Sunday 2 April 2017

As it's Sunday it's the Museum of Bath Architecture...

I'm going backwards for this visit to Bath, and sharing the smaller less well-known museums in Bath first.

Last Sunday we (husband and I) visited the Museum of Bath Architecture (which appears on some tourist brochures/maps as the Buildings of Bath) and it was well worth the visit.

The exhibition is located in the Countess of Huntingdon's Chapel along the raised pavement of The Paragon, The Vineyards. It's owned by The Bath Preservation Trust who are also involved with No.1 The Royal Crescent (I visited there on my last trip to Bath in 2014).

It's all raised pavement...

(You'll see a cape belonging to the Countess in a later post.)


Acorn Finials at The Circus
If you don't know anything about the architecture of Bath there's a very helpful video to start you off, before you go on to discover the various crafts and the tools used by the men who built the distinctive houses from the lower to the upper end of the city.

(When I'd been waiting for the Fashion Museum to open the previous day, we'd wandered into The Circus, and one of the pictures I took was of the stone acorns finials that run around the roof line, and we both assumed they had some symbolism.)

So it was a surprise to turn the corner of the first display cabinet and there was a large stone acorn, similar to those in the Circus, though this one was from The Royal Crescent. [1]

Stone Acorn Finial
from the Royal
Crescent...
Yes, it is symbolic.

John Wood (the Elder) who designed The Circus, sadly died three months after the foundation stone was laid, and the building work continued under the Younger John Wood. The elder Wood was strongly influenced by Stonehenge ( he studied and wrote about it) and other stone circles- the Druids were in there too...

On a previous visit to the Circus it was a very sunny May day, the sun was almost in alignment with Gay Street (that leads up to the centre) and it's easy to see the stone circle influence with his design.

The acorns reference Bladud- who is supposed to have discovered the healing hot waters of Bath; his pigs- suffering from a skin disease- were looking for acorns to eat and were cured by the hot spring.

There were a few items that I particularly enjoyed seeing; the Mason's Level with a lead plumb weight. [2]

Mason's Level


Model of 26 Great
Pultney Street...
But the most impressive item has to be the model display of the city, and you can press buttons that lights up the best known locations. (see image at the bottom of this post) [3]

By the time we'd worked our way around the displays you could really appreciate the skills of the men who did the actual building work, they brought the architects designs and visions to reality, using many of the tools that craftsmen today would still recognise.

Even the little models required skill and are interesting too. [4]

You can see a few of the other items from the Trust's collection, here.

I've only mentioned a few things, but there is so much more to see and learn.

It's a small museum, and like many smaller places across the country, they like (and welcome) visitors. So if you get the opportunity do go, you won't be disappointed...


The Royal Crescent and The Circus
lit up in the Bath city model...


Images 1,2,3,4 taken with permission.

Raised pavement image courtesy of RP Bevitt.

Thursday 30 March 2017

Back from My Travels to Bath...

Last Friday I went down to Bath for a long weekend. It was a wonderful and much-needed break after a stressful six months.

As I've been so busy since I came back I haven't had time to sort out all my photos and pick the best ones for my blog posts here, and over on my Serena Lake site.

So that's my job this weekend.

The History of Fashion in 100 Objects at the Fashion Museum was fantastic, and if you get the opportunity do go and see it. Their smaller Lace exhibition was equally as interesting.

It's going to be difficult choosing my favourite images from all those costumes and items that were on display...

I'll be doing a couple of blog posts on two smaller and lesser known museums that might get missed if you've never been to Bath before: The Postal Museum, and the Museum of Bath Architecture that is housed in the Countess of Huntingdon's Chapel.

Both of these held surprises and answered a few questions I had...

I did a lot of walking- fortunately the weather was dry and quite bright, although the evenings were chilly.

But all that exercise meant I could go into the Pump Room for tea (on Mother's Day) without feeling too guilty. It's very elegant, and there was music provided by a trio of musicians.

The evidence has been eaten...

There are a number of parks around Bath too which are clearly enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.

Sydney Gardens, behind the Holbourne Museum, has both a canal and a railway line running through them, though I believe they were actually there before the Gardens were laid out around them.

Henrietta Gardens lies between Great Pultney Street and Henrietta Street (where the hotel we were staying at was located), so it was a delightful diversion from one road to the next.

So look out for my next post at the weekend...