Bath's Georgian Architecture

Bath's Georgian Architecture

Bath wouldn't be Bath without its distinctive 18th-century Georgian architecture, much of which was conceived by John Wood the Elder (1704-54), an antiquarian and architect obsessed. Wood saw Bath as a city destined for almost mythic greatness along the lines of Winchester and Glastonbury. Arriving in Bath in 1727, he sought an architectural style that would do justice to his concept, and found it in the Palladian style, made popular in Britain by Inigo Jones. For building material, he looked no further than the local golden limestone. Influenced by nearby ancient stone circles as well as round Roman temples, Wood broke from convention in his design for Bath's Circus, a circle of houses broken only three times for intersecting streets. After the death of Wood the Elder, John Wood the Younger (1728-82) carried out his father's plans for the Royal Crescent, an obtuse crescent of 30 interconnected houses. Today you can stop in at No. 1 Royal Crescent for a look at one of these homes—it's like eavesdropping on the 18th century.