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Bath & The West Country

Championed by the World Heritage Site of Bath, the West Country surrounding Burghope Manor is rich in history and appeal. The area, with Stonehenge, Bath and Longleat among its attractions, has been welcoming visitors, from the early Celts and Romans to present day visitors, for more than 2,000 years.

The whole area takes a pride in sharing its beauty and unique heritage, which can be explored in a variety of museums, galleries, lauded country properties, parks, gardens, landscapes and attractions. Bath itself is steeped in a wealthy history, presenting some of the finest architectural sites in the world and is rightly revered as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. In its own right Bath is hugely exciting with an inviting atmosphere all of its own, offering an intriguing mix of arts, entertainment, events and all manner of activities you would expect from a leading city. Its significance is well recognised in contemporary literature and both national and international history. Bath is well served by its environs which offer endless supplies of culture and learning in many forms.

As with other World Heritage sites such as Salzburg and Florence, Bath boasts riches for all visitors. At the heart of the city is the magnificent Bath Abbey. The present building has recently celebrated its 500th anniversary, though originally (cAD757) a Saxon Abbey where the first King of England, Edgar, was crowned in AD973. The fan vaulting and its vibrant colours are considered to be the finest in Britain. The ecclesiastical history of the area is well presented in the Abbey Heritage vaults, which tell the story of 1600 years of Christianity. Alongside the Abbey are the incredible Roman baths - built around the thermal springs, one of the finest ancient monuments in Europe, the baths have been naturally supplying warm spring water for 2,000 years. The aesthetically pleasing qualities of Georgian architecture blending effortlessly from the Royal Crescent and the Circus to Great Pulteney Street are a joy to witness.

The West Country is a region of Britain with a unique and fascinating character of its own which still reflects its swashbuckling and mystical past. It is a land of legend and literature; of history and heroics ....The bringing of the Holy Grail to Glastonbury; King Arthur and the Round Table; the Druids of Stonehenge and Avebury; Sir Francis Drake and the Spanish Armada; Charles Dickens; Thomas Hardy's Dorset; Jane Austen's Bath; the Exmoor of Lorna Doone; the romance of the sea, its captains, pirates and smugglers. Not forgetting the West Country's own inimitable exotic food and drink - farmhouse cider; cream teas; Somerset apples, Cornish pasties and Cheddar cheese. And by no means least is the warmth of its people pleased to receive visitors from all corners of the globe.

For those seeking an active outdoor life Burghope Manor is at the centre of an area offering superlative sports facilities which include golf, riding, fishing, horse racing and cricket. For entertainment alone there are theatres, museums and an array of noteworthy festivals and events. If shopping is required, Bath and Bristol, market towns and major out of town outlets provide quality shopping experiences, catering for a variety of tastes and budgets. In any case you're unlikely to leave empty handed, even if its just a Bath Bun!

The list of reasons to visit the West Country is almost endless, and staying around Bath is a must. Burghope Manor is ideally situated and on hand to make your visit as pleasant as possible.

Go to Reservations.

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Bath - A Brief History

The Legend of the Baths

Bath rests on a bed of Jurassic Stone that runs from the Yorkshire Moors southwest across England down to Dorset. Through the cracks in the stone, hot springs bubble up with a constant flow at 49°C (120°F). Legend has it that young Prince Bladud was exiled from his father's court because of leprosy. To earn his daily bread he tended a herd of pigs, and noticed that the pigs also had a skin infection. After they had been rooting in the muddy waters in a remote wooded valley, their skin started to heal, and although winter there was no frost around the area of the spring. Bladud decided to bathe in the waters himself and found them to be curiously warm. He himself was cured and returned to his father's court, later to become King. He made the spring a sacred place of healing.

Settlers

The Celts first settled in the area from 500BC onwards. The Celts were warlike, but skilled artisans. Their priests, 'The Druids' were feared and respected and the Celts held most of the secure hilltop sites around Bath. Although written evidence was not left by these people to describe themselves, artefacts found by the Romans give some insight as to what kind of people this race were. One artefact in particular, a Gorgon with wild flowing hair and bulging eyes, gives us a good insight on just how savage they were and is on display in the Roman Bath Museum.

Romans

Following the Roman invasion by the Emperor Claudius in 43AD, Bath or as the Romans named it in AD 44, 'Aquae Sulis' ("Town of the waters of Sul", a Celtic goddess) became well known. The comfort of the Hot Springs, after marching through the cold drenched countryside, drew them to the town. The green waters of the King's Spring which rise beneath the pump room windows has provided more than 24,000 gallons of water daily from medieval times until today. The Romans built their social lives around the bath houses, that were a little like a modern day health farm. They created 'hypocausts', an intricate heating system, under the baths. Treatment rooms became the social meeting houses, and the entrance hall was the area in which people would congregate, with its enormous windows overlooking Sulis-Minerva the sacred spring. On passing, many people would throw money and trinkets into the waters as a gift to Aquae Sulis, the Celtic Goddess. Many of the trinkets were excavated in recent times and are on view in the Bath Museum.

Post Roman Bath & The Abbey

By the early 5th Century Bath was in decline, following the collapse of the Roman rule, and the great bathing complex fell into disuse. In 757AD, the Saxons founded an Abbey, and used the materials from the Roman building to use as foundations for their new place of worship. The Abbey was to become one of the most important monasteries in England. Edgar, first King of England was crowned there in 973AD in the presence of the Archbishops of York and Canterbury. A special service was devised for this occasion and is still used, with little changing, for the coronation of British Monarchs to this day.

Bath Abbey is situated in the heart of Bath, and for the past twelve and a half centuries three different churches have occupied this site. The Saxon church was demolished by the Norman conquerors in 1066. In approximately 1090, they built an enormous Cathedral. Unfortunately because of its great size it fell to ruin at the end of the 15th Century after the monastery failed to maintain it. The current Abbey was founded in 1499, but in 1539 was devastated after the dissolution of the monasteries by order of Henry VIII. Lead was stripped from the roof, and the windows were smashed, and left open to the elements. With generous donations from the general public the Abbey was later restored.

Middle Ages - Wool Trade

In the Middle Ages, Bath was to become known for its wool trade, its ability to utilise surrounding fast running streams and rivers and the invention of mechanical devices. Mills started to appear, and outworkers from neighbourhood villages and the town worked from home spinning and weaving. Instead of exporting wool from Flanders, the English began to make the cloth themselves. With the demand from wealthy citizens for good cloth, the wool trade flourished.

Spas

By the 16th Century the wool trade started to decline however spas became fashionable once more, with Queen Elizabeth I supporting claims that spa waters held healing powers. A new bath was created, built in 1570, specifically for women, and the Queen gave the spa her seal of approval in 1574. Later to be named the 'Queens Bath', with separate changing rooms decorated to a high standard, and sluices. Bath became a fashionable area once more, and started to attract royalty and wealth. Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, the Queen's most favoured courtier, visited Bath on many occasions. Sir Walter Raleigh, the adventurer, spent as much time as he could in Bath, inviting his friends to meet him in the city. The Pump Rooms were built to compliment the Roman baths, and were designed originally to help invalids coming to take the waters. The first pump room was built in 1704, and in 1796 was taken down and rebuilt to cope with a larger volume of public.

Georgian Development

Georgian developers exploited the spa and built the beautiful houses, terraces and crescents making Bath the stylish city we see today. The Royal Crescent was built between 1767 and 1774 designed by John Wood the Younger. It is one of the finest examples of 18th Century architecture, consisting of thirty mansions fronted by over a hundred Ionic columns built in the 1770s. The house at Number 1 Royal Crescent was first leased to Thomas Brock in 1769, and records show that the Duke of York, the second son of George III, rented this house in 1776. Royal Victoria Park lays to the front of Royal Crescent, and was laid out in 1830. It is a peaceful haven to escape from the city centre. The west of the park is home to Bath's Botanical Garden and Aviary. At the end of which there is the Georgian Garden, restored in 1980, and containing the original paths and flowerbeds. A walk down Brock Street leads to another gem, The Circus of 1750, a circle of 99 houses grouped in three solidly confident arcs. The Circus, was designed by John Wood the Elder, but completed by his son John Wood the Younger. The building boasts a fascinating frieze depicting achievements of the day, and the columns on the face of the each building represent all three types of classical columns. Doric on street level, Ionic in the middle and Corinthian at the top. Thomas Gainsborough, the artist, probably best known for his painting 'The Blue Boy', rented a house in the Circus. He always gave his address as 'Mr Gainsborough, Bath'. Having rekindled its popularity, Bath was again attracting wealth, The Theatre Royal was built in 1805, with a beautiful interior of velvets, silk and gilding, offering entertainment to suit all tastes. Richard Nash, the Regency Dandy, lived next door to the theatre for fifteen years. Another piece of beautiful architecture in Bath is Pulteney Bridge, designed by Robert Adam, and based on the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence. With Access to Bath from Bathwick made by ferry c1767, William Johnstone Pulteney saw the potential in developing his wife's 600 acre Bathwick estate. By the summer of 1770, the Adams brothers had become involved. Adams' idea of incorporating shops on the bridge was at first rejected, but he was persuasive, and in 1773 the bridge was completed. In September 1799 floods destroyed one of the piers of the bridge, with the last pier collapsing in November 1800. However, these piers were later rebuilt. Bath Council made the bridge a national monument in January 1936, and restored the facade in 1951.

Bath Today

Today, Bath is busy and very popular with visitors from all over the world, who come to see the beautiful architecture, the Roman remains and, of course, to taste the spa waters. The city has seen many changes, moved dynamically through many eras and is now recognised as one of the most beautiful cities in England.

Go to Reservations.

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