Now Camden Crescent. Originally 32 symmetrical homes. In 1889 a landslide led to 9 houses being lost and with other landslips in the area led to the demolition of other homes and the creation of Hedgemead Park. It is named, like Camden Town in London, after the 1st Earl of Camden.

Our completely free daily walks start here in Abbey Churchyard (formerly the Pump Yard). In 2024 we showed over 46,000 people around our beautiful city – something we have done since 1934. Our average feedback score of 4.98/5.00 - please do come on a walk with us - all welcome.

This ghost sign shows a circulating library and reading room. Books at the time were heavy and expensive and for visitors to Bath for the season a paid subscription to such libraries was the answer. This sign can be dated to pre 1826 - the final year of the state lottery.

Gout can be triggered by a rich diet and lead poisoning. Lead acetate was used as a sweetener in wine. Drinking Bath waters reduced wine / lead intake and bathing helped remove lead from the body - delivering a partial, temporary but definite "cure" - until old habits returned.

Off Laura Place are Henrietta, Johnstone and Great Pulteney Streets. (Henrietta) Laura Johnstone Pulteney (1766 – 1808) was the only child of Francis who had inherited the Bathwick estate where these roads are built. Her picture (age 11) by Angelica Kauffmann is in
@holburnemuseumbath.bsky.social
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Very true! Scholars can argue over whether it was Athelstan, Edgar or another. Best solution is to visit both Bath and Malmesbury. You may not get closer to the answer, but you can immerse yourself in the beauty and history of the area.

King Edgar the peacemaker was the first king of all England. He was crowned in Bath (on the site of the current abbey) some years into his reign in 973 AD. The ceremony used became the template for all future coronations including that for Charles III over 1000 years later.

Abbey Church House which backs onto Westgate Buildings is (with Bath Abbey) a rare (much restored) survivor of medieval Bath and a reminder of how the city looked before the dramatic change in style that accompanied the Georgian building boom.

Mr James King was in fact a real person. He held the post in the Lower Rooms from 1785 to 1805 and then the Upper Rooms until his death in 1816 – a move that confirmed the superior standing of the Upper Rooms. Jane also references writers Anne Radcliffe and indirectly Fanny Burney.

The Assembly Rooms were design by John Wood the Younger (who also designed the Royal Crescent) whilst his dad gave us Queen Square and the Circus. They led the expansion, and rebuild, of Bath in the Palladian style – which in turn harked back to Greek and Roman architecture.

Union Street replaced the Bear Inn – This was the originally meeting place of the oldest surviving freemasons lodge in Bath. Formed in 1732 the Bear Inn Lodge became Royal Cumberland Lodge in 1786 – probably named after the Duke of Cumberland – the "Butcher of the Scots".