Bath, Somerset

Bath (RP: , locally [ba(ː)θ]) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. The city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, and was later listed as one of the "Great Spa Towns of Europe". Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, 97 miles (156 km) west of London and 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Bristol, and is the largest city and urban settlement in Somerset.

The city became a spa with the Latin name Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis") c. 60 AD when the Romans built baths and a temple in the Avon valley, although hot springs were known even before then. Bath Abbey was founded in the 7th century and became a religious centre; the building was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries. In the 17th century, claims were made for the curative properties of water from the springs, and Bath became popular as a spa town in the Georgian era. Georgian architecture, crafted from Bath stone, includes the Royal Crescent, Circus, Grand Pump Room, and the Assembly Rooms, where Beau Nash presided over the city's social life from 1705 until his death in 1761.

From Wikipedia and its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Text reformatted for this reading view.