Based by the Romans and polished into honey-colored grandeur by the Georgians, the traditional spa metropolis of Tub is famend for its structure. Whether or not you’re seeking Bridgerton backdrops or historical Roman marvels, Tub’s historic buildings make this one of many prettiest cities in southwest England.
With a staggering 5000 or so listed buildings and UNESCO World Heritage standing, Tub’s historical past comes alive at each flip. And that story takes us proper again to the first century CE, when the traditional Romans based the city of Aquae Sulis across the pure sizzling springs right here.
Within the 18th century, those self same sizzling springs enticed the Georgian aristocracy because the rediscovered well being fad of “taking the waters” boomed amongst excessive society. In simply 100 years, Tub was reworked from a small medieval metropolis into a modern metropolis some ten occasions its former measurement, with nearly all buildings uniformly constructed from native, gold-beige limestone.
It’s because of that Georgian city planning that Tub enjoys the celebrity it does at present. The spa metropolis’s 18th-century streets have supplied the proper backdrop for each massive and small display screen interval items, most lately starring as Georgian “London” within the hit Netflix present Bridgerton.
Spring is a very pretty time to go to, when cherry blossoms and purple wisteria bloom in opposition to the fawn tones of the Tub stone. However everytime you go to, Tub’s dwelling historical past is a delight to discover.
Take in town’s historical past on the Roman Baths
Tub’s Roman origins are an integral a part of its architectural historical past. In contrast to the extra typical Roman garrison cities, Aquae Sulis was a middle for leisure and therapeutic.
At this time the Roman Baths within the metropolis middle function a number of the best-preserved historical Roman structure on the earth. Discover the 2000-year-old pavements, plunge swimming pools, and temples of this spiritual spa, constructed round 70 CE. Comply with the wonderful audio information to be taught extra.
The centerpiece is the massive rectangular bathing pool. Surrounded by a picturesque colonnaded walkway, the pool continues to be fed by 1,170,000 liters (309,000 gallons) of 46°C (115°F) spring water each day.
Get pleasure from a movie-star backdrop at Royal Crescent
Overlooking the Royal Victoria Park, the Royal Crescent is among the most iconic sights in Tub and a regal instance of 18th-century Palladian structure. This curved line of 30 terraced homes was designed by John Wooden the Youthful, an area architect who – alongside together with his father John Wooden the Elder – was instrumental in designing the best way Georgian Tub regarded.
This stunning crescent can also be certainly one of Tub’s most filmed places, from Vainness Truthful (1967) to The Duchess (2007) and Bridgerton (2020).
Don’t miss No. 1 Royal Crescent to find inside structure and design typical of the Georgian interval. Now open as a public museum, the rooms have been adorned and furnished precisely as they’d have been by rich households within the late 18th century.
Uncover Tub’s Georgian Palladianism on the Circus
John Wooden the Elder’s lofty ambition was to revive Tub to its former Roman glory. He designed a number of of town’s most stunning streets and buildings, chief amongst them the Circus. Initially known as King’s Circus, this ring of terraced townhouses is made up of three curved segments, forming a circle with three entrances.
Combining his passions for historical historical past and Palladianism, Wooden the Elder designed the Circus with the identical diameter as Stonehenge and took his inspiration from the Colosseum in Rome. It’s believed that each Woods had connections with the Freemasons: look intently on the frieze above the columns on the Circus’ terraced homes and also you’ll spot many masonic symbols, amongst different emblems.
Browse the retailers on Pulteney Bridge
In-built 1774, Pulteney Bridge – which overlooks a beautiful horseshoe-shaped weir within the River Avon – is one other instance of the Palladian type so common in Tub. It additionally occurs to be certainly one of solely a handful of bridges on the earth constructed with retailers throughout its full span on each side.
Head to the riverside reverse The Empire on Grand Parade for the very best view of the bridge and weir. When you’ve crossed the bridge, proceed east alongside the grand Nice Pulteney Avenue, which is lined on both aspect by Georgian properties.
Take a flip across the Meeting Rooms
Whereas lots of Tub’s architectural marvels can solely be loved from the surface, guests can enter the Meeting Rooms for an intriguing glimpse of excessive society life in Georgian England.
Residence to a Ball Room, Tea Room, and Card Room, the Meeting Rooms have been the epicenter of the 18th-century social scene. At this time the elegant rooms – full with typical Georgian decor and unique crystal chandeliers – are nonetheless used for features, however they are often toured once they haven’t been employed out.
Climb Tub Abbey Tower for a blinding cityscape
Tub Abbey traces its origins proper again to the seventh century. It was rebuilt in 1499 within the Perpendicular Gothic type (though it wasn’t accomplished till 1620) and is among the few medieval buildings that may be seen in Tub’s metropolis middle following the Regency reinvention of the 18th century.
Look as much as admire the Abbey’s fan-vaulted ceilings, created within the 1500s by the king’s grasp masons. Take the Tower Tour for probably the greatest views of Tub’s metropolis middle, or take pleasure in a superb view of the Abbey tower from the rooftop pool on the common Thermae Tub Spa.
Name on Bridgerton’s Girl Danbury on the Holburne Museum
These visiting Tub seeking Bridgerton filming places gained’t wish to miss a visit to the Holburne Museum. The constructing’s grand exterior, with its pillars and coated loggia, starred as Girl Danbury’s residence within the Netflix present.
As soon as the Sydney Lodge, a modern Georgian social venue, this spectacular Grade I listed constructing has been house to Tub’s first public artwork gallery since 1916. Don’t miss a go to to the Sydney Gardens behind the resort: courting from 1795, these are one of many solely surviving Georgian pleasure gardens in England.
Eat a Tub Bun at Sally Lunn’s
One of many oldest homes in Tub, courting from no less than 1482, Sally Lunn’s is one thing of an establishment. Whereas most of “Previous Tub” was swept away throughout the 18th-century, this historic little store is a singular reminder of medieval Tub.
Sally Lunn’s rose to fame as the house of the unique Tub Bun: a lightweight, cake-like bun much like brioche, thought to have been invented by the store’s namesake in 1680. At this time it’s a comfortable tearoom set over a number of flooring, nonetheless serving Tub Buns cooked to Sally Lunn’s unique Seventeenth-century recipe.
Study Extra on the Museum of Tub Structure
Guests with a eager curiosity in Tub’s architectural historical past can acquire an in depth overview on this charming museum. The Museum of Tub Structure is housed inside the Countess of Huntingdon’s Chapel, a major constructing its in personal proper and one of many solely examples of post-medieval Gothic in Tub. The chapel was inbuilt 1765 for Selina Hastings, the Countess of Huntingdon, and was certainly one of many she inbuilt England as a part of her marketing campaign to unfold Methodism all through the nation.
