Home » Roman Britain » Roman Baths – Bath, England

Roman Baths – Bath, England

Below is a detailed article about the Roman Baths in Bath, England. It is a site of historical interest and is extremely well preserved. It is located in the English city of Bath. It was once used for public bathing.

Roman Bath

Contents

The main feature of the Roman Bath is the Sacred Spring or the natural hot spring of Bath. There is a Roman temple in the same complex and a Roman Bath House. The buildings on the entire street are constructions from the 19th century. These baths are a major tourist attraction.

roman-bath1
Roman Bath in Bath, England

There were 1.3 million visitors in 2018. Visitors are not allowed to enter the water. However, they can take a tour of the baths and museum.

Hot Spring

The water bubbling from the ground evaporates to rain on the Mendip Hills. Limestone aquifers are fit in depth of 2700 to 4300 meters. Here the geothermal energy raises the water temperature to 69 – 96-degree Celcius. This is a natural process which the enhanced geothermal system is based on. This happens due to the high pressures below the earth’s crust.

roman baths hot springs
Natural Hot Springs in Roman Bath

History of Roman Bath

Many archaeological pieces of evidence from Roman Bath suggest that the Celtic used the place as a temple and a place of worship. The springs were dedicated to their goddesses. However, studies suggest that Emperor Claudius may have commanded the engineers to design a foundation and convert the temple into a bath. Roman baths are ancient roman practice and traditions.

There were three different types of Bath in Roman Britain. Namely caldarium, tepidarium, and frigidarium which mean hot bath, lukewarm bath, and cold bath. It is possible that the Anglo Saxons destroyed this Roman Britain setup of the bath.

The Bath has been redeveloped many times in history. In the 12th century, the Spring was renamed the King’s Spring and built by John of Tours. New baths were developed in the 19th century on this reservoir. A neo-classical salon from this era yet remains in the Bath. People drink the water from the Grand Pump Room that is here.

statues-roman-bath
A Roman statue overlooking the Roman Bath

There was this Victorian expansion of the bath which has made it a tourist spot ever since. The continuation of the Grand Pump Room is a glass-domed central room which is the entrance of the bath. It was built by Thomas Baldwin in 1789. The project was then overtaken by John Palmer who completed the entire construction 1799.

A beautiful abbey churchyard possesses four large corinthian style columns. In 1889, Charles Edward Davis laid the foundation of the Queen’s Bath and other extended buildings.

Museum in Roman Bath

Many Roman artifacts were thrown into the Sacred Springs as a pagan tradition. These artifacts date from different eras in Roman Britain as well as other times in British History. These are collected and maintained in the Museum at the Roman Bat. More than 12000 Roman coins have been found in these areas. There is an ornamental section of the museum that preserves and displays the different columns and decorated pediment. They are of various sizes and are also uniquely built with the head of a goddess or a god at the top end of the pillars.

An interpretation of the Roman water god – Oceanus is also seen. It is argued that it could be the figure of the Celtic sun god.

Conservation of the Roman Bath

The Roman Bath is one of the most preserved structures of the world. It is not only conserved by people today but has been conserved, improved and redeveloped throughout centuries in England. In the year 2006, a ventilation system was installed in the baths to prevent the walls and stoneworks from corrosion.

The Department for culture, media, and sport funded a grant of 90000 euros to redevelop the displays and access to the Roman Baths.

Found info useful?