented by the diseased and infirm, to whom public amusements would be useless, because they could not be enjoyed. But as soon as curiosity had brought the great and the idle to its springs, diversions to employ that tedious leisure which a disinclination to intellectual pursuits induces, were naturally introduced. These, however, suited the grossness and simplicity of our times ; and the pranks of mountebanks, the feats of jugglers, tumblers, and dancers, the jests of itinerant mimes or mummers, and the dangerous amusements of the quintane, diversified occasionally by the pageant and the masque, or the elegant pastimes of bull-baiting, cock-fighting, pig-racing, bowling, foot-ball, grinning through a horse-collar, and swallowing scalding hot frumenty, were the Bath: Old and New, 169 sports which sufficiently satisfied our ancestors to the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries. But as national manners gradually refined, the ideas of elegance were proportionably enlarged, and public amusements insensibly approximated to the taste and splendour which they at present exhibit ; balls, plays, and cards, usurping the place of those rude athletic sports, or gross sensual amusements, to which the hours of vacancy had before been devoted. This improvement in manners and opinions produced the erection of the first Assembly Room in Bath in the year 1708. Temporary booths had hitherto been the only places in which the company could drink their tea and divert themselves with cards ; but Mr. Harrison, a man of spirit and speculation, perceived that a building of this nature was much wanted, and would probably make him a very suitable return, undertook (at the suggestion of Mr. Nash) to erect a large and commodious room for the purpose of receiving the company. The success of this attempt induced a similar one in the year 1728, when another large room was built by Mr. Thayer. A regular system of pleasurable amuse- ments commenced from this period, and the gay routine of public breakfasts, morning concerts, noon card-parties, evening promenades, nocturnal balls, and a good deal more besides, which is described in our " General Sketch,'' rolled on in an endless and diversified succession. The variety of diversions which Bath held out to the vacant and the gay, naturally induced a constant efflux of company to it, so that Mr. Harrison's rooms being found not sufficiently large to accommodate the numerous visitors, an additional one was erected in the year 1750. In the mean- time, as order and regularity of conduct and decorum and etiquette in manners, were the only bonds by which that mixture of society which found their way to Bath, and mingled together as one large family, could be kept united and harmonious, a code of ceremonial laws were drawn up by Beau Nash, approved of by the chief characters at Bath in the tyo Bath: Old and New. spring of the year 1742, and determined upon, and agreed to be submitted to, by a general assembly of the company at that time in the city.' But the accommodations of pleasure at Bath were rendered complete in the year 1771, when the New Assembly Eooms, which had been three years in building, under the direction of John Wood, jun., the architect, and cost £20,000 in the erection, were opened for the reception of the company. These, which are unquestionably the finest suite of apartments of the kind in England, (perhaps in Europe,) do great credit to the genius of Mr. Wood for the simplicity and elegance of their plan and the completeness of their conveniences, as well as to the taste of those who fitted up their interior, which is equally conspicuous for the justness, propriety, and splendour of its ornaments. The dimensions are : — the Bail-Room 105 ft. 8 in. long, 42 ft. 8 in. wide, and 42 ft. 6 in high ; the Octagon room, 48 ft. in diameter ; the Tea-room, 70 ft. long and 27 wide ; and a Card-room 60 ft. long and 30 wide. Gainsborough has contri- buted to ornament these Rooms by a portrait of Captain Wade, late master of the Ceremonies, in the Octagon Room. There is a full length also of Mr. Tyson in the same apart- ment and other portraits. Whatever changes time may have wrought in the habits of society and public taste, these rooms are devoted to all that is commendable, elevating, and good. It may be true that the vigorous exercise of the toes has yielded to a correspond- ing exercise of the head. The concerts, lectures, addresses, and all that tends to elevate the taste, are worthy of all support, and as such are recognized by the visitors and citizens at large. The lessee, Mr. C. W. Oliver, is higlily ' These were afterwards called the Lower Rooms, and were destroyed by fire in 1820. (See Literary Institution. ) Bath: Old and New. i^t esteemed both for his personal courtesy and his enterprising efforts to render these noble rooms worthy of their past history and the reputation of the city. The Theatre Royal. The Amnsements of the Drama were early introduced at Bath. They first appeared in the form of Miracles, Myste- ries, or Moralities, (representations of the scripture histories,) as early as the reign of Edward III. , and were then per- formed in the old church of St. Michael without the walls. When these superstitions were brushed away at the Reforma- tion, dramatic exhibitions were transferred from the church to a temporary stage, erected in the open air, and performed by mimes, or strolling-players, who resorted to the different large towns on particular occasions. The visits of these itinerant histriones, on the fairs and festivals, continued for al- most a century ; and the corporation was paid by the company a regular fee for the permission of acting their plays, in this manner, within the limits of the mayor's jurisdiction. But a new Guildhall having been built, after a plan given by Inigo Jones, in the year 1626, the players who visited Bath were permitted to perform their dramas there for many years. Afterwards, they were removed to an apartment, under the Lower Rooms.; and once more settled in an elegant Theatre, erected in Orchard Street, by John Palmer, who obtained a patent for it in 1768. Here, for many years, the dramatic entertainments of Bath were carried on, with great profits to the proprietors and much satisfaction to the public ; and from this fertile nursery Crawford, Abingdon, Siddons, old Edwin, Henderson, King, Elliston,i etc., successively issued forth, to 1 Elliaton had from early youth been stage-struob and given to ama- teuring, the end of which was tliat at eighteen he ran away from home and school and proceeded to Bath, Here, after some difficulty and 172 Bath: Old and New. delight the metropolis with their histrionic talents. But the house being at length considered as too small for the increasing numbers which flocked to it, a much larger, more elegant, and more commodious Theatre was built in the year 1806, in Beaufort Square, the classical front of which was designed by Nath. Dance, under the direction of Wm. W. Dimond. In 1805 the Bath Herald is said to have been in the zenith of its greatness, that it was distinguished by the graces of its style, and the correctness of its literary taste. We quote from it the description which it gave in its columns of the opening of the Theatre, and we think our readers will be of opinion either that the canons of literary taste have greatly changed, or that the literary judgment of 1805 was slightly at fault : — "The new Bath Theatre, erected in the very centre of the delay, he succeeded ia getting engaged by William Dimoud, the then lessee of the theatre and the author of Tlie Venetian Outlaw. His open- ing part was Tressel, in Colly Gibber's version of Richard III., which he performed to the satisfaction of managers and audience, and even of critics, who gave him a flattering notice in the next issue of news- papers. He next migrated to Leeds, and ranged himself under the banner of the eccentric manager of the Yorkshire circuit, the noted Tate Wilkinson. Here the promise of the Theatre Eoyal pastry-cook was more than fulfilled, and although he had been but a few months on the stage, he played principal business with marked success. Indeed, so rapid was his progress, that Kemble entered into negooiations with him for Drury Lane. These, however, came to nothing, and he went back to Bath, where he found a wife in the person of Miss Rundell, a teacher of dancing, an amiable young lady, who proved to him a most estimable and faithful partner. The Bath Theatre was at this period the best out of London, and any actor who made a success upon its boards was certain of obtaining an opening in the metropolis. Five years in this admirable school edu- cated the promising novice into a finished actor of exceptional abilities, and in the summer of 1796 he made his delAl at the Haymarket as Ootavian, in Coleman's ouce-f amous musical drama of The Mouiiiaiiieers, Bath: Old and New. 173 city, was opened on Saturday last. As very minute accounts of this elegant and immense edifice have appeared in other papers, we shall merely state that great as the public expectations were respecting the size, convenience, and beauty of this Theatre, they were more than amply gratified when they beheld it. Everything that can be conducive to the pleasure of the sight, the distinctness of the hearing, and the comfort of the audience, have been aimed at and accomplished. ' ' The promoters spurned all ideas of expence to give the most elegant city of the universe a Theatre that should be one of its most splendid ornaments, and from which its inhabitants and visitors might derive their chief amusement. "Mr. John Palmer (the Oity architect) planned and superintended the building, and Mr. Nath. Dance, whose taste and abilities have long been known, designed the more ornamental parts of the building. Under their guidance it was a pleasure for the workmen to proceed, and it must be con- fessed that the exertions of Mr. Parfit, the mason, have been very great, but the perseverance of Mr. Thos. Lewis, who undertook the whole of the wood work, was almost miraculous, in having had such immense labour executed so soundly and neatly, in so limited a period. The famous Fonthill ceiling has been connected and arranged with other parts of it by Mr. Dance, and well executed by Mr. Hayes. In fact, the pro- prietors of this undertaking have happily met in every department artizans of considerable skill and experience, and who are now established by the exertion of their labours in this house." The decorations were splend,id, and the ceiling ornamented with exquisite paintings, by Andrtu Cassali, which were purchased at the sale of Fonthill Abbey, in 1801,^ by Mr. ' These fine paintings were supposed to have been fixtures, painted on panels, but a handkerchief thrown up by one of the visitors during the sale told the real state of the question, and they were consequently sold. 174 Bath: Old and New. Paul Methuen, and presented to this theatre, which they continued to beautify until the year 1839. Becoming dimned by the smoke from the gas-light, Davidge, the lessee, removed them from the ceiling and in 1845, they were sold to Col. Blathwayt, of Dyrham Park, who engaged the assistance of Mr. Wilkinson, of Bath, to fix them in their present position in his mansion. These paintings are octangular, and on a large scale : as to their subjects, one represents an assembly of heathen deities, and the others are allegorical, — history, time, architecture, astronomy, music, and painting. On Good Friday, 1862, this place of amusement was destroyed by fire, the origin of which was never ascertained. A new company, with a capital of £12,000, was enabled to raise a successor from the ashes of the old house, equal in beauty and convenience. It was began on the 1st of October, 1862, from the design of . Mr. C. J. Phipps, F.S.A., and by that gentleman's professional diligence was opened for business on the 4th of March in the following year. It is constructed on an ingenious plan, combining all the most modem improvements, with a degree of convenience and accommodation so much required and so unfrequently found in buildings of this class. The decorations are interesting and characteristic, properly taken from Shakespeare's personifi- cations, with heads and heraldic devices of the English kings, whom the great master of characteristic poetry has made the heroes of his plays. The first of these subjects is the " Mid- summer Night's Dream," because this was the first 'drama to be represented in the new theatre ; the last, from " Much ado about nothing," which was the last of Shakespeare's plays acted in the old theatre, in which Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean sustained the principal characters. The proscenium arch is also richly and appropriately adorned by a representation of " The Seven Ages of Man," and the designs include heads of Wolsey and Falstaff, as tragedy and comedy. The old theatre accommodated 1600 spectators ; the new affords ample room for a still larger number. Bath: Old and New. 175 There are many amusements, each with its proper and efficient organisation, into the particulars of which it would be wholly needless for us to enter. All that is necessary to do is to indicate the various societies and the localities they occupy, and visitors interested in them can obtain every information from the respective officials representing them. Bath Band (see Sydney Gardens). Bath Archery Club, Weston Park. Boating, from Maynard's Yard, Bathwick. — This is an admirably conducted establishment. It has recently been transferred from private hands to a company, under whose auspices every arrangement is made calculated to secure success and to give satisfaction to the most ardent boating- men. Cricket. — Lansdown Club, Weston. Bath Association, near the North Parade Bridge. Lawn Tennis. — Bath Lawn Tennis Club, at Weston, on the Lansdown Cricket Club ground. Lansdown. Sydney. Grosvenor. The Athenceum was originally a " Mechanics' Institute," and was established in Bath Street. It has now, as the Athenaeum, a cheerful and pleasant house at No. 11 Orange Grove, and has a fairly good collection of books, with good reading-room. The " Tottenham Library " is deposited here. This is a collection of books which formerly belonged to the Rev. Edward Tottenham, B.D.,i an eloquent preacher and able controversialist. The library was purchased of his family after his death, in 1851. The purchase money was raised by public subscription, the object in view being to make the library a nucleus for a larger library of reference, but the scheme has never been carried into effect. 1 His memoir was written by the preaent Bishop of Peterhorough, and published in 1855. 176 Bath: Old and. New. CLUBS. IRaih and County. — The York Club was one of the old- fashioned clubs peculiar to a certain class of country gentle- men, at the time it was established, in 1790, and for many years after. Neutral in politics, exclusive in status, dull, and awfuUy decorous in conduct. A game at whist in this highly proper club was as solemn a proceeding as the court of the Grand Inquisitor trying a wretched creature for heresy. When the political club called the New Club was established (just after the Reform Act of 1832), two or three gentlemen were seen to smile in melancholy sorrow or contempt at so foolish a proceeding. But all things, however wise in their conception or dignified in their conduct, come to an end, and when th^se two clubs succumbed, nature was calm and the elements made no sign. A club more in accordance with the times was wanted, and it absorbed into itself the vast bulk of solemn dignity which for so long had cast a halo of dignity around Edgar Buildings and the York House. The Bath and County Club was established in 1859, in Queen Square, in constitution similar to the London Clubs. One black ball in seven excludes. The City Club is on Edgar Buildings. It was established in 1880, and it is supported by citizens, one black ball in five excluding. Royal Victoeia Park. This Park had its origin in a conversation which took place in the private room of a public-spirited citizen, the late Mr. J. Davis, of Old Bond Street, in the year 1829. Con- ference led to action, and action culminated in success, the Park having been opened in 1830 by the Princess Victoria with great state and ceremonial. It was laid out by the late Mr. Edward Davis, architect, on property belonging partly to the Corporation and partly to the Freemen. The portion Bath: Old and New. ii'j which is entered by Queen Square was the property of the Rivers family, and its acquisition was attended by some difficulties, which, however, have been successfully disposed of. This portion, from its position and surrounding beauties, constitutes a charming approach to the western portion, which is laid out with taste and judgment, and managed with admirable skill and scientific regard to the classification of the shrubs, trees, and acclimatized plants from every quarter of the globe. There is a small piece of ornamental water, and the enclosure which is encompassed by the drives is inter- sected with paths and gravelled walks. The trees and shrubs are all systematically labelled, so that " he who runs may read." The Royal Literary and Scientific Institution. This Institution is erected upon the site of the first Assembly Rooms built in this city, called, after the present Assembly Rooms were built, the Lower Rooms. These rooms having been destroyed by fire in December, 1820, induced many scientific gentlemen of the city to turn their thoughts towards the erection of a Literary and Scientific Institution, on the site. Main waring tells us the history of the origin of the Royal Literary Institution. The object was to provide a place of resort, not merely for the studious, but for the inhabitants of Bath generally, and its visitors: — to supply it with a library of reference, and the means of information in every branch of science and literature, to provide a suitable apartment, in which lectures might be given on all subjects which could assist in the instruction of youth ; — where public meetings, for useful purposes, might conveniently be held, and works of art exhibited to excite or demonstrate the progress of the student or professor. Accordingly, a correspondence took place with the owner of the ground and ruins (the late Earl Manvers) on 12 178 Bath: Old and New. the subject, and the result was a liberal proposal, on the part of his Lordship, to devote the sum of four thousand pounds, which he had received for the insurance of the premises, together with the old materials, estimated at one thousand pounds, towards erecting a suite of rooms on the same spot, for a " Literary and Scientific Institution, " and to grant a lease of the building, when erected, at a moderate rent, for a long term of years. As it was reasonably required, on the part of Lord Manvers, that certain provisional engagements should be entered into by persons whom his Lordship was satisfied to accept as his responsible tenants ; and that the plan of the building should be submitted to the approbation of his Lordship (by whom it was to be erected), the following gentlemen undertook that oflice, holding their interest in trust for the subscribers: — Sir John Coxe Hippesley, Bart. ; Sir John Keane, Bart. ; Sir John Palmer Acland, Bart. ; Rev. Thomas Leman ; Francis Ellis, Esq. ; Charles Dumble- ton, Esq. ; Hastings Elwin, Esq. ; and the Marquis of Lansdowne, who not only expressed his approbation of the plan, but also consented to become president. A declaration of trust was consequently executed, explanatory of the design, binding the above-named trustees to the execution of it, in conjunction with a committee to be appointed by the subscrib- ers. An abstract of the deed was given to the public, as the best exposition of the objects of the enterprise ; the whole of which being too voluminous for publication, only two brief extracts are quoted : — TERMS. A building to be erected on the site of the Kingston Assembly Rooms, according to a plan agreed on, for a term of forty years, from the 24th of June, 1825, subject to the annual rent of two hundred and fifty pounds for the first twenty years , and the annual rent of three hundred pounds Bath: Old and New. 179 for the remainder of the term ; and to cease at the end of any five years, on notice. PBOPOSALS. The premises to be appropriated for an establishment for the cultivation and promotion of science and literature, to be called " The Bath Literary and Scientific Institution." ^ And, for the purpose of forming and maintaining such establish- ment, the trustees propose raising a sum of eight thousand guineas, by sale of four hundred shares, at twenty guineas per share, and an annual subscription of two guineas per share. The ideal conceived by the promoters, which is fully and clearly explained in the interesting little work published a short time after the institution was built, and reprinted in 1853, entitled ' ' The Connection of Bath with the Literature and Science of England, by (the late) Rev. Joseph Hunter," was an ambitious one, and might have been realized if the whole capital could have been raised. This, however, fell far short of the required sum, and the institution has never reached to that success which it deserved. Nevertheless, it has done a great work, but that work has been due rather to the occasional liberality and munificence of private individuals, than to the resources of the institution resulting from the steady and general support of the public. The disadvantages of this state of things are obvious, more especially as regards the books. There is a library of great value and importance, but it is a collection lacking the continuity, system, and proportions, which go to establish a first-class library. The private donor first collects books to suit his literary taste or to gratify his mental idiosyncrasy, and when a few such collections, as gifts, meet in one great library, they are likely to overlap each other, or to cause serious disproportion of a certain kind of literature least needed. It may be possible, in certain cases, to redress this inequality when the funds admit, and we know that in ' The prefix " Royal " has since, by permission, been added. i8o Bath: Old and New. the case of the Royal Literary Institution great and, to some extent, successful eflForts have been made to meet this difficulty. We have ventured, it may be, upon dangerous ground, and if ^o, we have only to plead, what has so often been pleaded in vain, a good motive. We confess we should like to see this fine and valuable institution placed upon a broader and more popular basis, if it were possible ; and yet, at the same time, we are not unacquainted with the practical difficulties which embarrass any effort in that direction. In addition to the general library, the Rev. Leonard Blomefield has presented his own private collection of works on Natural History and Science. Mr. Blomefield, being profoundly versed in scientific subjects, bestowed no little care in collecting the works which constitute this collection for his own use, and the gift of it, together with his herbarium of British plants, whilst exhibiting the donor's liberality, con- stitutes a most valuable addition to the literary treasures of the institution. The collection, consisting of 1,800 volumes, occupies a separate upper room, and is known as the "Jenyns Library " — .Jenyns having been the donor's original name. In 1881, valuable books were presented by Mr. J. W. Morris and Mr. J. S. Bartrum, and in the same year Mr. Maokillop gave an interesting series of Autographs. The late Mr. Gore, on many occasions, and also in 1882, contributed many valuable books. In 1883, some valuable books were given by Judge Falconer, who died the same year, when his brother, Mr. Alexander Pytts Falconer, added others from the same collection. In 1884, also, books were given by various donors. In 1886, the reprint of Sowerby's Botany was given by Mr. Cossham, and various works by other gentlemen. The late Mr. C. E. Broome, in 1887, bequeathed a collection of botanical works, together with Hoare's Aritient Wilts, to the library. The reading room, which contains the bulk of the general libraiy, is large, airy, and well constructed. The tables are iath: Old and New. i»i covered with magazines and the current periodical literature and newspapers of the day. The large room on the south, originally intended and used as a lecture room, is now devoted to the exhibition of Mr. Charles Moore's geological collection. This collection has been recently augmented by further specimens, presented by Mr. Handel Cossham, M. f., who at the same time provided the galleries for their reception. At the death of Mr. Moore, in 1882, it was deemed expedient that this collection should be purchased, and in 1883 it became the property of the institution, the purchase money having been derived from public subscriptions. In the geological de- partment, moreover, the institution and the public owe no small thanks to the Rev. H. H. Winwood. A portion of the frescoes which were formerly at Fonthill adorn the ceiling. The Roman antiquities found an appropriate home in the vestibules and lobbies of the institution. Formerly this important collection was in various places, and was under the care of the corporation. In 1827, these, and on diflferent occasions since, similar treasures have been deposited in the Museum. These remains were first described by Pownall, then by Warner, then more fully and completely by the Rev. Prebendary Scarth, in 1864. ' The active and well-directed exertions of Mr. P. Shum have been of great service to the institution. The memories of J. Stuart and Philip Duncan will ever be revered in Bath as generous philanthropists and citizens. Both were active and liberal in promoting the interests of this institution. The widow and daughter" of the former, more- over, presented to the institution a beautiful collection of the local fauna, which has been arranged with scientific care by the Rev. Leonard Jenyns. In the galleries of the building 1 The antiquites discovered in the later excavations, 1871, remain to be described in a manner worthy of their importance. It may be hoped that Prebendary Scarth may see his way to the compilation of a work worthy to rank with that referred to above. " Mrs. Fraser, widow of Bishop Fraser of Manchester. Math : Old aiid Niew. is also placed the ornithological collection of the late Col. John Race Godfrey, presented to the institution by his widow, in 1856. The late Miss Lockey, moreover, bequeathed a very choice and valuable collection of British insects, medals, minerals, together with valuable models, foreign weapons, and implements, well and scientifically arranged. The late able and intelligent librarian, Mr. C. P. Russell, made a valuable and unique collection of local maps, system- atically and chronologically arranged. This collection having been purchased of Mr. Russell by public subscription, is depos- ited at the institution for public inspection. Mr. Russell died in 1886, and his loss is much felt. In addition to his duties as librarian, which he had discharged for thirty-six years, he superintended with diligent care the meteorological observa- tions and other scientific formulie. Ilis knowledge of local literature and bibliography was only exceeded by that of the late Mr. C. Godwin. There are two associations connected with the Royal Literary Institution, although they are not integral parts of its organization — the Literary and Philosophical Association, whose meetings during the session are held in the reading- room, when valuable and interesting papers are read and discussed ; and the Bath Naturalist and Antiquarian Field Club, whose proceedings, in their published form, are a most valuable addition to our local literature. BRIDGES. Gleoeland Bridge. — This bridge is of cast iron, of very elegant design. Mr. H. E. Goodridge was the architect. The bridge formed a direct communication between two most important parishes, heretofore only accessible by a circuitous route or a troublesome ferry passage. The immense mound of stone raised to bring the Bathwick side to a level with that of Walcot was completed at the expense of the Duke of Bath: Old and New. ■83 1 84 Bath: Old and New. Cleveland. In digging the foundations of this bridge, a very large collection of Eoman coins, chiefly copper, of the age of Constantine, was found near the north-east buttress on the Walcot side of the bridge. The North Parade Bridge was designed by W. Tierney Clark, of London, in 1835. It is of cast iron, springing from stone piers, supporting also two handsome lodges. The arch is 183 ft. span. This bridge connects Bathwick with the North Parade. Suspension Bridges. — The Widcombe foot-bridge, on the south side of the Great Western Eailway, It is of iron and has a span 96 ft. There are also the Victoria, the Albion, the Midland, and the Grosvenor bridges. CEMETEEIES. Lansdown Cemetery. — The tower was erected in 1831, by the late Mr. Beckford, from designs by Mr. H. E. Goodridge, the builder being John Vaughan, of Bath. It was intended as a place of retirement, where Mr. Beckford might go daily from his residence, in Lansdown Crescent, and enjoy his books and woiks of art, and the splendid aii' and view from the top. The structure is in the Greco-Italian style, and was always admired by Mr. Beckford for its sim- plicity and grace. There were many designs made before the present one was decided on. The upper part is octagonal, having angular fluted columns, and is of wood. The cornice and roof are taken from the choragic monu- ment of Lysicrates, at Athens, and is very chaste. This was not in the design first decided on, which was altered afterwards. That design finished with a hippo-Italian roof over the belvedere. The building was carried up to the first cornice of the to wer in 2 8 working days M r. Beckford Bath: Old and New. 185 loved to see his projects carried out speedily, and he found pleasure in observing the number of men at work as it daily rose. It is nearly 130 ft. high. The rooms in the lower part were well proportioned, and highly finished with ornamental ceilings and fittings, especially that which he called the Etruscan library; it contained the figure of St. Anthony, but few books. A handsome polished granite tazza stood at the bottom of the staircase, and the lower part was used for heating it. It is to be regretted that the building has not been kept in good order, and the repairs recently done at the top, owing to the colour of the painting, has much injured the external character. The building (with the grounds) having cost the parish nothing, except the charges for conveyance, it might be expected, at any rate, that the structure would be kept in perfect order. Mr. Beckford's remains were at first entombed in the Abbey Cemetery, but removed hither when the grounds were consecrated. When the estate was sold, this property was marked out for a public pleasure-ground, but Mr. Beckford's daughter, the late Duchess of Hamilton, re-piir- chased the ground and tower, and presented them to a former rector, Mr. Widdrington, who, of course, assigned them to the parish of Waloot. The rector completed the unfinished entrance, the iron work and pillars, forming the wing walls of the original tomb, becoming part of a new central entrance in the Byzantine manner. Mr. Beck- ford's sarcophagus was designed by himself. The following inscription is graven on one side : — " William Beckford, Esq., late of PontWll Abbey, Wilts, died 2nd May, 1844, aged 84." And on the other the obituary is repeated, with these lines written by himself ; — " Eternal power ! Grant me, through obvious clouds, one transient gleam Of thy bright essence in my dying hour ! " Widcombe Cemetery. — This cemetery, on the Lower Bristol i85 Bath : Old and New. Road, consecrated on the 6th of January, 1862, occupies 8 acres, and was laid out by Mr. Butler. Two chapels, the designs of Mr. C. E. Davis, city architect, stand in a central position, and are precisely similar externally. They are con- nected by a cloister, affording a 'pmU cocher to each, between arches supporting a bell turret ; one half of the turret only stands on consecrated ground. The belfry, forming an effec- tive centre, is surmounted by a delicately tapering spire, 100 ft. to the metal cross on the apex. Both chapels are cruci- form. The Episcopalian chapel consists of a nave, east end, floored with encaustic tiles, the gift of the late Mr. John Rainey. Abbey Cemetery. — This beautiful spot, purchased by the Hon. and Rev. W. J. Brodrick,' was laid out by Mr. Loudon. It covers 5 acres, and the chapel is in the Norman manner, after a design by Mr. Manners. It was consecrated on 30th January, 1843. Walcot Cemetery, at Locksbrook, covers 12 acres ; it was laid out by Mr. Milner, the landscape gardener to the Crystal Palace Company. The chapels, lodges, entrances, and other buildings, are from the designs of Messrs. Hickes and Isaac, and are in the early Decorated style. The chapels are united by cloisters, from the centre of which rises a tower, 100 ft. in height. Uidtariaa Cemetery. — This exquisitely beautiful spot, in the lovely glen of Lyiicombe, was presented to his brethren by the late Mr. E. Howse, as a burial ground, in the year 1819. Here is a convenient chapel, around which many inter- ments have taken place. Bathwick Cemetery occupies the most secluded part of ' Afterwards Viscownt Midleton. Bath: Old and I^ew. 1S7 Smallcombe, and was laid out in 1856. It has two chapels, one for Episcopalians, designed by Mr. T. Fuller, the other by- Mr. A. S. Goodridge. St. Michael's Cemetery, on the Upper Bristol Road, near Locksbrook, is well laid out, sufficiently spacious, and has two chapels. The Episcopal in the second Pointed order, with a broach or belfry, and at the west end is a circular window, with seven lights. The Dissenters' chapel is octagonal. The Eonian Catholics have a cemetery near Pope's Walk, in a secluded part of Perrymead, in Lyncombe parish. MUNICIPAL & PARLIAMENTARY. We have in the first portion of this work said as much of the early Municipal and Parliamentary usages and institutions as is necessary or desirable in a work of this character. Besides, Messrs. King and Watts have so fully and so ably dealt with the Municipal Records of the city, in their recent work on the subject, down to the reign uf Queen Elizabeth, that practically nothing is left to be said. The great charter which that famous Queen granted to the city in 1590 was so ample, so expansive, so capable of adaptation to the ever-advancing and changing conditions of society and municipal government, that, with one important change, Bath was well governed under its provisions until the Municipal Reform Act of 1835. We may admit, without hesitation, that from time to time there was no little roguery, that the poor were robbed of their just rights, that public institutions were perverted to enrich un- scrupulous aldermen and mayors, who like Judas, if they did 1 88 Bath: Old and New. not carry the bag, held the purse-strings. These were some of those human weaknesses from which few communities were free. Public virtue was rarer than it is now, partly for the reason that it was easier to commit public wrong with impunity than it is at present, and partly because of the general laxity of public opinion. We have shown how by a corrupt and shame- ful collusive compact our Abbey was robbed of her just rights, and the history of St. John's Hospital reveals similar attempts of municipal heroes to rob the city of some of its noblest institutions. One — perhaps the greatest — safeguard of public property in the past has been in the immutable truth of the proverb as to the result of " rogues falling out.'' We owe much to that despised, but nevertheless grand proverb. Apart from this rather serious iniirmity, the close corporation, as a rule, took care to choose efficient and proper representatives in parliament. We have no reason to be ashamed of the men as men, or of the representatives as such, who represented the city. We ought to be, we are, proud that Bath and her represen- tation has been associated with statesmen of undying fame ; and it is right to add that we have no reason to believe that that representative connection was at any time degraded by the corrupt stipulations which prevailed generally from the second Charles down to the last George. There is no reason to suppose that, during the century preceding the Municipal Reform Act, there was any peculation, nor that the aifairs of the city were not, on the whole, well conducted. Previous to Queen Elizabeth's Charter, (which did little more than affirm and amplify existing privileges) municipal institutions were very much at the mercy of the sovereign; hence their administration was subject to capricious and violent control, wliich oftentimes rendered them valueless and sometimes mischievous. The Charter of 1590, therefore, practically, was an immense gain. It was a clear declaration of rights ; the consolidation of all previous documents in an imperial instrument, embodying the sovereign will and power, Bath: Old and New. 189 which could neither be evaded nor repudiated by her suo- ceasors. It would be difficult to say with certainty what the precise siaius of the corporation was at the period of the Charter, but it may be safely inferred that it was a demoralized body, notwithstanding the " Recital of the Antient Liberties," because the Charter really constituted morally a new corporation altogether. The first mayor and 8 aldermen and recorder by name were appointed under its provisions, and to them was delegated the power of choosing 20 councillors from the citizens. To this extent the first Elizabethan corporation was of popular choice, but from that time for a period of 245 years it was a close, self-elective, and self-elected body. There was one interval during the civil war of the 17th century, when Bath was a "bufier" between both parties, during which the corpor- ation effaced itself. If it met at all, it was in camera, and it pru- dently kept no minutes or records whatever of its proceedings. In many respects the old corporation enjoyed larger powers and exercised greater influence than the reformed body. It could hold and dispense ecclesiastical and secular patronage, but these privileges were sources of unmitigated evil ; they were exercised sometimes for self-aggrandisement, and some- times for corrupt purposes, seldom to promote the ends of right and laudable purposes. This is all nowohanged. Charities, still nominally under the administration of the council, are really under the direction and management of responsible trus- tees, and these municipal charities excite neither the cupidity of the covetous, nor the disposition to select, for party ends, improper and unworthy recipients of the bounteous provisions made in times past, only for the worthy and those who need it. In other respects the reformed council is endowed with greatly extended powers — powers, in fact, which mean mainly self-government, and which most wisely relieve the central government of much of the details which it could neither efficiently nor wisely carry out itself. The reformed council, of course, is deprived of the power of electing members of igo Bath: Old and New. parliament. This immense privilege, under the old regime, meant apparently that the whole representative power of the country was vested in a few corporate bodies, but this was not quite the case, for public opinion did, though imperfectly, exercise a restraining influence in all such matters. The Police Station, Obakge Grove. A recent Bath Guide informs us that the Police Station is " a substantial structure, with a Norman elevation, in the Orange Grove, occupied by the police. " We could wish this were true, but it is not, because we know that there are cells in which sometimes are to be found a class of people whose respect for the property belonging to others is not great ; some, whose walk in life is anything but exemplary, and the irregularity of whose gait would bring them to the gutter if it did not bring them into the arms of policemen, whose mercy is equalled only by their sense of duty and their unerring instincts as to the best temporary mansion for this class of Her Majesty's subjects, some who, having once been fair, have lived to be only frail, and in proportion to the loss of all that a woman should value, have acquired a facility of expression which now and then commends them to the special custody of A 21 or B 32, in the cell of repentance ; others, again, who have committed more heinous offences, find a, temporary residence within these cells until their fate is determined by a wise recorder or a wise judge. The force consists of eighty- seven, all told. These are divided thus : — one chief constable, five inspectors, thirteen sergeants, and sixty-eight constables. The chief constable is Col. Gwyn, and we confess we prefer his room and his company to that of any other oflicer in this "structure with a Norman elevation." First, the gallant colonel is a most pleasant gentleman and excellent chief ; next, he has the best room, which, moreover, is the most remote from the cells, which inspires a feeling of safety in this Bath: Old and New. 191 " parlous " mansion, " erected in 1867 from the design and under the direction of Major Davis," who is the city sur- veyor of works, in ordinary language. It should be mentioned that there are Quarter Sessions in Bath, and, to facilitate the passing of prisoners to the court, a subterranean way connects the Guildhall with the Police Office, and that a part of the old city gaol, in Grove Street, is used as a barracks for a part of the force. The force is a well conducted and efficiently disciplined body of men. We do not claim for them that ideal state of excellence which some persons think they ought to attain to. Doubtless, now and then some of the weaknesses of humanity manifest themselves even in policemen ; but when it is considered how many temptations assail them, and how few charges are brought against them, we confess we are optimists enough to say that we are proud of a force by Which the peace of the city and its material interests are watched over with so much care and so little fuss. BATHWICK. BathmcTc, situated on the banks of the River Avon, was incorporated with the City or parliamentary Borough of Bath, by the Reform Act of 1832. Its name, Bath wyche or whych, signifies a village or town near Bath, and for centuries it was neither more nor less than what its name imported, namely, a small, straggling village, extending along a portion of Bath- wick Street, on the natural level of the soil, terminated by its 192 Bath: Old and New. quaint old churoh,i which occupied identically the site of the junction of Henrietta road with the main street, the ancient name of which it still retains. The original level of this quaint village may be seen when its present condition is com- pared with the ViUa Fields, the old churchyard, and the site of St. John's Church. On the passing of the Municipal Corporations' Act in 1835, Bathwick became an integral part of the city, and in conjunc- tion with a portion of Walcot,^ extending from the east side of Cleveland place to the end of Grosvenor place, forming a distinct and separate ward, called " Bathwick Ward." Collinson says — "The situation of this vill, however, during the winter months, is not desirable, the air being damp and foggy, and the meads, which almost encircle it, frequently under water by the overflowing of the river, from sudden rains ; and when the wind sets in westerly, the smoke of a great part of the city is driven over it."' I The present two Clmrches are described amongst the City Churches. The old Church of Bathwick was dedicated to S. Mary. It had a stunted, tattered, western tower, of a kind of Gothic style ; on the south side there were two clumsy buttresses, an Early English window, two of a later style, and no clerestory. On the north side it had one buttress, and we believe one window only, of a Perpendicular character ; while the chancel window was evidently of a much more recent date. The roof was almost flat, and the whole building was ii quaint-looking structure. The interior was plainness itself, otherwise more of it would have been preserved ; as it is, the only portion of it now to be seen is the chancel arch, in the present mortuary chapel, which stands in the old burying ground. The ancient font (Early English), the pulpit of a more recent date, and a few of the rude monuments (in, situ.) from the old church, are preserved in the same chapel. ' Successively enfranchised under the same Acts, and incorporated with the borough. 3 It is well to state that since this was written one hundred years ago, the conditions are changed. The lower levels are raised, and drained, the banks improved, and are being still further improved, by the construction of a sea wall of considerable dimensions and strength, between Bathwick Bridge and the North Parade Bridge. Bath : Old and New. 193 " The lands are very rich, and on account of their nearness to Bath let as meadow, from three to four pounds an acre. A manufacture of broadcloth was carried on here.' "In the two meads between this parish and the city are some agreeable walks, much frequented in summer evenings both by the company and the inhabitants. A few Roman coins have, at different times, been found here. The manor of this xfSX was given by King William the Conqueror to Geffrey, Bishop of Coutance, in Normandy, whose property here is thus surveyed in the great Norman record. " The Bishop himself holds Wiche. Aluric held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for four hides. The arable is four carucates. In demesne are three carucates, and four servants, and one villane, and ten cottagers. There is a mill of thirty-five shillings rent, and fifty acres of meadow, and one hundred and twentyacres of pasture. It isworth seven pounds. "This Geffrey, bishop of Coutance, had a distinguished command at the battle of Hastings ; he was, it had been said, of a noble Norman extraction, but much more skilful in arms than in divinity, in the knowledge of training up soldiers than of leading his proper flock in the paths of peace. How- ever, for his signal services, he was highly rewarded by the Conqueror, having no less than two hundred and four score lordships in England given him by that king. He was like- wise in many other battles against the English and Danes, and always meeting with good success, obtained immense possessions in this country. He died in 1093, and many of his estates being seized on by the crown, were disposed of to difterent favourites. In 1293, the conventual estates in Wick and in WoUey, then called from the circumstance Wick- Abbas and Wolley- Abbas, were valued at £12 5s. 4d. 4 Edward II. it was found not to the king's damage, to grant license to Roger le Forester to give one messuage and forty acres of land in Bathwyk to the Abbess and monks of Wherwell, and ' We think this latter statement very doubtful. 13 194 Bath : Old and New. their successors for ever. In the eighth of the same reign, license was also given to Henry, the son of Henry le Wayte, and Lawrence de Overton, to give one messuage, twenty acres of land, etc. , in Bathwyck, to the said Abbess and convent, who in the record are said to hold their lands here of the King in capite by barony. "The convent enjoyed this manor till the year of their dissolution, when it came to the crown, and therein continuing sometime, was at length, 1 and 2 Philip and Mary, granted with its appurtenances and the adowson of the church to Edmund NeviUe, Knight." In 1691, Bathwick passed from the Neville family to the Earl of Essex, together with the Manor of Wrington and Burrington. In 1709, the Earl of Essex died, having provided in his will that the estate of Bathwick, with Wrington and Burrington, should be sold for the payment of his debts, such sale to take place after his only son attained his majority. In 1718,. a sum of £7,500 was advanced by Child, the banker, to meet certain family claims. In 1720, a further sum of £10,000 was raised upon the property^ and in 1722, the whole of the mortgages amounted to £42,500. On the 22nd March, 1726, the estates of Wrington and Burrington and Bathwick were sold to William Pulteney, afterwards the Right Honourable William Pulteney, and then Earl of Bath. At this time the net rentals of Bathwick estate amounted to less than £300 a year, the estate being occupied by D. Gingell, for which he paid £241 per annum, the mills were let for £12, and a tenement for £5. On the Earl's death he bequeathed the estate unto his bro' the Hon. H. Pulteney, Esq. , his hrs and ass' for ever. Co^y of PoHion of Will of General Harry Pulteney. '•Proved in Prerogative Court, 10th July, 1764. Bath: Old and New. 195 The said General H. Pulteney made his will duly execut* in the presence of three witnesses,' and thereby gave— All his Messe', Grod», Lands, Tenemt', Heradit^, and real Estate in the ^'^ Co)' of Midd*, and also all and every his Manors, Messe", Lands, Tenement^, Heredit', and Eeal Estate in the Coy of Somerset, and in the Coy' of Mont- gomery, Salop, and York. Unto Wm. L3. Chetwynd and Hy. Burrard, Esq., and their hr'. To the use of the s* W. L. Chetwynd and Hy. Burrard, their Ex', Ad', and Ass' for 500 yrs to be computa from the Testers death, and after the determination of the sa gift beyond the reach of art ; they were eloquently silent." Wood, we believe, was not responsible for the havoc and needless destruction, although in his work he makes only a contemptuous reference to the Roman Baths, and says little or nothing of the old Eliza- bethan mansions, except what was not historically true. In his preface he generalized without much regard to accuracy, from which misleading inferences were drawn. On this preface Lord Macaulay in his History based his eloquent chapter on Bath — as eloquent as it is exaggerated and histori- cally erroneous. The meanest lodgings, occupied by the low adventurers, and gamblers, and fortune-seekers, are described as the average accommodation for the aristocratic invalid and the wealthy pleasure-seeker. This is the very reverse of the fact. There were some sixty or seventy commodious houses in ' Some portions of these walls, if not of Roman construction, were composed of Roman materials, and contained Roman sculpture. De Foe, in his tour of Great Britain, says that some of the upper parts of the walls were repaired with the ruins of Roman buildings, the lewis holes being still in many of the stones, and, in some cases, Roman inscrip- tions were sawn across to fit the size of the place. It is needful to guard our readers against a possible error. De Foe's book was published in 1725 ; he died in 1731, but there, have been many editions published since his death, and in consulting either of these editions it is difficult to know what is De Foe's and what the later writers'. The first edition, there- fore, is ihi edition for students to consult. i^o Bath: Old and ]^ew. various parts of the city, occupied by officers of the Corporation, physicians, lawyers, etc. , who let out apartments which were replete with substantial comforts of the not least luxurious age in our city. Then the inns, though rough, were comfort- able, and many of them large — The Bear, to wit ; these were the resorts of the bucks who had more money than culture — who ' ' deeply put the fashion on " in the days when Nash was king. The class of men and women, to whom Wood refers, who occupied the mean and squalid lodgings at twelve shillings per week, were low, impudent Irishmen, with a large sprinkling of Welshmen, w.hose pursuits were of the earth earthy, and whose instinctive scent, in the happy hunting-ground, was keen when an heiress was to be caught, or a rich fool to be plundered in the hells considerately provided by the generous Mr. Nash and his confederates. This class of ' ' men of the time " were not always well to the front, many of them having wardrobes which did not admit of a frequent change of linen, and were condemned to Tom Tiddler's ground until the laundress vouchsafed to wash and "get up" the only shirt they each respectively possessed. But NVi desperaiidum was their motto, and when fortune obstinately turned her back upon them, and the laundress failed them, they dispensed with the shirt, and some of them did not disdain to don a " dickey." When the jade Fortune was inexorably cruel, and despair took possession of them, they either returned again to "eat the leek" in Wales, to chewing "the food of. bitter fancy " in Erin's Isle, whose shores they should never have deserted ; or to seek that "poor-souled piece of heroism, self- slaughter." The fact is indisputable that the state of society in Bath was rotten to the very core. There was not a vice which did not prevail. It varied in degree rather than in kind, according to the social status and position of the various sections into which society was divided. Every form of gambling was practised, until the Legislature, almost in vain, attempted to £ath; Old and New. 23! cope with the evil. No sooner was it attacked in one form than, Protean-like, it assumed new forms and presented new attitudes. It was an evil age, of which Smollett has given us a striking picture : — " About a dozen years ago, many decent families restricted to small fortunes, besides those that came hither on the score of health, were tempted to settle at Bath, where they could live comfortably, and even make a genteel appearance, at a small expense. But the madness of the times has made the place too hot for them, and they are now obliged to think of other migrations. Some have already fled to the mountains of Wales, and others have retired to Exeter. Thither, no doubt, they will be followed by the flood of luxury and extravagance, which will drive them from place to place to the very Land's End ; and then, I suppose, they will be obliged to ship them- selves to some other country. Bath is become a mere sink of profligacy and extortion. Every article of housekeeping is raised to an enormous price, a circumstance no longer to be wondered at, when we know that every petty retainer of fortune piques himself upon keeping a table, and thinks it is for the honour of his character to wink at the knavery of his servants, who are in a confederacy with the market-people, and of consequence pay whatever they demand. Here is now a mushroom of opulence who pays a cook seventy guineas a week for furnishing him with one meal a day. This portentous frenzy is becoming so contagious that the very rabble and refuse of mankind are infected. I have known a negro-driver from Jamaica pay over-night to the master of one of the rooms, sixty-five guineas for tea and cofiee to the company, and leave Bath next morning in such obscurity that not one of his guests had the slightest idea of his person, or even made the slightest inquiry about his name. Incidents of this kind are frequent, and every day teems with fresh absurdities which are too gross to make a thinking man merry." There is no doubt that "Humphrey Clinker" may be 4^2 Bath : Old and New. regarded as Smollett's autobiography, so far as it relates to Bath. Neither Sir Walter Scott nor Thackeray fully recognizes the fact, but the initials indicative of names and places leave no doubt on the subject to any one fairly familiar with the social condition of our city at that period. Sir Walter, referruig to " Humphrey Clinker," says that he wrote and prepared it for the press in 1770, in a village situated on the side of a mountain overlooking the sea, near Leghorn, a romantic and salutary abode, and adds, "like music, 'sweetest in the close,' it is the most pleasing of his compositions," and was, he informs us, published in 1771. However just the criticism, the date is erroneous. The first volume of the first edition of " Humphrey Clinker" was published in 1761,^ and there can be little doubt that Smollett's visit to Bath took place about 1754, and that he had carefully noted the various characters and circumstances he had met with during his visit, and worked them up into the amusing and realistic form in which they are so charmingly described in "Humphrey Clinker." Thackeray says : — " He did not invent much, as I fancy, but had the keenest perceptive faculty, and described what he saw with wonderful relish and delightful, broad humour,'' That peculiar faculty is more strikingly illustrated in "Humphrey Clinker," perhaps, than in any other of his works ; or it will appear so to those who study the book in its relations to Bath. Thackeray's opinion of " Humphrey Clinker " is that it is " the most laughable story that has ever been written since the goodly art of novel-writing began. ' It is probable, or we may say certain, that before the publication of the later editions Smollett had paid a second visit to Bath. In the first edition, in referring to the Circus, he says, erroneously, "the same artist who planned the Circus has likewise projected a Crescent." Now, in the later editions he refers to Derrick, the M.C., who did not accede to that office until after the Crescent was built. The Circus was designed by the elder Wood, but the work was executed by the younger, by whom the Crescent was designed and built. Bath: Old and New. 233 Winifred Jenkins and Tabitha Bramble must keep English- men on the grin for ages yet to come ; and in their letters and the story of their lives there is a perpetual fount of sparkling laughter, as inexhaustible as Bladud's Well. " Every reader knows that Humphrey Clinker himself never appears in the story until after Matthew Bramble and his party leave Bath ; and indeed throughout the story he is not the foremost, although intended as a typical, character, and turns out to be the illegitimate son of the squire, Matthew Bramble. Smollett, it must be admitted, on the whole, did not admire the city. He had known it thirty years before, during his youth, and he dislikes the change. He, in a certain sense, took things as he found them. It does not appear that he knew anything, or perhaps he did not seek to know anything, of that other phase of social life which existed altogether apart from the scenes of folly, extravagance, and recklessness which he depicts with such matchless felicity. His judgment on the new city and its architecture is most unfavourable, but to some extent that may be accounted for by the incomplete state in which he saw it ; at any rate, that judgment has been reversed by the consensus of opinion during the century which has elapsed since Smollett's time. Moreover, it must be ob- served that the work of development was still progressing, many of the finest portions of the city not having been began. " I was impatient to see the boasted improvements in architecture for which the upper parts of the town have been so much celebrated, and t'other day I made a circuit of all the new buildings. The Square, though irregular, is on the whole pretty well laid out, spacious, open, and airy ; and, in my opinion, by far the most wholesome and agreeable situation in Bath, especially the upper side of it ; but the avenues to it are mean, dirty, dangerous, and indirect. Its communication with the Baths is through the yard of an inn (The Bear), where the poor trembling valetudinarian is carried in a chair, betwixt the heels of a double row of horses, wincing under the 234 Sath ■ Old and New. currycombs of grooms and postillions, over and above the hazard of being obstructed or overturned by the carriages which are continually making their exit or their entrance. I suppose after some chairmen have been maimed, and a few lives lost by these accidents, the Corporation will think in earnest about providing a more safe and commodious passage. The Circus is a pretty bauble, contrived for show, and looks like Vespasian's amphitheatre outside in." Few will admit the justice of this unfavourable criticism, and it is only fair to Smollett to say that the work's he refers to were unfinished, and, to use a common phrase, the new city was not " rounded off." It may also be stated that the " avenues " have been all removed or entirely changed. It is, moreover, to be remarked that Smollett never, directly or indirectly, makes allusion to Prior Park. He must have see(i it, because at tliat period it was in the zenith of its beauty and perfection. It was the centre of attraction to the eminent visitors to Batli, and was always crowded by distin- guished friends of the genial and beloved host. Can it be that Smollett, who was the most formidable literary champion of the Tory party, was neglected by Allen, or that he declined to hold any intercourse with the man who was the Squire Allworthy of his Whig rival's (Fielding) novel of "Tom Jones"? Smollett was, at times, savage and bitter to an unwarrantable degree in his political contests, but he was forgiving and magnanimous when the battle ceased. Allen, besides being tolerant and just, was eminently polite and free from party bitterness. What was it, then, that kept these two eminent men apart ? It is easy to generalize about the personal virtues of a man, and the part he has or may have taken in the promotion of the local interests of a town in which he has lived, and to which he owed his worldly prosperity. The " Man of Ross," in the estimation of all Ross people, is the best of all departed philanthropists, and no one can think the worse of the Rossian s Bath : Old and New. 235 for being proud of the memory of John Kyrle, not so much for the extent of his benefactions as for the manner and spirit in which they were conferred, and for the unfaltering energy he gave through his whole life to do good to his native town. The work was enduring, the best a philanthropist can do. With very limited means, he abridged and limited his own necessities, in order that he might set an example of frugality, and raise a monument of his bounty which should be a perpetual incentive to his townsmen to welldoing for ever. But John Kyrle was a philanthropist and nothing more — a great and good one, doubtless, and for all time he will be what Pope designated him, " The Man of Ross." In Ralph Allen we have the type of a man of a wholly different order; we have a man with great creative faculties, and a nature full of sweetness and goodwill to his species. It may almost be said of him and his great work, in the slightly altered language of Longfellow — " All the means of action — The shapeless mass, the materials — Lay everywhere about us. What we needed Was the celestial fire to change the flint Into transparent crystal, bright and clear. That fire was genius." This, if not literally, is substantially true. Those who feel an interest in Bath, and to whom its growth and progress is worth a little study and reflection, must go back something like a century and three-quarters, and we will accompany them on the journey, if they will permit us to monopolise the conversation. A glance at the map of 1600 and at that of 1700 ' will show how insignificant had been the growth of the century. The city was still for the most part confined within the walls, and ' The superficial observer will notice an apparent difference, but the only difference is in the advance made in the construction and engraving of the later maps. 236 Bath: Old and New. the population had but slightly increased. All the best houses in the seventeenth century were those that were built in the reign of Elizabeth, and they were for the most part in the possession of the city officials and the medical men. But they were fine old roomy mansions, in which ample accommodation was found for the residents, and spare rooms for distinguished visitors (who came for the waters) as lodgers. Amongst the citizens there were few, if any, independent gentry, as we now understand the term. The houses were so built that in Westgate Street, Stall Street, Cheap Street, they left only the space of a few feet in the centre of the road. As were the streets in the time of Elizabeth so they continued to be in the time of Charles II. They were narrow, ill-paved, dirty, and could only be traversed on foot, and here and there on horse- back. From the time of the construction of the mediaeval walls the level of the city had in parts actually risen to the top of the ramparts by reason of the accumulation of dirt thrown into the streets. Sceptics on the point will find the statement fully confirmed by a glance at the old postern doorway, still standing, and the locality at the time referred to was, it must be remembered, in respect of cleanliness, the most highly favoured in the city. The distant commerce of the city was carried on (see Lyncombe) by the use of tJie pack-horse, whilst the local business in coals, grain, and domestic supplies was almost exclusively carried on by the use of donkeys. The roads were the great historical highways,^ and although, at the period in question, they had become much dilapidated and almost ruined, they led directly to the centres of our supplies — they clearly marked out the ancient ways ; but artfully and skilfully paved as they were by the Romans, and as they were to some extent kept up in later times, they had ceased to be roads in the sense in which we think and speak ) Described in another part. Bath : Old and Nevo. 237 of roads in the present dayJ In still later times, when the broad-wheel waggons were invented, they did not travel to London on the Roman roads, except on certain parts, but through wide expanses of open country, best adapted to the season, and very much according to the skill and will of the drivers, the tracks being to some extent indicated by rough landmarks. The first roads of which we have any account were the great trunk-roads, constructed by the Roads Commis- sioners, but they were very rugged, and did not admit of rapid travelling even down to the close of the last century. The first Act of Parliament for establishing new and systematic roads was passed about 1640, but the result was not satisfactory, and travellers often preferred the " old ways " to the new roads, which were " narrow, darkened with trees, intersected with ruts and many swamps." ^ The next Act was ' The Fosse, which evidently crosses all the middle part of England, and is to be seen and known (though in no place plainer than here) quite from Bath to Warwick, and thence to Leicester, to Newark, to Lincoln, and on to Burton, upon the banks of the Humber. We observe also how several cross-roads, as ancient as the Fosse, joined it, or branched out of it ; some of which the people have by ancient usage, though corruptly, called also Fosses : for example, the Akeman Street, which is an ancient Saxon road leading from Buckinghamshire through Oxfordshire to the Fosse, and so to Bath ; this joins the Fosse between Burford and Cirencester. Also Grimesdyke, from Oxfordshire, Wattles- bank, or Aves Ditch, from the same, and the Wold-way, also called the Fosse, crossing from Gloucester to Cirencester. — Z)e Foi, about 17 W. ' On the visit of Princess Anne, in 1692, she used what was then commonly called a machine, in which she attempted to ascend Lansdown. We cannot from the present state of the road judge the difficulty of overcoming the scarp, which was removed in the making of that road. The "machine" was cumbrous and heavy, and the Princess became much alarmed ; her coachman stopping to give the horses breath, and the coach wanting a " dragstaff," it ran back in spite of the coachman's skill, the horses refused to strain the harness again, or " pull together," putting the guards behind in great confusion. The servants at length stopped the carriage (and the confusion) by putting their shoulders to 238 Bath: Old and New. in 1670, followed by that of 1674, when locomotion became somewhat more practicable and less dangerous. The parish roads which were begun about this time were as bad as they could be. But it must be observed that, in the earlier as well as later times, no roads in England were comparable with the Bath road, one branch of which went through Chippen- ham and the other through Devizes, thence both to Marlborough and to London, through the most exquisite scenery conceivable. To understand more distinctly the position of Bath at the close of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth century, we must request you, kind readers, to go with us to the suburbs, upon the hills and to look down upon the " small and mean city " encircled by walls, some portions of which were dilapidated and other portions hidden by refuse and dirt, the accumulations of centuries. The heights presented a rugged, bare appearance, being little cultivated, and unre- lieved by foliage, except in some spots in which Nature was capable of taking care of herself, or in the localities in which were situate the seats of the squires of the day. Just outside the walls the meadows in summer — then the season — were covered with rich verdure, and the citizens and visitors enjoyed them for exercise and recreation. But, gentle and patient readers, all this was about to undergo great and important changes, physically, morally, and socially, and one of the most remarkable phenomena of the age in relation to Bath is the fact that there were two elements the wheels. This incident was remembered by the Princess after she had become Queen, on her second visit in 1702, nor was it forgotten by the city and municipality, for with unusual energy they, at short notice, provided for the safety of hor Majesty and her machine, by widening and levelling the old bridle road from the down into Weston into the Via Julia, thence into the Fosse Road to the North Gate, where she was met by Bush, the Mayor, the Municipality, and 200 ladies of the city. — Hyde's "The Royal Mail." [It was the Wostgate, not the Northgate.] Bath : Old and New. 239 coinoidently working together whose objects and results, if they did not assume absolute antagonism, were without sympathy, and between which there was no moral cohesion. The old traditions were losing their hold upon the public mind. The puritanism, pietism, and hypocrisy of the Crom- wellian epoch produced the unblushing vices and shameless profligacy which characterised the reign of Charles II. , and gradually the results ' of this moral decadence infected the whole nation. It assumed various phases in various parts, according to the moral soil in which the seeds of evil fell. In Bath the elements were peculiar ; people began to gather together for an ostensible purpose, which was not the real one. The bulk of them sought excitement and pleasure, and they cared very little either as to its nature or its tendency. May we request you to follow us through the "throngs," which will lead us into the Grove and thence into the Bowling Green % (afterwards Harrison's Walks). That big booth which you behold is the great arcana of hidden mysteries, into the inner recesses of which we could now take you, but we will content ourselves with giving you a, transient glance at the more common and vulgar enjoyments which were the first development of that peculiar inversion of nature when the brains descended into the heels, and men and women ceased to be anything more than the mere votaries of self- indulgence and capering vagaries. We lift that curtain, and are at once in the midst of the incipient stages of Beaudom, Ladydom, and M.C.dom. You see that middle-sized man at the end of the tent on a slight elevation, under a canopy of common material ; he is dressed in a square-cut coat, a vast neckerchief, tied in a large bow, much frilled and fulled in the centre ; his legs are encased in breeches or pantaloons of a dark material, over which are drawn top boots. That gentleman is Capt. Webster. As he moves you perceive he falters a little — yes, he has been drink- ing, but he swaggers and brings his feet down as if all his 240 Bath: Old and New. enemies were there, and he is resolved to crush them by the concentrated vigour of his boot-heels. He arranges his forces — men and women — the former arrayed very much like him- self, their features being painted evidently by the same artist who has done such justice to their leader — the brandy-bottle ; the latter resemble that licentious queen whose reputation was immoral, and whose evil deeds brought her, where it will bring many of those excited, painted beauties — to the dogs. The two musicians strike up and the dance begins, and, as you observe, magnanimous reader, no one ever witnessed such an exhibition of frantic energy, kicking up of legs, swaying of arms, and stamping of feet to the tune of the fiddle and the clarionet. We can find but one expression to describe the scene — it was a moral vertigo. This was the first distinct evolution from the earlier phenomena to which reference has been made, and it is itself, in its turn, the element out of which was to be evolved, in a more advanced, though in a less coarse and revolting form, the life and habits of the votaries of King Nash, of which we have already endeavoured to give a description. Writing as Matthew Bramble to his friend Dr. Lewis, Smol- lett ironically says of Bath:—" altered it is, without all doubt ; but then it is altered for the better; a truth wliich, perhaps, you would own without hesitation, if you yourself was not altered for the worse." "This place," he goes on to say, "which Nature and Providence seem to have intended as a resource from distemper and disquiet, is become the very centre of racket and dissipation ;" and yet we find many still contend- ing that Nash, who provided all the materials for this devilry, was the "maker of Bath." Smollett saw the rottenness of the whole thing, for he adds :— ' 'Instead of that peace, tranquil- lity, and ease, so necessary to those who labour under bad health, weak nerves, and irregular spirits, . . we have nothing but noise, tumult, and hurry, with the fatigue and slavery of maintaining a ceremonial more stiff, formal, and oppressive Bath ; Old and New. 241 than the etiquette of a German Elector." This was the pith of the whole matter. This was the abominable formality and pretext under the shadow of which the organised villainy flourished — a villainy which began, continued, and ended with Kash. The general notion is that if society were tainted and corrupt, it was divided by distinctions as marked as they are at the present time, and in a sense it was so ; but in reality all classes who had the power of the purse could obtain admission to the assemblies, the public rooms, and the gaming hells. Such was the composition of what was called the fashionable company of Bath, that the inconsiderable proportion of well- bred people were lost in the mob of impudent plebeians, who had neither understanding nor judgment, nor the least idea of propriety and decorum, and seemed to enjoy nothing so much as an opportunity of insulting their betters. The Press was impotent, and everything conspired to render any reform im- possible, because the god of breeches-pocketdom was omnipo- tent. As Smollett said, this will continue " until the streams that swell the stream of this irresistible torrent of folly and extravagance shall either be exhausted or turned into other channels by incidents and events which I do not pretend to foresee. This, I own, is a subject on which I cannot write with any degree of patience ; for the mob is a monster I never could abide, either in its head, tail, midriflf, or members. I detest the whole of it, as a mass of ignorance, presumption, malice, and brutality." This is not flattering as regards the " good old times " when Nash was king, of which we hear so much, and which some people want to come over again. Now, we will ask you to turn with us to look upon another scene, and to contemplate the other side of the picture to which we have adverted. It can scarcely be seriously con- tended that any great city of the first rank in beauty and residential importance like Bath was danced and gambled into existence. There were natural advantages in position, climate, priceless thermal waters, minerals near and around, which had beeneitherneglectedaltogetherorallowed to lapse intoabeyance. 16 242 Bath : Old and New. As a matter of fact, the waters were in less use and repute in 1700 than they were fifty years before. The stone quarries were worked only in the most feeble manner, and the chief uses to which the freestone was put was in the manufacture of small ornaments for gardens, crests, vases, etc. In this way a large trade was carried on, but as to building there was little or none. Greenway, who had accumulated wealth in the trade referred to, was the first, in 1720, to employ the Bath stone in building a house of any pretensions to architectural excel- lence, and this enterprise was, according to his own showing, more for the purpose df promoting the sale of the stone orna- ments than of developing the quarrying of the stone for great building operations, and, consequently, the extension of the city. It seems that at this house (the Garrick's Head ') was an experiment to test the stone and its adaptability to the building of large houses ; very general ignorance prevailed as to its uses in earlier times. Transition Pekiod. The time was at hand, as we have endeavoured to show, when Bath was to come under the enchanter's wand. Ralph Allen, from 1715 to 1727, was known only as a valued citizen, who lived frugally, and who had devised and successfuly carried out the cross-posts system." The man 1 This house in St. John's Court was the residence of Nash for many years, and afterwards of Mrs. Delany. At present it is partly obscured by the atrium of the theatre. Some years before the death of Nash he removed into the next house, the handsome entrance to which is at the gable end, and in this house he died. ' It must be remembered that the system not only substituted post-boys on horses for "foot-runners," but it rerolutionized the Post- ofiBoe organization. The cross-posts consisted of a series of intersecting routes, the bags being interchanged at dififerent stages, all converging to their respective main lines of transmission to long distances. It must be remembered that long after the imperfect roads were con- structed the heavy traffic was done via canal. Bath : Old and New. 243 who possessed the brain to conceive and the energy to carry out this great plan was already a benefactor to his country. What he was in this sense to his . country he was shortly to become in a special sense to the city of his adoption. He found it, as a whole, mean, squalid, stagnant ; he left it the most beautiful city in the empire, a city thought by many to be worthy of comparison in external beauty with Florence itself, though essentially differing in character. If Dante, and the great divines and painters "made" Florence, so the single- minded, noble-hearted Allen may be said to have "made" Bath. But we must not be unjust to Wood. Recurring to Smollett, he would not have been true to his literary instincts, and the consummate art of which Scott and Thackeray speak, if he had not invested Julia Melford and her brother J. Melford, with attributes different from his own. Julia describes what she sees and as it appears to her, and a very amusing picture she paints ; and of course her maid, Winifred Jenkins, relates all the by-play of high life below stairs. "I have," she says, "already made very creditable connexions in this ere place, where, to be sure, we have the very squintascence of satiety. " Indeed, she was a very close observer. "I have seen," she remarks, with a fine instinct, " all the fine shows of Bath, the Prades, the Squires, and the Circles, the Orashet, the Hottagon, and Bloody Buildings, and Harry King's Row."' The squire's sister, Tabitha Bramble, sees everything from the selfish and marriageable point of view. Writing to the housekeeper at Brambleton Hall, she observes, " I think everything runs cross at Bram- bleton Hall. You say the gander has broke the eggs, which 1 The nomenclature of the Parades, the Squares, the Circus, the Crescent, the Octagon Chapel, and Bladud Buildings is unchanged, but other parts were changed from row to buildings : as, for instance, Harlequin Row to Paragon Buildings (now the Paragon, including Axford Buildings, formerly Row), Prince's Row to Buildings, Vineyards, Bladud Buildings, &o. ^ 244 Bath: Old and New. is a phenomenon I don't understand. Then you tell me the thunder has soured two barrels of bear in the seller, but how the thunder should get there, when the seller was double- locked, I can't comprehend. " The Irish gentleman made love to the ancient maiden, and Bath, therefore, is a paragon of perfection. The love she so ardently seeks she would deny to others. "I hope," she writes to GuUlim, the housekeeper, " you'll take care there is no waste ; and have an eye to the maids. I think they may go very well without bear in the hot weather — it serves to inflame the blood and set them agog after the men : water will make them fair, and keep them cool and tamperit." Tabitha was a type of the ancient "Bath beauties " of the day. Vain, vulgar, arrogant, and selfish, she assumed all the virtues, which that kind of fashionable dragon was wont to do. The niece is charming, and her description of the bathing is full of fun and lifelike reality : — " At eight in the morning we go in deshabille to the Pump- room, which is crowded like a Welsh fair ; and there you see the highest quality and the lowest trades-folks jostling each other without ceremony — hail fellow, well met. The noise of the music playing in the gallery, the heat and flavour of such a crowd, and the hum and buzz of their convei-sation, gave me the headache and vertigo the first day ; but afterwards aU these things became familiar, and even agreeable. Right under the Pump-room windows is the King's Bath — a huge cistern, where you see the patients sitting up to their necks in hot water. The ladies wear jackets and petticoats of brown linen, with chip hats, in which they fix their handker- chiefs to wipe the sweat from their faces ; but truly, whether it is owing to the steam that surrounds them, or the heat of the water, or the nature of the dress, or all these causes together, they looked so flushed and so frightful that I always turn my eyes another way. My aunt, who says every person of fashion should make her appearance in the bath as well as in the Abbey Church, contrived a cap with cherry-colour ribbons to Bath: Old and New. 445 suit her complexion, and obliged Win. (Winifred Jenkins) to attend her yesterday morning in the water. But really her eyes were so red that they made mine water, as I viewed her from the Pump-room ; and as for poor Win. , who wore a hat trimmed with blue, and what betwixt her wan complexion and fear, she looked like the ghost of some pale maiden who had drowned herself for love. When she came out of the bath she took assafoetida and was fluttered all day, so that she could hardly help from going into hysterics. But her mistress says it will do her good, and poor Win. curtsies, with the tears in her eyes. For my part, I content myself with drinking about half a pint of the water every morning." The great building operations of the elder Wood, which were began in 1727,^ and which may be said to have culmiu- ^ It was in the year 1727 that Wood oonoeived a grand design for the Grove. In this design he proposed to save a, part of the City Wall which bounded the eastern side. With the exception of the locality outside the Wall, extending from the West Gate to Nowhere- lane, the Grove was the vilest sink of dirt and iniquity. It was in fact, as Woods says, " The common resort for the rabble of the whole city." The iirst building designed was Thayer's or Lindsay's Assembly-house, which formed a part of a general block of buildings in the Grove. Already Ralph Allen was enlarging and beautifying his residence in Lilliput Alley, and laying out his pretty garden. The house as we see it now was only the centre of the group, one of the wings being the old Post-office, which he enlarged and raised a story, the north facade of which may still be seen from the narrow passage on the north side of Mr. Fortt's wine cellars, and the south front in Lilliput Alley. The design as to the Grove was on a large and grand scale, the two levels being subservient to its novelty and beauty. The waU was to have been preserved, and to have served for that of an area before the houses ; and upon that Wall was to have been placed a row of columns, which was to have supported the chamber floor of the superstructure, as well as the front wall of the principal and half story in that part of the building, This wall was to have been adorned with a second order, all the apertures dressed in the richest manner, and the whole crowned with a handsome balustrade. Wood says: — " Caprice and ignorance 246 Bath : Old and New. ated in the design of the Circus, which was completed after his death, could not have been undertaken without the assistance, countenance, and co-operation of Allen. We do not mean that Allen found the capital for Wood, but whilst the latter was left free and unfettered in the prosecution of his great enterprises, he was drawing a large income as the chief pro- fessional adviser of his patron ; he was superintending the development and the working of the great stone quarries, for which Allen found the capital and the market. Allen was his first patron when he employed Wood upon his city house, and supported him against all comers, because he discerned in him the genius to conceive and the qualities to carry out the great plan of a new and magnificent city. If he met with obstruction and opposition, which oftentimes com- pelled him to modify and sometimes to mar if not destroy the beauty and completeness of his designs, he was sustained in his resolute energy to do all it was possible to do. Queen Square (beautiful as it is in its present state), with Barton Street as an adjunct, would have equalled, in the perfection and dignity of its design and the completeness of its execution, anything to be seen in Europe, but Wood was thwarted by difficulties in getting the building leases, which were granted at six different periods, and hampered by conflicting conditions. A very common error prevails with reference both to Smol- lett and Fielding and their connection with Bath. In many — nay, in the majority of cases — the error arises from a total ignorance of the characters in Humphrey Clinker and Tom Jones. Of the characters pourtrayed in Tom Jones there are two, and two only, whose prototypes can be traced with more interfering robbed the city of the glory of that design ; " and It is clear that the miscarriage of Wood's gi-and scheme left the site in a most incomplete and unsatisfactory condition. Perhaps the failure to preserve this part of the WaU did much to discourage any other attempt. Sath : Old and New. 247 or less distinctness and certainty. Of Squire All worthy there can be no sort of question or doubt, because Fielding in so many words tells us that Ralph Allen was his model ; indeed, if it were not so, the portrait in many of its tender and noble attributes would leave no doubt upon the minds of those who have studied the character and disposition of Allen. In the second character, Sophia Western, there is little doubt that Fielding delineated the character of his first wife, whom he loved with all the intensity of his nature. It is difficult to conceive on what hypothesis the critics of a former and later period should have fixed upon Bennet, the Squire of Widcombe House, and his sister, as the originals of Squire Western, and his lovely daughter, Sophia Western. If there had been in either the least similarity it might have served, with skilful exaggeration and adaptation, as a basis for the construction of the boisterous, drunken squire, and his gentle and romantic daughter. There is, however, no sort of resemblance in either. On the contrary, it would be difficult to conceive a greater contrast than that which exists between Philip Bennet and his sister, Anne Bennet, and the ideal creations of Fielding. It seems, indeed, that Philip Bennet, in early manhood, was a proud, reserved man, without a particle of the roystering habits which characterised the squirearchy of his day. At a later period of his life, he was not free, as we have shown elsewhere, from reproach. The sympathy between the great novelist and the Aliens and Bennets was not merely social — not that which resulted altogether from the charm of his wit, and the irresistible fascination of his conversation, but it was in some measure attributable to political causes. Allen owed his position to his zeal for the Hanoverian dynasty, and through his influence Bennet was chosen in 1741 ^ to represent the city ; in that 1 It seems that Bennet had departed from his earlier Toiyism, with which he and his family were identified. &48 Bath: Old and New. interest Fielding was a strong partizan, and the Government of the day was under considerable obligations to him. If the men in power were slow to recognise and reward the services of Fielding, Allen was not the man to treat him with coldness and neglect. The writer who defended the dynasty in the Jacobite Journal (ironically so-called), the True Pariot, and The Champion, against Smollett and Bolingbroke, and the whole phalanx of Jacobite writers and statesmen, was likely to receive the warm and cordial welcome of Ralph Allen. George I. was not a man to excite favour and enthusiasm in the mind of a man whose temperament was so generous as that of Allen, but he had served the cause and made it his own. Whatever the nature of Allen's services might have been in 1715, it is certain it was not by mere accident that they were so rendered, as is commonly supposed. When that "dim figure," George II., succeeded his father, Bath, through the influence and example of Allen, had become thoroughly imbued with the " principles of the Revolution." Allen, it does not appear, ever troubled himself to discuss party politics. He knew full well that Toryism and Whiggism did not, after 1715, signify the same principles, relatively even, as they did in the reign of Anne. Toryism meant in 1715 and until "the '45 " the restora- tion of the Stuarts, and that meant absolutism and the re- actionary policy of that dynasty, whilst the reigning dynasty re- presented the opposite principles. George I. and George 11., brutish in nature, and devoid of high intelligence, cared little or nothing for the liberty of the subject, nor for the advance- ment of Constitutionalism in any shape or form, but in spite of themselves they represented a cause,and the cause contained the latent germs of liberty, freedom, and constitutional expan- sion. Allen knew all this, and hence he moulded the local feeling as he willed. Warner, whom we have quoted, says, with some unfairness, that " he wished to use, not to serve the Cor- porate body." We believe he wished to use and to serve the Corporate body, and through it the city at large. His own Bath : Old and New. 249 fealty to the reigning dynasty was unfaltering, and Bath, emulating his example, was one of the most loyal cities in the Empire. In the '45 there was a little "flutter " in the city. Carte, the Abbey Curate,^ a fiery Jacobite, having endeavoured to excite a political demonstration in favour of Prince Charles. It was a very contemptible affair, and ended in the arrest of Carte in his own house, or, as the story popularly goes, as he was " jumping out of his own window in full canonicals." The story is founded on his declaration that he was ready, in full canonicals, to proclaim Charles Stuart King. In four Parliaments Marshal Wade was chosen by the Corporation to represent the city, his colleague on the last occasion, in 1741, being Philip Bennet, whose sister was the wife of Philip Allen. The Alarshal and Ralph Allen were on terms of most confidential intimacy, in no small measure founded upon political considerations, a full account of which may some day see the light. Professor Seeley reminds us that in a " national history there are large as well as smaller divisions. Besides chapters there are, as it were, books or parts." And Bath may claim to have been one of these "books or parts." If there were no revolutions in this century there were internal disturbances, and two abortive Jacobite insurrections. In the former Bath was concerned to the extent of having, through her honoured citizen, Allen, made such discoveries as enabled the Govern- ment to deal with it in the West with little or no bloodshed ; and hence the Marshal, whose services to the city were after- wards so conspicuous, proceeded to suppress the latter on the more formidable scene of action. It was something more than a coincidence which brought together the heroic soldier, Wolfe, who, thinking his military career closed, retired to live with his father in Bath, as a simple citizen, and the great orator and statesman, Pitt, who represented the city. Allen, by whose foresight and influence 1 He has often been referred to as the Beotor, but it is erroneous. 250 ^ath : Old and New. the latter was chosen to do honour as a legislator to the city he did so much to make, it is believed, was the first to perceive the great qualities of the conqueror of Canada, and to recom- mend him to the notice of the statesman. That last interview at Dover between Temple, Pitt, and Wolfe, on the eve of his departure to assume his command, by that strange enthusiasm in which he seems to have indulged in a moment of men- tal abstraction, must have stunned the man by whom he was chosen ; but the soul of the hero was stirred within him, and forgetting that he was not alone he seemed in spirit to be contemplating) the greatness of his future achievements. In disposition and simplicity perhaps no man bore so strong a resemblance to Nelson as Wolfe. ' ' We have forgotten," as Seeley says, " how through all that remained of the eighteenth century the nation looked back upon those two or three splendid years as upon a happiness that could never return, and how long it continued to be the unique boast of the Englishmen, That Chatham's language was his mother tongue. And Wolfe's great heart compatriot with his own." We may, without arrogance, therefore, claim to have had a " book or a part " in the national history of the last century of which we have no reason to be ashamed. The Reign of Nash. We have been criticised severely by some persons because we are unable to recognize the claim so often made on the part played by Nash in the development of our city. What we have said we here repeat : that so far as Nash was concerned, and the power, or rather influence, he exercised upon the social life, habits, and character of the city, it tended to evil rather than to good. Gambling, immorality, and every species of blacklegism, are not rendered respectable because they may be concealed under a veil of pretence and hypocrisy. Nash was the great protoplasm of evil, if we may use the phrase. Bath: Old and New. 25! We would say it was our own blindness and perversity which lead us to look back with complacency upon the age and doings of Nash, whilst we overlook the phase in our history which is honourable and brilliant. If the axiom of Sir T. More in Utopia be true, that the road to Heaven is the same from all places, so we conceive the converse is equally true that the road to Hades in all ages is pretty much the same. If it be urged that dancing and pleasures, innocent in them- selves, are surely not to be condemned, we say certainly not : but what we affirm is, that if those, or any other amusements, are to be made, as they were in Nash's time, the pretext for the grossest vices (not necessarily in all who engaged in those amusements), they would bring condemnation upon the system as fraught with danger and degradation. It was a system involving the worst characteristics of the age — not the least objectionable part of which was its association with piety and benevolence. When the old women had exhausted the founts of pleasure, they relapsed into piety, parrots, poodle dogs, and lamentations over the loss of capacity for enjoyment. What resources were left to the old men it is difficult to say, except it were the quickening their inventiveness in dyes, wig- making, and all the despicable arts that tended to add contempt to senility, and mockery instead of honour and veneration to old age. Some of the more venturous but un- fortunate beaux retired to their native'wilds in the mountains of Wales and the bogs of Ireland, which was suggestive, perhaps, of Anstey's lines : — "I'm griev'd to the heart Without cash to depart. And quit this adorable scene ! Where gaming and grace Bach other embrace. Dissipation and piety meet— - May all, who've a notion Of cards or devotion, Make Bath their delightful retreat ! " 252 Bath : Old and New. The women — i.e., the women of society, the women of the "inner circle"^ — the recesses or grand penetralia of the temple of chance — were the most inveterate gamblers. If they could only "stand the racket" they came out of the ' The earliest instance is recorded by John Wood, the architect. It is perhaps typical of the inveterate nature of gambling, and illus- trates most vividly the worst effect of the vice in a woman whose conscience was tender, and who could not find consolation in simulated pious pretence, parrots, and poodles. ! 'Sylvia," a woman of great beauty and wealth, came to Bath about 1727. She engaged apartments in Wood's house, and in 1730, when he removed to Queen Square, she continued to live under his roof. At this period Dame Lindsey was living in a small house in Stall Street, during the time her assembly house on the Walks (the old Walks) was rebuilding. This house was known as Lindsey's, and then as Wiltshire's Rooms, and later on as Simpson's, and must not be confounded with Heaven's, then for many years as Harrison's, and after the building of the Assembly Booms, in 1771, as the Lower Assembly Booms. The character of Dame Lindsey was very like Humphrey Clinker's nether garment when the Squire, Matthew Bramble, first beheld him — decidedly the worse for wear. Wood says, ' * The Dame's wit and humour, with the appearance of sanctity in a sister that lived with her, strongly captivated the youth of both sexes ; and engaged them in their interest.'' Kitty was the familiar name of that pattern of piety, and the two sisters had a maid, whom they called Fanny, and represented as an unfortunate gentle- woman, that acted in a medium character, and joined with either mistress as occasion required ; she was old, thin, and slender ; and she could manage a few bottles of port whenever the Dame wanted a com- panion to "make out an evening's amusement." This unfortunate "Sylvia" got into the hands of this trio of wit and humour, piety, and " medium," and they fleeced her of her last farthing ; but such was the irresistible influence and seductiveness of play, that, in spite of her earnest struggles against the habit, she finally sold all her available property to indulge in it, and then came the end — she hung herself with a silk girdle. It is a pitiful story, but it is typical of others who were more skilfully robbed in Dame Lindsey's grand new rooms, which afforded greater scope for genteel and systematic robbery. This singed and damaged Dame married Lord Hawley, «, ruined gambler with a title, but nothing else worth having. Bath: Old and New. 253 ordeal tainted with the social sewage of the salon, with reputations rather seamy and characters that needed a good deal of patching and piecing, but they never forgot the cynical proverb, '' the greater the sinner the greater the saint," and they fell back upon it as an apostolic maxim. The men who had nothing — not even characters— could lose nothing, but the pigeons,! who were fairly fledged in character and fortune, ' Of course we all know the story of the young " giddy youth who had just resigned his fellowship at Oxford," who lost all he possessed, and of another case in which a foolish fellow lost all he ha,d, which was "generously " restored to him by Nash himself, but this was a case in which the young man's mother knew all the facts, and Nash knew the danger of exposure. But the young men were not always under the eye of the mother. The great king was never under legal or moral restraint. He defied imperial laws, and set up Home Rule with a vengeance. He made his own laws and found subjects ready to obey them. He found the victims and the creatures ready to carry out his schemes. A confederacy with the " Executive " enabled him to draw one third of the winnings at the "Hells," and these dens of devilry were, Goldsmith admits, " frequented with a greater concourse of gamesters than those at Tanbridge. Men of that infamous profession, from every part of the kingdom, and even from other parts of Europe, flocked here to feed on the ruins of each other's fortune." Wiltshire repudiated Nash's claim to a share of the plunder ; he brought an action for its recovery, and then came black and revolting revelations. He lost his case, and then Lady Hawley offered to buy his services, but he declined the offer of this immaculate "dame of wit and humour," not, be it observed, because he experienced the force of Scott's lines — "High minds of nature, pride, and force. Most deeply feel thy pangs, Remorse," but because he had lent himself to a better, that is a move profitable offer of the enemy, Mrs. W , in other words, the widow of his recent antagonist — Wiltshire. Some of Nash's apologists say he had a real regard for religion. Well, like Judas, if he had, it was for the like reasons — he carried the bag. When he was well, he blasphemed ; when he was ill, he canted and whined like a whipped hound. "Yon Perebomius, whose emaciate air And tottering gait his foul disease declare, 254 Bath: O.ld and New. generally got plucked of both, as Blunderhead discovered ■when he ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil : — " A sum, my dear mother, far heavier yet, . Captain Cormorant won when I learn'd lansquenet ; Two hundred I paid him, and five am in debt. For the fun I had nothing to do but to write, For the Captain was very well bred and polite, And look, as he saw my expenses were great, My bond, to be paid on the Clodpole estate, And asks nothing more, while the money is lent, Than interest paid him at twenty per cent." It was, indeed a strange passion this love of gambling — a passion which swallowed up every human virtue, and left an indelible stigma upon the age. And yet, absorbing, vitiating, and emasculating as it was of every noble quality, it never extinguished the recognition of religion. It was the tribute, the homage, still of vice to virtue. The women prated of God, and piety, and yet longed for the dice box, and sought after the practical advantages, " Heads I win, tails you lose." If they clung to the sentiment of righteousness it was with their weakness, and not with their strength. In men the passion was more brutalising, for the most part. If they won, they became selfish, cynical, indolent, without ambition, indifierent to honour, humanity, and duty ; if they lost, they added to loss of wealth and position loss of self-respect. Never were there seen such examples of dissipation in the last century as at Tunbridge Wells and at Bath. Men in this class of gamesters, if we may use a pedantic word, ingurgitated to a frightful extent ; they took refuge in the punch-bowl, the pot, and the pipe — With patience I can view ; he braves disgrace, Nor skulks behind a sanctimonious face. But whip me those who virtue's name abuse, And, soiled with all the vices of the times, Thunder damnation on their neighbours' crimes." Bath: Old and New. 255 " When night Darkened the streets, then wandered forth the sons Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine." It was not a pleasant sight to behold those gentlemen, whose rubicund noses, bloated features, bleared eyes, and faltering gait revealed the ruined gamesters who had taken refuge in the strong waters of Acheron, and who were making palpable preparations for the river of Phlegethon. There is another side of the picture at which we have just glanced, and of which it will be necessary to take another and a fuller view. The tradition, therefore, which ascribes the devel- opment of Bath and all its modern institutions to the reign and influence of King Nash is without any solid foundation. The fume, and pother, and notoriety, and scandal, have been, and will continue to be, put down by writers who know nothing about the facts, as proofs of vitality, and the germs of future prosperity and eminence. We believe we were the first writer on Bath who emphatically disputed this singular but once universally recognized historical dogma. In our edition of the " Rambles about Bath " we endeavoured, much to the indig- nation of many quidnuncs, to show how little we owe to Nash ; and in " Historic Houses of Bath," we have amplified the evidence then adduced to establish our contention. Mr. Trail, in the Illustrated Magazinu of June, 1884, in his interesting article on Bath, distinctly recognizes the force and truth of the deductions we have drawn, which the facts justify. Nash was an accident, and if Bath in the eighteenth century had depended upon such an accident, her annals would have afibrded neither satisfaction nor edification. There were other elements at work — personal, moral, and social ; and we shall endeavour to trace the effects of these elements to which we owe whatever we have at present worth boasting of. Between the kingdom of Nash and the great movement which slowly but surely was infusing new life and energy into a city that for two centuries had made little or no prog;i-ess, there were no S56 Bath : Old and New. inter-relations, no interfusion ; there was no active antagonism, because as a matter of fact they were distinct and separate as the poles. There is little need again seriously to discuss the question as to the part played by Nash in this great uprising of Modem Bath. He had no more to do with that work than he had with the building of Oarthage or Rome. The real "making" of Bath was not child's play — it was a great work. As Mr. Traill puts it, Allen was " developing the resources of Bath . . . during most of the period throughout which Nash was mar- shalling fiddlers and fribbles in the (Lower) Assembly Rooms, and giving laws to gamesters and demireps at the play -tables."' MorBBN Bath. During the time the building of the Hospital was in progress Wood was engaged upon what he called the Grand Parade, Prior-park mansion, besides many other minor undertakings which have already lapsed into a state of neglect and insigni- ficance. The Grand Parades, which we now call the South Parade! ^.nd the North Parade, with Pierrepont and Duke Streets, were the classic ground of the period and long after. An old print shows exactly what the North Parade was like. ' It is surprising to find, even among people who are kindly inclined towards our city, and who praise its beauty, and instruct ua in its history, how little they know of that phase of Bath life which was peculiar to Nash's time. They have no conception of what pldy meant in those days. A recent writer in Tin Queen evidently thinks play took place in the Pump Room. Open play in the Pump Room would have been a palpable violation of the law, and would have been suppressed summarily. The security of the gambler was in the secrecy of the "hells "and in the providing of pigeons to be plucked. This was a delicate process. The man who caught the bird was much too genteel to pluck it. Oliver Goldsmith most innocently shows us, in his Life of Nash, who was the chief bird-catcher, and this old bird-catcher observed one, and only one, Biblical maxim, and that was not to " spread hia net in the sight of any bird." Bath : Old and New. 257 Extending along the front, raised upon arches, was a fine paved terrace, protected by a pierced wall surmounted by a balustrade, with pinnacles at intervals. In front, and extending to the boundary, were Harrison's Walks, the Bowling Green, or, as Wood proposed to call it, "The St. James's Triangle," and Harrison's Assembly Booms (after- wards Simpson's). The South Parade had a similar terrace extending along its front, but with no wall. The open meadows from the river to Orchard Street westward, 500 feet, and in a southward direction almost as far as the present Railway Station, some 700 or 800 feet, were intended to be what Wood called the Royal Forum.i This was never carried into effect as proposed by Wood, but the land near the terrace, by an easy gradient or slope, was easily and readily approached without danger or inconvenience. These terraces were the great fashionable promenades for many years, the north terrace more especially. They were, until the close of the last century, approachable only through the thrcngs (very narrow passages) by persons on foot, and by sedan chairs through the paved courts and narrow ways leading from the main road of Stall Street. Smollett found his way to the South Parade, but was driven out of his lodgings, to seek shelter in Milsom Street, by an impecunious Irishman, who occupied the garret above his bedroom. Smollett could not reconcile himself to Sir Ulic Mackilligut, whose impudence and persistent impertinence were past endurance. It is the North Parade which figures conspicuously in Sheridan's "Rivals, "nor is this surprising. He is said to have lodged on the Walks (the old), whence he could see the No];th Parade. In ' In ancient Rome, any open space in front of buildings, especially before sepulchres. There were fora for merchandise as well as for judicial and civil purposes. A market-place, a court of justice, a place for public speaking, or for money transactions — each of these would formerly be called a forum. 258 Bath : Old and New. one of its blocks lived, of course at a later period, that most charming of all charming and beautiful women, Miss Linley,^ for whom he fought, whom he won, whom he loved, and yet whom he neglected, and whose heart he almost broke. It is no small testimony to the skill, energy, and genius of Wood that he should have been able to design, superintend, and carry out so many great building operations simultaneously, especially when he was confronted with difficulties which so often compelled him, as we have shown, to sacrifice the most cherished parts of his plans. Even in the unity and the ichnography of Prior Park he was obliged to yield to the exigencies of necessity or to caprice, in so modifying his plans, that they never realised the grand conceptions of his mind. 2 The primary object of buUding Prior Park — so at least Wood states, and the statement was published in Allen's time and not denied — was to apply the Bath stone in such a variety of uses in the construction of a great mansion that its general adaptability to building purposes should be proved beyond all cavil or doubt. Wood put forth all his powers, and with consummate success, and it is not surprising that he should have yielded with a bad grace in matters with regard to which he saw further than those to whom he was unable to ofier a successful resistance. At any rate the character of Bath stone was established. 3 The great difficulty we have always en- ' Pierrepont Street. ' To some extent he was compelled to sacrifice the shape and proportion of the rooms ; for it must be admitted that the interior of Prior Park will bear no comparison with the stateliness of the exterior. 3 If it has not subsequently always maintained its great repute, it has been in consequence of the ignorance or, worse, the cupidity of builders, who cared for nothing but profit. Baldwin, Lightholder, the successors of the Woods, Palmer the buUder, and many others, by their skill and workmanship, have fully maintained the character of Bath freestone. Bath : Old and New. 259 countered in reference to the building operations of Wood is in Wood himself. Sometimes he is so obscure, both in his style and the description of his sites, that it is only by the aid of long study and observation that he can be understood ; then again, on the other hand, he is so scientific and technical, that, in many cases, he can only be understood by the aid of obsolete authorities. But, with all his faults of temper and, it is to be feared, avaricious disposition, he was a man of wonderful resources, of immense energy, and surprising genius. Allen knew his man, and there is every reason to suppose that it required the firm side of his character to deal with his wayward but indefatigable friend and architect. In the seventeenth century Bath was altogether a summer place for visitors ; the few who came in winter bathed sparingly, but did not drink the waters. Lord Stafford in 1668, with the consent and by the advice of Peirce, was one of the earliest recorded patients who drank the waters in the cold months ; and notwithstanding the fact that the experiment in all later cases was successful, the prejudice continued for many years, and the transition from summer to winter was not completely effected until the beginning of the present century. Smollett came to Bath in April, the beginning of the " Bath Season." At present, so far as the therapeutics of the waters are concerned, medical men recognise no " season " in relation to cases to which the waters are applicable. The difference is not in " seasons," but in treatment, and in that fastidious — perhaps we ought to write punctilious — cleanliness and purity of the baths and the water which now inspire invalids with confidence and faith. ^ No doubt Smollett was deeply preju- diced, and we must accept his statements with great caution when they affect the city and its interests ; but having made every reasonable deduction, we can arrive at no other conclu- 1 The baths were all open until the close of the last century, except the Kingston Baths, which were private property. 26o Bath : Old and New. sion than that the baths and the bathing appliances were in a less favourable condition than they were in the time of the two • famous rivals in the former century, Guidott and Peirce, and not a whit better than they were in the days of Queen Elizabeth. This declension is to some extent traceable to the fact that during the former part of the century the public and " the ladies, with their daughters and their nieces, who shone like a guinea and seven-shilling pieces," drank the waters for fashion and diversion. They were a means to an end — the end was gossip, small talk, raillery, and love-making, but health was the last motive of all. Invalids there were, but, like Smollett, they sometimes fought shy of the baths, and for the same reason. Even the doctors complained that the waters had not a chance when the minuet took the place of the gout, and "fine talk" superseded "the vapours," when fine ladies and fine gentlemen entered the baths — the privileged baths — with as much ceremony as if it had been a presentation at Court ; but after immersion the fun and frolic began to the strains of sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music. The grosser and the more startling vices had already considerably abated. Besides, another phase of society, which had grown up with the growth of the city, Nash had been struck down by an attack which obscured his reason and rendered him powerless to the end of his days ; so that, with- out his fostering care and skill, if those habits— mofem in se — which he had nurtured, cherished, and developed were not exterminated they had received their death blow ; although with proverbial tenacity they died hard. The design for Gay Street and the Circus was completed by the elder Wood, but only a portion of the former was built before he died. The mantle of the father had fallen upon the son, who, having completed Gay Street, immediately began the building of the Circus. We believe we are correct in saying that this work of the elder Wood is the only Bath: Old and New. 261 one of importance designed by him which was carried out in its integrity. The Parades, the Orange Grove scheme, the Walks, and, above all. Queen Square, were so modified and mutilated (owing to the embarrassing covenants), that we can only form an imperfect judgment of the genius of the great architect. Of all these works the only bit which represents the complete and full design of Wood is the northern side of Queen Square, which presents a magnificent whole ; the body of the Corinthian order upon a rustic basement, being decorated with all the ornaments the parts of that order are capable of receiving ; and yet what repose, what dignity, finish, and unity ! The Circus, despite the unfavourable judgment of Smollett, is a noble pile. There is uniformity without sameness ; the houses are of the three orders — Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, enriched with every appropriate orna- ment, and yet, as a proof of the painstaking genius of Wood, the ornamentation and details vary throughout the whole of this vast pile. The variation, moreover, is not a whimsical idea, to exhibit the largest number of architectural abortions,' but it shows the wealth and exuberance of the genius by whom the details were designed, and the skill with which they were applied. After the completion of the Circus the younger Wood designed the Royal Crescent, the building of which was com- pleted about 1769. We have the working drawings for No. 1, which indicate the care and skill which were bestowed upon them. The pile consists of thirty houses of the Ionic order, 1 Let anyone with any taste compare this work with the recently erected Baths, and he will see "what a falling-off was there." It seems difficult to look at this gimoraok structure, with all its meaningless ornamentation, without scornful indignation. We are supposed to have learnt something since Wood's time, to have gained much by experience. And yet, £20,000 have been expended in this year of grace, 1887, upon a piece of debased and bastard renascence, which is unworthy of all the beauty and grandeur by which it is surrounded. 262 £ath: Old and New, and as a whole, the wing of Marlborough Buildings included, with the natural beauty of its surroundings, it is still unrivalled in dignity and grandeur in any city in England. Further northward the architect carried out his plans, which strongly mark the judgment of his designs and " the elegance of his execution." And as Warner says, " Catching the spirit of buUding from Wood, subsequent architects have followed his example." In the same direction the work at different periods has been continued. Where stood the mansion of Anstey, with its capacious garden, now stands St. James's Square, and above that. Cavendish Place, Somerset Place, Lansdown Crescent. These, if not comparable with the works of the Woods, are entitled to high praise for elegance of design and due regard to the comforts of those whose fortunes enable them to occupy such mansions. The Woods remembered Bacon's epigrammatic definition, " that houses are buUt to live in, and not to look ou ; therefore, let use be preferred before uniformity, except when both can be had." As regards churches we have dealt with them to some extent in detail ; but one observation we may make, namely, that Bath, by its situation, is grandly set off by its churches, which have been so much increased of late — spires whose " silent finger points to heaven," as Wordsworth sings. LANSDOWN. Royal School foe the Education of Officers' Daughteks. This building was erected by a Company as a College, which not proving a success, was appropriated to its present use. Bath: Old. and New. 263 It occupies a commanding position on the right of Lanadown Boad, and, like many of the residences near, is not within the borough, but in the parish of Charlcombe. The style of the building is Gothic, of the Geometric period. The principal front comprises a lofty central tower with a spirelet at the angle, 148 ft. high. Prom this centre two wings run north and south, containing halls for the various classes. Opposite the entrance is the staircase, which, ascending by a broad central flight, and branching into two at the first landing, gives an approach to the large achool-room in the north wing, contain- ing an area of 3,500 square feet. The roofs throughout are open-timbered, and coloured in pattern between the rafters. In the south wing there is a similar room, with a raised stage at one end. On this floor are rooms also for the lady-principal and vice-principal, and a spacious library. In the south wing, on the ground floor, is the dining-hall, and adjoining it a residence for the janitor, with a good kitchen. The entrance to the grounds from the Lanadown Road is by an arched gate- way, surmounted by the royal arms and motto, carved in relief. The objects of the institution are beyond all praise, namely, to provide an efficient and ample education for the daughters of officers of the army (including the Royal Marines) at the smallest possible cost. The eligibility of the candidates is determined by the services of the father, together with the pecuniary circumstances of the family. It needs no special pleading to prove the value and importance of such an institution as this. Its provisions are wisely ordered, and they are carried out with every regard to the patriotic sentiment which inspired the founders. Pupils are admissible from the age of ten to fifteen, and the limitations (except under special circumstances) do not admit of their remaining after eighteen. There are two classes of pupils : those who are elected by the votes of subscribers, for whom the fees are £12 per annum ; and those who are elected by the committee, for whom £27 264 Bath : Old and New. per annum is paid. The Queen is patron and the Duke of Cambridge president. KiNGSWooD College. On the brow of the hill on the opposite side of the road stands Kingswood College (which is in the Tudor style), for the education of the sons of Wesleyan ministers. The building occupies 15,000 square feet, in the form of the letter H, the front being towards the south. The principal entrance is in the centre of the south elevation, opening into a spacious hall, which- is square, having a groined ceiling, with arched recesses on each side. The principal staircase is in the centre, beyond the hall, from which, on the right and left, the several parts of the building are approached by a spacious corridor. On the right are the committee room, the governor's apartments, and the dining-hall ; and to the left are the visitors' room, students' library, seniors' and juniors' schoolroom, class room, and masters' room. The seniors' schoolroom and the dining-hall, each 70 ft. long by 30 ft. broad, occupy the projecting wings of the building, carried up a clear height of 22 ft. 6 in., lighted, in addition to the windows, on each side, by a spacious and handsome bay window, the whole height of the apartment. An inclined way from the students' passage leads to a gymnasium under the schoolrooms, opening by a series of arches into the boys' play-ground. On the first floor are bed- rooms for the governor and servants, clothes room, bath room, etc. ; and on the second floor are the students' dormitories and masters' bedrooms, and an infirmary. A tower in the centre of the building, rising above the entrance-hall to a height of 82 ft., forms in the principal or south elevation the most striking feature. The front of the building is continued on each side, on a line with the face of the tower, to a frontage of fifty-four feet, when it recedes about four feet on the two Bides, angular bay windows occupying the centres right and left Bath: Old and Mew. 26^ of the tower. The receding portions of the elevation are bounded on either side by projecting wings, making the entire frontage 210 ft. This, as well as the Royal College, just des- cribed, was built by Mr. J. Wilson, F.S.A. The Battle of Lansdown and MoNtTMBNT. The latter erected near the fourth milestone, close to the spot on which Sir Bevil Granville fell. The trophy consists of two quadranguler pedestals set on each other, without any proportion or harmony betwixt them ; they are surmounted by an Attic base, a cap of dignity, bear- ing the figure of a griflfon passant whose breast is supported by a shield, which finishes the top of the monument. The arms of England resting on the joint arms of the Duke of Albemarle and the Earl of Bath, Sir Bevil's son, with military ornaments under them, adorn the right side of the body of the pedestal, and were intended to allude to the restoration of King Charles II. The left side has a bas-relief, alluding to the actions of Lord Lansdown in Hungary, consisting of military trophies ; the Granville arms, borne on a Roman eagle, with inscriptions, and the date September 12, 1683, occupy the centre. On the north tablet are the following lines : — " When now th' incensed rebels proudly came, Down like a torrent, without bank or dam. When undeserv'd success urg'd on their force, That thunder must come down to stop their course, Or Oranvile must step in, then Granvile stood, And by himself oppos'd and cheok'd the flood. Conquest or death was all his thought, so fire Either o'ercomes or does itself expire. His courage work'd like flames, cast heat about ; Here, there, on this, on that side none gave out, Not any pike in that renowned stand, 266 Bath: Old and New. But took new force from his inspiring hand ; Soldier encourag'd soldier, man urg'd man, And he urg'd all ; so far example can. Hurt upon hurt, wound upon wound did call, He was the butt, the mark, the aim of all. His soul this while retir'd from cell to cell, At last flew up from all, and then he fell. But the devoted stand, enrag'd the more From that his fate, plied hotter than before, And proud to fall with him, s.wore not to yield. Each fought an honour'd grave, and gain'd the field. Thus he being fall'n, his actions fought anew. And the dead conquer'd whilst the living flew." William Gartwright, 1643. ' ' Thus slain thy valiant ancestor ' did lie, When his one bark a navy did defy, When now encompass'd round he victor stood. And bath'd his pinnace in his conquering blood. Till all his purple current dry'd and spent. He fell, and made the waves his monument. Where shall the next fam'd GranvUe's ashes stand ? The grandsire fills the seas, and thou the land." Martin Llewellen, 1643. " To the immortal Memory of His renowned and his valiant Cornish friends who conquered dying in the royal cause, July 5, 1643, This column was dedicated By the Right Hon. Geo. Granville, Ld. Lansdown, 1720. DUXCB EST PRO PATRIA MOM." The following is on the south tablet : — " In this battle, on the king's part, were more officers and ' The hero of Kingsley's "Westward Ho ! " Bath : Old and I^ew. 267 gentlemen of quality slain than private men ; but that which would have clouded any victory, and made the loss of others less spoken of, was the death of Sir Bevil Granvile : he was indeed an excellent person, whose activity, interest, and reputation, was the foundation of what had been done in Cornwall, and his temper and affection so public, that no accident which happened could make any impression in him ; and his example kept others from taking anything ill, or at least seeming to do so : in a word, a brighter courage, and a gentler disposition was never married together, to make the most cheerful and innocent conversation." — Clarendon^ On the west side are trophies of war ; on the east, the king's arms and those of Granville. We have given the description of GranvUle's monument exactly as it is, and as it was erected by Lord Lansdown, the grandson of the hero himself. It would be interesting to know a little more of the battle. We know that a great battle there was, and we know that Waller led his army from his fortified quarters in Bath, but no one has yet told us in what part of the small city, within the walls, those quarters were or could be. We know that the only part of the walls which was capable of even a short resistance was that which encompassed the city on the west, on the strength of which Charles I. had spent £7,000, just before the city had been taken by stratagem, or betrayed by the commandant to the Parliament. Be this as it may, we think it is certain that whilst Waller made Bath his head quarters, the main body of his army occupied an entrenched ' We feel little doubt that — having read nearly every account of the battle— Clarendon's is the most authentic. From that account Waller possessed himself of the north-west part of Lansdown — i.e., the hill which " looked towards Marsiield" (Marshfleld), at daybreak, and that implies that he must have encamped on the down either the day or some time before the morning of the battle. The account is not only eloquent, but it is clear that the writer must either have seen the site of the battle, or been guided in his description by an accurate plan of the country. 268 Bath : Old and JSteW. camp outside the Westgate. Again we have never, with even approximate certainty, been informed by what line of march Waller reached Lansdown, and retreated to Bath. It was physi- cally impossible that an army of any kind could have marched by the Northgate up the rugged face of what we now know, and traverse daily, as Lansdown Road. It seems probable that Waller marched his troops by two lines, which would, for strategic purposes, have converged on or near the present race- course ; the more important line of the two would have been by the Via Julia to the village of Weston and thence by the road emerging close to the inn on the Down ; the other, the old bridle road which is entered at the end of the village, which by a slightly circuitous route leads to the south side of the Down. "^ The former of these two lines is that by which Queen Elizabeth most probably, and Queen Anne on both her ' visits certainly, reached Bath. ' Roads, as such, there were none in 1643, but there were well-beaten tracks which, in the month of July, could be traversed with comparative ease by troops little encumbered with any kind of heavy vehicles and very little artillery. We have met with very few persons, how- ever intelligent, who were not impressed with the belief that Waller ascended and descended Lansdown by the present road. Again, we do not believe that the " peculiar appearances on the north-west brow of Lansdown," near the spot where Granville fell, were works thrown up by Waller. They do not indicate a military purpose. Waller, no doubt, availed himself of the irregularities of the ground for offensive and defensive purposes, which would, as the Rev. J. Wright, in "An En- quiry concerning the Fortified Hills near Bath," says, explain Lord Hertford's taunting message to Waller, that he hoped they 1 See note on page 237. ° In a picturesque little hollow near the gate opening into the down is the traditional well of St. Elphage, the water of which is singularly pure, and flows into an ancient stone coffin. Bath : Old and New. 269 "might fight no more mi }\ole,s, but in the oampane." Steep as the north-west brow of Lanadown no doubt was, by which the royal troops ascended, the severity of it was nothing in com- parison with the south-east declivity, nor even with the Weston approaches which we have described. APPENDIX. The Bate and West op England Society AND SOCTHBRN CotTNTIEs' ASSOCIATION. This Society, which claims to be the oldest existing Agri- cultural Society in England, was established in the city of Bath in 1777, "for the encouragement of Agriculture, Manufactures, Commerce, and the Fine Arts," and the founders of the Society were among the first to promote a systematic co-operation between the tillers of the soil and the cultivators of science, art, and literature, whilst they also recognised the intimate connection between Agriculture, Manufactures, and Commerce. The actual originator of the Association was Mr. Edmund Back, a native of Norfolk, who,, having taken up his residence in Bath, was struck by the agricultural deficiencies of the West in comparison with the East of England. His scheme was influentially supported, and the committees appointed in connection with it included, among other distinguished men, the celebrated Dr. Priestly, Dr. Hunter, Dr. Falconer, and Curtis, the Botanist. The Society thus instituted entered at once upon a career of usefulness which was very generally recognised. Its publications were contributed to by many eminent authorities, and the cosmopolitan character of its operations is evinced by the varied nature of the services it promoted in the distribution of its honours, the gold medallion, 270 Bath: Old and New. which was awarded annually in the early days of the Society, having been bestowed, among others, upon Arthur Young, the agricultural writer, Captain Parry, the Arctic explorer, and Chantry, the sculptor. This prize was instituted as a memorial of Francis, Duke of Bedford, a great benefactor to Agriculture, who was President of the Society. In course of time the necessity was felt of adapting its methods and procedure to meet the wants of the times, and a re-construction of the Society was determined upon, with a view to rendering it more comprehensive. Mr. (now the Right Hon. Sir T. D.) Acland was the moving spirit in this, and he propounded a scheme, which was warmly taken up, involving, among other changes, the holding of exhibitions of Stock, Implements, etc. , throughout the West, instead of merely in Bath. During this period of reconstruction, the Earl of Iddesleigh, who was then Sir Stafford Northcote, acted as hon. secretary in conjunction with Mr. Acland. Under the new reg'ime the Society rapidly pro- gressed, and in 1866 stUl further extended itself by amalgamat- ing with a similar Society in the Southern Counties, which gave it its second title, " The Southern Counties' Association," and an addition to its area of operations, embracing the counties of Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hants, Berks, and Ozon. Within the last few years other departures have been made, and the Society's field of work has been considerably extended. A series of practical experiments upon corn and grass land is now annually carried out in various parts of the kingdom, and opportunities are provided Tjy means of a working Dairy, etc. , for bringing all recent improvements in Agriculture generally, and Dairying especially, under the notice of those most inter- ested. A consulting Chemist and Botanist have been added to the official staff, from whom members can obtain analyses of manures, soils, etc., and the results of examinations of plants and seeds. The Society's Journal, which is published annually, has for its aim the dissemination, especially, of agricultural knowledge in a popular form, whilst it affords a Bath: Old and New. 271 medium for recording and discussing the chief topics of interest in this direction, which have been ventilated during the year, original papers being contributed by leading experts. At the annual exhibitions, prizes to a large amount are given for Agricultural Stock, Cheese, Butter, Poultry, etc., and provision is also made for the exhibition of Machinery, Seeds, and all articles of an agricultural character as well as of general utility. The development of the purposes of the annual exhibition by including Fine Arts, Decorative Arts, Local Manufactures, Horticulture, and Music, has given to the Society a comprehensive and attractive character, while it materially adds to the social benefits conferred. The Society holds an annual exhibition of Pictures (in connection with which it has an Art Union), and also organizes the exhibition of such art treasures as there may be in private collections, to which the pu'blic ordinarily have not access. During the last few years meetings have been held at Worcester, Tunbridge Wells, Cardiff, Bridgwater, Maidstone, Brighton, Bristol, Dorchester, and Newport (Mon.) At the present time the Society numbers 1,100 members, and expends about £10,000 annually in furthering its objects ; and is now fully recognized, both at home and abroad, as one of the most important and influential of such organizations in existence. The Society's headquarters are at 4 Terrace Walk, Bath, but the Society's library and collections are at the Royal Literary and Philosophical Institution, immediately opposite^to the ofl5ces. H.R.H. the Prince of Wales is patron of the Society.^ Wansdike, Via Jttlia, akd the Foss. Of this class of remarkable objects round Bath, Wansdike stands first upon the list ; it being not only the most ancient 1 The general management of the Society is vested in a President, Vice-Presidents, and Council ; the Secretary being Mr. Thos. F. Plow- man, of Bath, and the Editor of the Journal, Mr. Josiah Goodwin, of Bath. 272 Bath: Old and New. remain of art in this neighbourhood, but probably also in the whole kingdom. The aborigines, or earliest inhabitants of Britain are supposed to have been Celts, who migrated from Gaul several centuries previously to the Christian era. For a considerable time they seemed to have continued in peaceable possession of their acquisitions, till a fresh body of adventurers from GaUia Belgia (thence called Belgce) pushed across the Channel, and made a landing on the south-western parts of England. But the prior possessors of the coast were not to be driven from it with ease or expedition ; the numerous earthworks and barrows in Cornwall, Devonshire, Somerset- shire, Dorsetshire, Hampshire, and Wiltshire, prove that the success of the invaders was very gradual, and that many a bloody battle was fought and many a gallant fellow laid low ere they gained a permanent settlement in this island. At length, fatigued and perhaps exhausted with this contest, the two states agreed to a compromise, by which a cer- tain allotment of territory was to be made to the Belgce, who should continue within the same, and cease in future to disturb the possessions of the old inhabitants of the country. To mark the limits of this district, the immense and extended ditch and mound, called Wansdike, were con- structed ; a term which sufficiently explains its nature and design, being derived from the Celtic word Gwahan, or separation. This work (which left all the western counties in possession of the Belgce) commences at Andover in Hamp- shire (where it is flanked by the river Tees, the lateral ter- mination to its southern end), and passes from thence nearly in a straight direction to Great-Bedwin. From thence it crosses the Forest of Savernake and the Downs of Marl- borough, which having always continued sacred from the plough, " Non rastris hominutn, non ulli obnoxia curre," it is still seen in its pristine grandeur, nobly conspicuous Bath: Old and New. 273 " like the elliptic on one of the hemispheres of a globe," and catching the eye of the traveller from a considerable dis- tance. It then visits Tan Hill, Sheppard-Shord, Heddington, passes through Spye Park, appears on the lawn at Lacook Abbey, and may be traced on Whitley Common, near Monks House. At Bathford (from which point we shall accompany the reader for some miles) we again meet with a bank, which tradition asserts to be Wansdike. This may be pursued for a considerable distance, making an intermediate line between the great house and Hampton Church ; but at the row of elms, below the canal, half a mile from Hampton, it disap- pears. From this point, till it enters Smallcomb Wood, its course seems to be through the bottom, which having been repeatedly ploughed up, built upon, and converted into gar- dens, the dorsum (or ridge) is of course obliterated, and not to be traced till we come to the uncultivated steep of Smallcomb Wood, up which it runs, sufficiently conspicuous not to be mis- taken ; crossing the Claverton road at the one-mile stone, it proceeds through the firs to the enclosure at Prior Park, and crosses the lawn above the house in a diagonal line and south- western direction ; when reaching the wall that separates the park from the road, it forms a basis for the fence for 200 yards. Issuing from the park at the upper lodge gate, and crossing the road to Bath, it follows the course of an halter-path or bridle-road, and becomes the right-hand bank of the same, appearing very lofty, and bearing on its summit several fine beach and oak trees. The nicest investigation cannot now detect it till we reach the Warminster road, just at the point opposite the intersection of the South-Stoke Lane, and that leading from Newton to Warminster. These two public ways it crosses, and then forms, for half a mile, the bold basis of a stone wall of separation between arable fields, which is reared so high, by availing itself of this dorsum, as to be seen at a considerable distance. At Burnt-House Gate it crosses the Wells Eoad, and pursuing a lane for a short distance, 18 274 Bath: Old and New. takes the brow of the hill which curves through the middle of an arable field. For a short distance its progress is again unintelligible ; but we soon perceive the dorsum once more, in the foundation of a hedge, which drops down a descent towards Inglishcomb Wood, having a coppice on the left hand. The next meadow discovers it in great perfection. Having crossed and ascended the western side of it, Wansdike penetrates into Inglishcomb Wood, and follows the crop or brow of the rock entirely through its shades. Thence it intersects a farmer's barton, a few yards to the south of the church ; and pushing on to the westward through an orchard, enters a meadow, where it appears in its original grandeur, exhibiting a lofty mound twelve feet high and a deep trench on the south side. A quarter of a mile to the westward of the church (where we leave it), it makes a diverticulum to the southward, and is lost for some time, but presents itself again at Stanton-Prior, Publow, Norton, and Long-Ashton, and at length loses itself in the Severn sea near Portishead, after having pursued a course of nearly 90 miles in length. At Inglishcomb, the point where we desist from our investigation, the attention is attracted by another remain, probably, of British antiquity, and connected with the stu- pendous boundary we have been describing ; the tumulus called Barrow-Hill," Inglishcomb-Batch, and Round-Barrow, situated upon the brow of a high ridge of hills, and com- manding, from its summit, a wide-stretching and beautiful view. On what occasion an aggestion of earth should be raised, which measures at its base nearly 1,000 yards in cir- cumference, and upwards of 100 at its head, cannot well be imagined, unless conjecture attribute it to the united effects of those powerful principles in the savage character — supersti- tion and military glory, which have led men to deposit in ' Later and more minute examination proves that this hill is not a tumulus at all, but a natural formation. Bath: Old and New. 275 the earth, with peculiar care, veneration, and labour, the bodies of those who have exhibited the highest proof (in their opinion) of human virtue, by dying in the field of battle. "If I must fall in the field," says a northern chieftain, " raise high my grave, Vanvela. Grey stones and heaped-up earth shall mark me to future times. When the hunter shall sit by the mound, and produce his food, at noon ; some warrior rests here, he will say ; and my fame shall live in his praise." The Fosse. Besides the Wansdike, just described, there are two Boman Heads : the "Via Julia and the Fosse. These roads in them- selves, if the Romans had left nothing else, no other indication of their advanced civilization, exhibit their capacity for govern- ment and their remarkable engineering power. The Fosse cut through a large portion of the Midlands, from Lincoln to Ilchester, and thence to Seaton, and this road, supposed to have been constructed in the second century of Koman occu- pation, was "known as the Fosse during the 12th century,' ' and used as the high road. Some portions to this day are used as the ordinary road. This is also referred to on pages 133, 134, 135. The Via Julia. The Via Julia was a less important road than the Fosse. It traversed a portion of South Wales, and passed out by a ferry over the Severn at Aust, through Bath along what now very nearly corresponds with Weston Road, and for a short distance formed a junction with the Fosse, after it passed the "fork" at the termination of Walcot Street. It then deviated in its course to Cunetio, Silchester, and London ; whilst the Fosse ran its course to Banner Down, Cirencester, etc. Now, - Dr. Guest. 276 Bath: Old and New. the modern Cirencester or Ciceter road is said to coincide with the ancient road ; and if any one wUl stand on Birdlip Hill, and look from thence to Gloucester, he will see that the present road is as straight as an arrow, and is identical with that part of the Roman Fosse. Stanton-Deew. Proceeding from Inglishcomb-Batch through Stanton- Prior, a distance of about eight miles, we reach Stanton- Drew, a spot, as its name sufficiently declares, of British antiquity. In a long field in this parish contiguous to the church, stand four distinct arrangements of large natural stones. Three of these are circles ; the fourth seems, originally, to have described a winding serpentine form, and to have served as an entrance to the circular arrangements. These, unlike most other Druidical remains of a similar magnitude, are not con- centriCj but attached to each other laterally ; a stone of one circle reckoning amongst those which compose another circle. The largest circle measures one hundred yards in diameter, the second thirty yards, and the smallest fifteen yards. Mne feet four inches in height, and upwards of seven yards in girth, are the dimensions of the largest of these stones. The material is a breccia, found in great plenty at and about Brandon Hill, in the neighbourhood of Bristol. Tesselated Pavements. — Wellow. It is not, however, in the military remains alone of the ancient Romans that we trace the superior genius, judgment, and greatness ; the same faculties enabled them to make the wisest provisions for the enjoyment of private life. Their nllas were at once elegant and convenient : and whilst they shone with all the splendour of art, embraced every means of private comfort. The ground plot of one of those rural residences was re-discovered about 1807 in the neighbourhood Bath: Old and New. 2^7 of Bath, and lay open for some time to public inspection ; but as the visitors, not content with gratifying their curiosity, rudely despoiled the spot of its iesserce, Col. Leigh,' who had taken the most liberal pains to lay them open to the public, very judiciously determined to preserve what remained, from further violation, by having them covered wibh hurdles, which were overspread with earth. The tesselated pavements are three in number : one at the western extremity, 26 ft. in length by 15 ft. in breadth, the greater part of which is in its original perfect state ; a second, towards the opposite end, 33 ft. long by 22 ft. broad, very much mutilated ; and a long narrow strip connected and running parallel with it, 26 ft. in length and 5 ft. 9 in. in breadth, in the highest state of beauty and preservation. The other floors are formed of the common Roman square tile. The patterns of the two larger pavements appear to have been rich, diversified, and tasteful ; they exhibit a beautiful variety of forms, involutions, elegant borders, fascise, represen- tations of beasts and birds, regularly disposed, and included within fanciful borders of a good taste. Of the strips the pattern is neat and simple, much resembling those of our modern Scotch carpets or painted oil cloth. The tesserce which compose them are not formed with much attention to the exactness of the cube, but are irregular squares of diameters from half an inch to nearly two inches. They present four colours : blue, red, white, and purple. For the first of these the blue, the lias in the neighbourhood of Weston was resorted to ; for the second, the common red brick ; for the third, the white lias by Newton Park ; and materials for the last were procured from the quarries of red mountain lime- stone, near the Hotwells, Bristol. Throughout the whole of the work there is a spirit and taste in the plan, and a correct- ' At the period of the re-discovery this gentleman resided at Combe Hay. 378 Both: Old -and Mtv. nesa and neatness in the execution, which bespeak the better age of Roman arts, and forbid us to place it lower than the conclusion of the second century. The remains appear to have been first discovered in the year 1685, when a short account of them was drawn up by Gale, and published in his edition of "Antoninus's Itinerary." But they did not probably long continue to be an object of notice ; for fifty years afterwards, a.d. 1737, we find them announced again to the world as a new discovery. Fortunately, the celebrated artist Vertue then got information of them, engraved three capital plates from excellent drawings made on the spot by George Kent, a schoolmaster in the neighbour- hood. They were published by the Society of Antiquaries, in 1738,^ It is evident, however, that only two of these engrav- ings, Nos. 1 and 2, represent the pavements which were laid open in 1735. The engraving, No. 3, gives the plan of one that existed in 1736, but which was probably destroyed at or shortly after that time, as no vestige of it can be found ; but another pavement, of nearly similar dimensions, though of an entirely different pattern, to the annihilated one, was amongst the discoveries ; which, from its perfection and freshness, was clearly unknown to any former finders, and must consequently have lain concealed from the time of the dilapidation of the fabric that covered it. After continuing to be exposed for some time, on their second discovery, to the curiosity of the public, and the depredations of the mischievous, who are said to have carried away bushels of tesserca, the remains were again covered over by the proprietor of the field, and once more consigned to oblivion, a fate from which they were a third time rescued, in 1843, by some fragments being turned up in the course of husbandry. At the period of the second detection of these pavements, ' These engravings are now before us, and are very beautiful, and, like all such engravings, are very scarce. £ath: Old and New. 279 the admirers of Boman antiquity had adopted, in a great degree, the judgment of Hearne, upon remains of this kind ; a man of much research, but of little taste, andj^no discrimi- nation. As he saw nothing but the scites of pretoria, the habitations or posts of Boman generals, in. the tesselated remains that came under his observation, so it was the general opinion, in conformity to these notions, that the pavements at Wellow had a military rather than a civil original ; and a note of Vertue's, at the foot of one of his drawings, proves that he, as well as others, entertained this idea. Tesselated Pavement. — Newton-St. -Loe, Twbeton. These pavements are composed of bits of tile and stone, about half an inch square ; of the various colours, and so dis- posed, as to make a series of the regular figures. The tesselated pavements were five feet below the surface of the ground. The Villa bears every appearance of having been destroyed by fire ; it being, when excavated, covered with pennant tiles and nails, from the falling of the roof ; the pavements were covered with slabs of lias. It is worthy of remark that the ruins were thickly strewed with bones, horns, and teeth, of the Red Deer, Ox, Sheep, Hog, Dog, and a Bird. The remaining walls of the building were from one foot and a half to three feet in height. The total length of the ruins is 125 feet and 55 feet in breadth : they appear to have extended further, but have been destroyed in forming the Bristol Boad. Their extent is greater than that of any other similar Villa hitherto discovered in Britain, and of nearly as great magnitude as any building of the same nature among the Boman colonies out of Italy. The remains of a well (which on being disturbed commenced flowing), and also the ruins of another building, have been discovered 150 feet above the Villa, but there is nothing further deserving notice. 280 Bath; Old and New. Faeley Church, Castle, and House. A sequestered road, winding through the valley of the south for 3 or 4 miles, passing Freshford and Iford, and pre- senting much beautiful rural scenery to the eye, leads to the picturesque village of Farley Castle, so denominated from the venerable structure adjoining it, whose present remains evince the grandeur of its original design. The ancient park of Farley extended half-way to Hinton, a village about a mile and a half to the eastward, through whose wild but beautiful extent runs the present road to the village and castle. The former creeps up the declivity of a hill, on the summit of which stands the church, looking over a country uncom- monly romantic and diversified. This building is dedicated to Saint Leonard, whose portrait is well preserved in the painted glass of the north window in the chancel, with his name in legible characters beneath the figure ; on either side the altar are pedestals for supporting candlesticks ; and, as was usual in Romish churches, in a recess in the wall on the north side, a bason for the priests administering at the altar, to wash in, before they communicated the consecrated elements. The church itself is more than three centuries old ; but over the porch of the south door is placed a large semi- circular stone of much higher antiquity, as far as may be inferred from the inscription on it, in letters having a con- siderable mixture of the Saxon alphabet, which continued to be used till the close of the fourteenth century ; they are about two inches in length. The stone must have occupied a place over the entrance of some prior church, probably on the same spot, which had the privilege of satictuary, or of protecting the transgressor who fled to its consecrated walls. Over the inscription is engraven a very large and conspicuous sign of the cross ; and the letters may be legibly read as follows : — Muniat hoc templum cruce_ QuiB genuit Christum glorificans microcosmum miseris prece asylum. Bath: Old and New. There are many translations of these lines, but that by Canon Jackson is accepted as the best : — "May he who by the Cross glorifies man, protect this Church ; and may the mother of Christ become an asylum to the wretched by Tier prayer /or them." Faklby Cashb. A situation near the bottom was chosen for the castle, where a strong arched entrance, some fragments of thick walls, and two ivy-mantled towers, still remain. The village of Farley lays claim to very remote antiquity. After having been possessed by Saxon thanes for some years, it came in the eleventh century into the hands of a Norman lord, and formed a part of the splendid donation with which William the Conqueror rewarded the fidelity and services of Sir Roger de Curcelle, one of his adventurous followers. His death occa- sioned its reversion to the crown ; soon after which the pro- fuse Kufus granted it to Hugh de Montfort, a Norman, from whose surname it received its present aflSx, Farley Montfort. Bartholomew Lord Burghurst, renowned in Edward the Second's wars with the Scots, became possessed of it in 1337 ; but his lion-hearted son, in consequence of that imprudence, found it convenient to dispose of his manor of Farley, to- gether with other large estates, to Thomas Lord Hungerford, in the reign of Richard 11. This nobleman, one of the most renowned barons of the time, fixed his chief residence at Farley, where he repaired the castle originally built by Curcelle, ornamented it with two gateways, and strengthened it by the addition of four substantial towers, the ruins of which are still to be seen. As these works were completed without permission previously obtained under the King's hand, a formality necessary during the times of the feudal system, and naturally springing from the principles on which it was founded, they awakened the jealousy of Richard, and a Bath: Old and New. writ of attachment was issued against Lord Hungerford. But as every misdemeanor could, in those days, be atoned for by a fine, a thousand marks were paid by the baron, which quickly appeased the anger, and quieted the suspicions of Richard. A series of heroes of the same noble family succeeded Lord Thomas in the possession of Farley Castle. In the reigns of Henry IV. and "V. , Sir Walter was its owner, a knight of great martial achievements, who exhibited an ex- ample of that romantic character so common in the age of chivalry, when, by a whimsical association, a passion for war was blended with the ardour of piety, and the love of God and of gallantry went hand in hand. Now fighting single- handed combats on the hostile fields of France, now exhibit- ing the gorgeous festival within the walls of his castle, and now founding chantries and chapels for ecclesiastics. Sir Walter was, by turn, the hero, the courtier, and the devotee. In consequence of a fierce encounter with a French knight at Calais, in which he was victorious, he gained a pension of 100 marks per annum out of the revenues of the town of Marl- borough. By his splendid entertainments at Farley, whose roof rang to the sounds of his minstrels, and whose lofty hall and magnificent state-apartments, the wonder of the age, were decorated with honourable trophies from the fields of Crecy and Poictiers, Agincourt and Calais, he obtained the name of the finest gentleman of the day ; and by his muni- ficence to the monks, for several of who he provided by institutions in the chapel of Farley and in the church of Olneston in Gloucestershire, he secured the character of piety and devotion. With the lineal descendants of this baron, Farley Castle continued till the reign of Edward IV., when Sir Thomas Hungerford, afterwards Lord Hungerford, great grandson of Sir Walter, being too active in the contests between the two Roses, and unfortunately having chosen the losing side, he was tried, condemned, and executed for treason, Bath : Old and New. 283 and his large posaessions confiscated to the crown. The reversing of the attainder on the family in Henry Vllth's reign restored their patrimonial estates to the Hungerfords ; and passing successively through Walter Lord Hungerford, Sir Edward and Sir Anthony Hungerford, they vested at length in Sir Edward Hungerford, towards the conclusion of the Protectorship. But heroum fllii noxx. The knight in the true spirit of those times, when Charles II. set so baneful an example of dissipation to his subjects, was profligate and wasteful ; and after a few years of extravagance, found him- self compelled to alienate the posaessions of his ancestors. Farley Castle was disposed of to the family of Bayntun, in 1686 ; soon after which it came into the possession of that of Houlton, to whose descendant it at present belongs. The estate consists of two manors, within a ring fence ; and com- prises a park, close to the old family seat, well wooded, and agreeably varied with hill and bottom. The chapel of the castle remains in a nearly perfect state, externally, owing to the laudable care of the recent owner. It was dedicated to St. Leonard ; and consists of a single nave, 56 ft. in length and 20 ft. in breadth ; and a chan- try on the north side, 20 ft. in length and 14 ft. in breadth. Sir Walter Hungerford erected and endowed it ; but many a year has now elapsed since the voice of prayer and thanks- giving has been heard in thisconsecrated pile. The appropri- ate appendages, however, to a place of worship still remain ; an old wooden pulpit, and an altar formed by an immense slab of rich granitelle, A flat grave stone also is seen on the floor, cut with the figure of a knight in armour, and an imperfect inscription running round its edges, commemorating Sir Giles Hungerford ; and attached to the south wall is a table monu- ment of freestone, with this inscription : — "Tyme tryeth truth, quod (quoth) Walter Hungerford, knyght, who lyeth here, and Edward hys son, to God's mercy in whom he trusts for ever. An". D'. 1588, the vi. of Desbr." 284 Bath : Old and New. The chantry, however, contains the rarest curiosities of this fabric. Under its arch stands an old table tomb, highly sculptured on the sides and ends ; with coats of arms and human figures ; the full-sized representations of a knight and his lady are recumbent upon the top, the former cased in armour, with a lion at his feet ; the latter in the dress of the times, her head resting on two cushions, supported by angels ; and two dogs at the other extremity ; the effigies of Sir Thomas Hungerford, who died Dec. 3rd, 1508, and Johannah his wife, who followed him in 1512. Connected with the north wall is another tomb of the same kind, built of free- stone, gorgeously painted and gilt. It bears this inscription : "Edward Hungerford, knight Sonne to Walter Lord Hun- gerford, and late heir to Sir Walter Hungerford, deceased, the 5 daie of December, 1607, and lieth here with dame Jane his wife, daughter to Sir Anthony Hungerford, of Downe-Amny. " A third monument occurs on the west side of the chapel without any inscription, so that we cannot tell for whom it was erected. It should seem, however, to be the burial-place of some pious and prolific dame, as there are the effigies of an old lady kneeling at a desk, accompanied by four sons and five daughters, all in the same devout posture. Another small tomb is seen against the north wall, in which a brass plate contains the following lines : — " If birth or worth might add to rareness life, Or teares in man revive a virtuous wife ; Lock't in this cabinet, bereav'd of breath, Here lies the pearle inclos'd — she which by death Sterne death subdu'd, slighting vain worldly vice, Achiving Heav'n with thoughts of Paradise. She was her sexes wonder, great in bloud. But what is far more rare, both great and good. She was with all celestial virtues stor'd. The life of Shaa, and soul of Hungerford.'' Bath: Old and New. 285 AN EPITAPH. " Written in memory of the late Right Noble and most truly virtuous Mrs. Mary Shaa, daughter to the Right Hon. Walter Lord Hungerford, sister and heyre generall to the Right Noble Sir Edw. Hungerford, knight, deceased, and wife unto Thomas Shaa, Esq. ; leaving behind Robert Shaa, her only sonne. She departed this life, in the faith of Christ, the last day of September, An". Dni. 3613." The magnificent monument which stands in the centre of the chapel is, perhaps, one of the finest morsels of the kind in England. It is composed entirely of white polished marble, placed on steps of black marble, and supporting the effigies of Sir Edward and Lady Margaret Hungerford ; the one in com- plete armour, his feet resting on a wheat-sheaf (the family crest), the other in a loose dress, with a lion and anchor at her feet. The workmanship, as well as materials, are most choice ; the name of the sculptor does not appear, but as it was constructed at a time when the nobility went to an immense expense in these last mementoes of their grandeur, it was probably the work of the first artist of the day. A long Latin inscription is cut on the south side of the monument, which is otherwise enriched with a profusion of quarterings. The date is 1648. A painting of the Resurrection covers the ceiling of this chapel ; and immediately underneath it is a crypt or vault, descended into by a flight of steps, and con- taining a most extraordinary family party, the pickled remains of eight of the Hungerfords, ranged by the side of each other, cased in leaden coffins, and assuming the form of Egyptian mummies, the faces prominent, the shoulders swelling out into their natural shape, and the body gradually tapering towards the feet. The first of these, on the right, contains the remains of Lord Hungerford ; second, those of his wife ; third, the first wife of Sir Edward Hungerford, jun, ; fourth, Sir Edward Hungerford himself ; fifth, the second wife of Sir Edward 286 Bath ; Old and New. Hungerford ; sixth (in the left-hand corner), Mary Hunger- fofd, who married Thomas Shaa, Esq. ; and whose monument is in the chapel above. The two children enclosed in lead, and lying on the breasts of the larger coffins, are the offspring of two of the wives of Sir Edward Hungerford (for he had three in all), who both died in child-bed. CoBSHAM House. By rail or pursuing the London road through the villages of Batheaston and Bathford, having to the right the river Avon flowing through rich meadows, bounded by that belt of hills which defend the happy vale of Bath from the south- eastern storms, we reach Corsham House, about ten miles east of Bath. The ride thither offers many beautiful views, par- ticularly on climbing the lofty hill of Haselbury, on the further side of Box. Here, Bath is removed into the distance, and appears at the termination of the winding valley, " uncertain if beheld ; " an indistinctness that clothes it with great majesty, as its crescents and higher streets blend, as it were, into one vast building, and give the idea of a solitary castel- lated edifice, of unlimited dimensions. On entering Pickwick, we turn to the right, and at the distance of a mile reach Corsham, a village which made part of the dower of the queens of England, in those times when it was customary to settle on the royal comfort part of the demesnes of the crown, for providing her with various articles of her attire, and other necessaries for her person and situation. To the faithful companion of Edward I. Corsham, together with Bath, were given in dower ; and though the latter was shortly afterwards reaumed and bestowed upon Roberb Burnell, Bishop of Bath and Wells, yet the former seems to have continued its services to this amiable princess as long as she lived. The Earls of Cornwall, in subsequent times, claimed it as a part of their extensive fiefs. Afterwards, the heroes of the Hungerford Bath : Old and New. 287 family became possessed of the village and manor, and made Corsham one of their residences. The mansion itself contains a large collection of pictures, made by Sir Paul Methuen. The house formerly presented three fronts : — the northern, the eastern, and the southern ; which, though built at diflferent periods, had, all of them, some general resemblance of the Gothic character, which its respective architects had preserved in their additions and alterations. The old northern front is no more, and upon its ruins have risen one of the best-built specimens of modern Gothic that England can produce, the design of Mr. Nash. It consists of three rooms, a dining-room to the west, a music- room at the opposite extremity, and in the centre a lofty octagon apartment, rising above its lateral companions. This is supported without by iiying buttresses, which give a sur- prising richness and grandeur to the plan. All these apart- ments are furnished in the highest style of modern taste. The chief entrance to the house is from the south, through a hall, of great beauty and magnificence, 100 ft. in length, 25 ft. broad, and 25 ft. high. A light gallery, supported by slender clustered shafts, with plain bases and capitals, runs round the sides of the room, and is ascended at each end by a double flight of steps — one sweeping to the right, the other to the left, and both uniting at the top. Kelston House. This mansion, the residence of Colonel Inigo Jones, has no particular claim to notice, except from the beauty of its situation and its historic associations, yet, as ib is connected with some singular characters, and much local history, it deserves to be pointed out as an object of curiosity. It lies four miles to the westward of Bath, along a road, commanding, for the most part, a pleasing prospect. It was on the erection of this mansion, that Sir Csesar Hawkins, the great-grandfather 288 Bath : Old and New. of Sir J. Hawkins, who pulled down the ancient manor-house of Kelaton. This stood near the church a little further on the Bristol Boad, and was built in 1578 by James Barozzi, of Vignola, an architect justly celebrated in his own times. The court-yard still remains.' In the reign of Henry VIII. the manor of Kelston came to John Harington, by a grant under the King's seal, and continued in this family till it was dis- posed of to Sir CsBsar Hawkins. Its owners, for many years, were characters of eminence and notoriety ; nor will Kelston be deemed unworthy particular attention, when we recollect that it produced, in the 16th century, a translation of the poem of Ariosto, the celebrated Orlando Furioso. John Harington was the first of the family that settled on this estate, with his wife Isabella, daughter of Sir John Markham, both of whom suffered persecution, from the bigoted zeal of Gardiner, in consequence of their attachment and services to Elizabeth before she ascended the throne. The cause of this persecution was as follows : — A letter had been entrusted to Harington to be conveyed to Elizabeth during her confinement ; but the watchful eye of Gardiner having discovered the delivery of it, John was immediately apprehended, and imprisoned in the Tower, where he was detained twelve months, and at length liberated at the solici- tation of Philip of Spain, with the loss and expense of £1,000. The malice of Gardiner extended also to his wife, Isabella, whom he separated from the service of Elizabeth ; and by affixing to her the odious appellation of heretic, excluded her from the house of her own father. Fortunately she found in a Mr. Topeless that assistance which parental affection would not afford her, and continued with him till Elizabeth's accession, when she became lady of the privy chamber to the Queen ; ' The present Rliotor of Kelaton, the Rev. F. J. Poynton, has printed privately a most valuable and interesting account of the old house and the site on which it stood, together with a pedigree of the Haringtons, Bath : Old and New. 289 and her husband and herself were permitted to enjoy their retreat at Kelston. The issue of this couple were John an(jl Francis ; to the former of whom descended the patrimonial estates, and amongst the rest the manor of which we are speaking. The elder was born about the year 1651, the fifth year of Queen Elizabeth, whose gratitude for the services of the father, during her persecutions by Queen Mary, prompted her to stand godmother to the son. He was educated at Eton, and afterwards entered at Cambridge, under the tuition of Bishop Still, whose attention made so deep an impression upon him, that the remembrance of it never faded from his mind ; and he himself says, that he never went to him but he grew more religious, and never parted with him but with additional instruction. Under so admirable a tutor, and with the advantages of great natural talents, Harington became soon conspicuous for his literature and wit ; qualifications that increased the regard which Elizabeth already entertained for her god-son. He now went to Court, where he quickly rendered himself remarkable not only by his good-natured satire and sprightly epigrams, but also by a translation of the tale of Alcina and Rogero, from that luxuriant effort of fancy, Orlando Furioso. This performance circulating amongst the ladies of the bedchamber, at length reached the eye of the virgin Queen, who, feigning herself offended at the licentious- ness of the story, imposed upon Harington the translation of the whole poem, as an expiation of the crime of offended modesty. To work, therefore, he went, and produced Ariosto in English, to the great satisfaction of the Queen, who received him again into favour, and permitted his return to Court, from whence he had been banished till the translation should be completed. But the satirical propensity of Harington could not be overcome by this slight check ; and in the year 1596, another sprightly effusion had nearly implicated him in still more unpleasant circumstances than his former inadver- tence ; it was called the Metamorphosis of Ajax, and occa- 19 2 90 Bath: Old and New. sioned by the erection of a newly-invented water-closet in his house at Kelston. The fertility of genius, and the depth of reading, displayed in this little tract, ought to have screened the author from indignation ; but as it contained, at the same time, many satirical allusions to the personages of the Court, and some sly insinuations levelled against the Queen herself, an universal cry of vengeance was excited against Harington ; and nothing but the great partiality of Elizabeth for him, and her gratitude for the fidelity of his parents, saved him. To sprightly characters allowances are generally given for slight deviations from the common forms of decorum ; the manner in which they are made usually compensating for their singularity. Harington frequently availed himself of this privilege, and several anecdotes are handed down by tradition, in which Sir John seems to have sacrificed strict good manners to the opportunity of saying a good thing. One incident of this kind occurred at the table of Lady Rogers at Bath, the mother of his wife, who being accustomed to dine at an uncon- scionably late hour, Sir John determined to try the effect of his wit, in order to work a reformation. A large company being assembled, therefore, at her Ladyship's house, and the dinner on the table, one of his two sons was commanded to repeat the grace. The boy immediately began with, " O Lord, that givest us our meat in due season," when our Knight immediately interrupted him, bade him be silent, and not tell such a lie, "For I never knew, "said he, "our meat in due season here in all my life." The sagacity of Sir John seems to have been in a degree imparted to his particular friend and com- panion, a spaniel dog, which he named Bungay. This cele- brated animal was so extremely docile and well instructed, that he frequently travelled alone from Bath to London, carrying in a basket slung round his neck packages and letters, calling for refreshment at the houses on the way which his master was accustomed to frequent, and then pursuing his journey to Court, where his fidelity and sagacity always assured Bath. Old and New. 291 him caresses and good cheer. ^ In one of these expeditions Bungay unfortunately fell into the hands of a party of beggars, who emptied his basket, carried him off, and sold him to the servants of the Spanish ambassador. After a long and fruit- less enquiry for this faithful servant. Sir John accidentally went to the ambassador's, when to his infinite satisfaction he recog- nized his companion sleeping under the table. Being rather perplexed in what manner to ascertain his property, and to request its restoration, he told the ambassador that the animal before them possessed many more talents than he was apprized of. This naturally induced an explanation, when Sir John, to identify the dog, called him by his name, and made him perform a variety of singular tricks, to the astonishment of his Excellency, who immediately insisted that his old master should once more receive the faithful animal into his protection. Bungay, among other useful offices that he was accustomed to perform, frequently went from the manor-house at Kelston to Bath for two bottles of wine, which the vintner would carefully pack up in the basket that hung suspended from his neck. One day, on his return with the cargo, when he had performed only half his journey, the handle of the basket unfortunately broke, and the whole apparatus fell of course to the ground ; but as Bungay never lost his presence of mind, he quickly discovered a method of completing the errand on which he had been sent. One of the bottles he immediately conveyed into a secret part of an adjoining hedge, and taking the other in his mouth travelled home as fast as he could. Having delivered this, he posted back after the remaining one, which he soon conveyed to Kelston in a similar manner, and with equal safety. The concluding circumstance of poor Bungay's life bears ample testimony to his affection and sagacity, and places him upon a par with the far-famed Argus of Ulysses. 1 this story Sir Joliu tells himself, but we must take it, for the most part, as an amusing romance. 292 Bath: Old and New. Attending Sir John, who was on horseback, to Bath, the animal suddenly leaped upon the horse with such an expression oJE affectionate fondness to his master as surprised him. This he repeated three or four times successively, and immediately running into the adjoining hedge, lay down and expired. The Knight honoured his memory with some tributes of regard, by writing two epigrams on Bungay, and having his figure introduced into the print prefixed to his translation of Orlando Furioso. The family, also, have preserved an honourable memorial of this sensible creature, in giving the name of Bungay to every successive dog that was kept by the descend- ants of Sir John ; and the beautiful spaniel which belonged to Doctor Harington,^ the great great grandson of the Knight, retained this celebrated appellation. In 1599, Harington was made a knight-banneret in the field, by Essex, Lord-Lieuten- ant of Ireland, for the jValour he displayed in that country. The disgust which the Queen conceived both against him and Essex on account of his honour being conferred without her privity, induced him probably to withdraw from Court and retire to Kelston. Here he flattered himself he could pass his remaining days in the pursuits of philosophy and the calm pleasures of rational occupation ; but he had mistaken the petulance of pique for a change of disposition ; and no sooner did James accede to the throne, than all his accustomed pro- pensities returned ; he again languished for courtly parade, and determined to ingratiate himself with the new monarch ; which, from the following original letters preserved by the late Dr. Harington, it seems, he soon effected : — " To the Honourable Rnyt. my trustie friend iStr John HaringfoJij hy Batlie. "Honorbl. Sr.— I resaived your letter sent by this gentllman, who delivered to hia Maty yt was oommitted to him. AU you sent to Mr. ' The last of the Haringtons who owned Kelston. He was a man of great, learning and much wit, an accomplished physician, and an admirable musician. Dr. Harington died in 1825. Bath: Old and Netv. 293 Hunter, yor assured and constant friend, is sa weill accepted of his Matie, that I do not dout but in the anon tyme ye will fynde more in effect nor I can expresse by papeir. And although for the I doe not advertyse particularly, yet must I intreat your favourable censure as one that shall ever love you, and do his best for the accomplishment of your desair. In short time I hope to see qn qr, and I am not oertaine ; but then shall yow know more of our maister's love to yorself, and of my devotion to doe yow service, yu shall constantly remayne, Yor assured friend, P. AEESKYNE." ' ' To the Honorable Rynt. my loving nyiour, Sir Johne Sarington, iy Baithe. ' "Sr. — Yors by Mr. Nicholas Stranger, dated at Westwood, the 27th of Marohe, I raissaived at Court, at Hallyruid house, the 2d of Aprill. I fynde yourself and the spinning gentil woman hath been oft skard, but now, God be praysed, past daunger. His Majestye and his trayne are to marche forward on their journey toward London on the 5th of Aprill. His Majesty excepted your Embleme Lanterne and letters now last exceiding kyndly, as yourself shall sey at meeting. I doubt not but your expectation shall be satisfyed. Thus in haiste, haveing manie dispaitohes in hand, as this bearer can beare witness, I rest, requesting yow to make muche of the spinner, that she male make much of the carder, and convert your spinning and keyding in ryding. The kinde and oourteouse Knyte will use your counselle at the parle- ment, it may be for bothe your benefits. I commit yow to the Almightie. Yr affected and avowed friend to do yow service, WILLIAM HUNTER. "From the Court at Hallyruid-House, this 5th day of April, 1603." But the surest earnest of James's future favour vras the following letter to Sir John, under the King's own hand, written two days before the above : — " To oar truslie and wel-beloved Sir John Harington, krU. " Rt. trustie and wel-beloved friend, we greet yow heartily weill. We have raissavit your lanterne with the poesie ye send us be our ser- vand Wm. Hunter, geving yow hairtie thanks, as lykewayis for your last letter quharin we persaist the continuance of your loyall affection 204 Bath: Old and JVeib. to us and your service. We shall not be unmyndefuU to extende our princely favour heirafter to you and your perticulers at all guid occa- sions. We commit you to God. JAMES R. " From our Court at Hallyruid House, the 3d of Aprill, 1603." Sir John enjoyed a great portion of James's esteem, fre- quently corresponding with him, and going occasionally to Court ; though it does not appear that his Majesty performed the promise of particular patronage made in his letter to the knight.i John Harington, the puritan and republican, suc- ceeded to Kelston on the death of his father, who, though much abused by party writers, possessed a degree of popularity in the neighbourhood where he resided, that proved his private virtues were great, if his political principles were wrong. His son and successor also, John, was equally beloved at Kelston ; for the Lady Dionysia, his mother, having quarrelled with, and being determined to inconvenience him, by removing the personal property from the seat and disposing of it, the inhabitants of the parish rose upon the servants, dispersed them, and replaced the goods in the house, for the benefit of the heir. The old mansion, it is said, suffered during the civil wars, being alternately plundered by the royalists and parliamentarians, as often as their forces passed that way ; but its venerable head still continued to brave the storms of fortune, and the changes and chances of human affairs, till modern taste laid its destructive hand upon the fabric, and in the rage of improvement levelled its turrets with the dust. ' The stories told of Queen Elizabeth's visits to Kelston are romantic fictions. [UnfoHnnitely, owing to n. misconception, the Chapels here described were omitted in their proper places. ] Teim Street Chapel. This congregation was originally formed after the passing of the Act of Uniformity in 1662. By that Act many minis- ters were ejected from livings in Bath and the neighbouring villages. Twenty-six years, however, elapsed before the Nonconformists of this city obtained sucli toleration as allowed of their having a place of public worship and a permanent ministry. The first minister appears to have settled here about 1688— the Rev. Christopher Taylor. It has been said that, at this time, the congregation met in a shear-shop, Bath being then a clothing town. In 1692 they removed to a meetinsr-house, which they had built in Frog Lane, near what is now New Bond Street. The present building was erected in 1795 at a cost of about £2, .500, and was considerably altered and renovated in 1860. Most members of the Congregation adopt the Unitarian belief, although the chapel, in accordance with their principle, is founded by trust-deed for the worship of Almighty God. No control is attempted or desired over the religious opinions of those who attend the services. All are free to form their own faith. We believe that, after the present chapel was built, the Rev. David Jardine was the first minister. He was a man of eminent ability and distinguished for his many noble qualities. In 1798 the Rev. John Prior Estlin, of Bristol, edited and published a series of Jardine's Sermons, delivered in the chapel, in 2 vols. , 8vo. Another gentleman, of equal eminence, connected with this historic place of worship, was the late Rev. Joseph Hunter, whose zeal in promoting the literary and material interests of Bath was always conspicuous, and entitle Bath : Old and New. him to one of the highest places in the gallery of local worthies. Connected with the congregation are various institutions — a Sunday School ; Social Union, established to promote friendly intercourse ; Ladies' Working Society, which prepares gar- ments for distribution among the poor ; Provident Society, the visitors of which collect from more than 500 members weekly at their homes ; Mothers' Meeting and Band of Hope ; Field and Discussion Society. The present Minister is the Kev. F. W. Stanley, 2, Rich- mond Hill ; and the Treasurer, .Jerom Murch, Esq. , Cranwells. Hay Hill Chapel. St. Werburgh's Church, or Sanctuary Chapel, was one of the early mediaeval ecclesiastical structures, outside the city boundaries. On a portion of the site of this early church now stands a Baptist Chapel, erected in 1869, at a cost of nearly £3,000. The site presented many architectural difficulties, which were happily overcome by Messrs, Wilson and Willcox, the style of architecture being Early Pointed Gothic. In the rear is a small vestry, and beneath the whole a spacious schoolroom. Peecy Chapel. This Chapel, in the Byzantine style, was built in 1854, from designs by Messrs. Goodridge and Son, the cost being about £5,000. On the retirement of the late Rev. W. Jay from Argyle Chapel (see Argyle Chapel) a secession from that congregation occurred, when it was determined to erect this chapel, and in compliment to their former pastor, whose residence was at Percy Place, the secessionists called it " Percy Chapel." Schedule of Works WRITTEN BY MR. R. E. PEACH, OF BATH. Government by Party : Its Strength and its Weakness. SmaU 8vo. 1879. Imperialism and the Crown. Demy 8vo. 1879. The Church of England : Its importance in connection with the State. Demy 8vo. 1880. Conservatism : What it is ; what it is not. Small 8vo. 1881. Rambles about Bath and its Neighbourhood. With Woodcuts and Autotypes, pp. 470. Price, Six Shillings. Small 8vo. 1876. Ditto, pp. 481. Ditto. Small 8vo. 1878. Historic Houses in Bath and their Associations. pp. 180. Small 4to. 1883. Ditto, Second Series, pp. 160. Uniform. 1884. Lives op Old Bath Physicians. First Series. Written for the Bath Herald. (Second Series in progress.) Bath in the Days or Fielding and Smollett. Written for Bath Chronicle. Articles in the Antiquary on Ralph Allen, the Building of Prior Park, etc. 1885, 1886. Sketches of the Lives of Sir John Harington, William Prynne, and Christopher Anstey. Eleven altogether. Written for Bladud, a local literary paper. 1886. The Abbey Church op Bath : Its History and Associa- tions. With Seven Illustrations. Price, Six Shillings. Small 4to. 1887. The Hospital op St. John Baptist, Bath : Its History and Associations. Price, Four Shillings. Small 4to. 1886. BATH : CHARLES SBEKS, PEINTEE, I AKQTLE STREET. GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE OOUNTI ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL. By HORACE B. WOODWARD, F.G.S. BASED ON THE MAPS OF THE GEOLOGICAL 1 PUBLISHED BY FREDERICK BLACKETT, 62 NEW STREET, BIRMINC lp of the country around bath, By HOKACE B. WOODWAKD, F.G.S. f^SED ON THE MAPS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. BLISHEO BY FREDERICK BLACKETT, 62 NEW STREET, BIRMINGHAM. GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE COUN ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL. By HORACE B. IVOOLWAPJj, F.G.S. BASED ON THE MAPS OF THE GEOLOGK GALL * IN0LI8, BDINBUROH PUBLISHED BY FREDERICK BLACKETT, 82 NEW STREET, 8 THE COUNTRY AROUND BATH, HORACE B. TVOODWAED, F.G.S. E MAPS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. EOERICK BLACKETT, 62 NEW STREET, BIRMINGHAM