The ancient city of Bath in Somerset grew up around hot springs on the River Avon, where the Romans founded baths at the location they named Aquae Sulis, the magnificent buildings of which still stand today. The health-giving fame of the waters brought wealth and visitors to the town in later centuries and Bath became an important and fashionable spa town during the Georgian period, attracting high society and gentry from London and around the country. Bath was transformed in the Georgian era as leading architects left a remarkable historical legacy, much of it built in the distinctive Bath stone. Despite being targeted in the Baedeker raids during the Second World War, the legacy of Bath's historical structures has remained intact, and the city has been recognised with its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bath in 50 Buildings explores the history of this fascinating city through a selection of its most interesting buildings. These buildings represent architectural and historic periods from Roman Britain to the present day including the Roman Baths, the medieval abbey church, the elegant sweep of the Georgian Royal Crescent, the striking Circus, the magnificent Pump Room and Assembly Rooms as well as many streets and squares of the period and Robert Adam's Pulteney Bridge. Twentieth-century and present-day architecture is also represented in Bath with new commercial and housing developments, its two universities, Thermae Spa and Southgate Shopping Precinct, theatres and other cultural centres. The book will appeal to all those who live in Bath or who have an interest in the city.