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Bath Abbey Review

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Bath Abbey

Address: Abbey Churchyard, Bath
Phone: 01225/422462
www.bathabbey.org

Category: Religious Sites
Location: Bath

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Fodor's Review:

Dominating Bath's center, this 15th-century edifice of golden, glowing stone has a splendid west front, with carved figures of angels ascending ladders on either side. Notice, too, the miter, olive tree, and crown motif, a play on the name of the current building's founder, Bishop Oliver King. More than 50 stained-glass windows fill about 80% of the building's wall space, giving the interior an impression of lightness. The abbey was built in the Perpendicular (English late-Gothic) style on the site of a Saxon abbey, and the nave and side aisles contain superb fan-vaulted ceilings. There are six services on Sunday. In the Heritage Vaults, accessible from outside the building (the entrance is in the abbey's south wall, off Abbey Churchyard), you can see an audiovisual presentation of the abbey's history, along with a reconstruction of the Norman cathedral that preceded it, various pieces of statuary, and a petition from 4th-century Bath, which includes what is thought to be the first mention of the word "Christian" in Britain.

Cost: Abbey £3 donation, Heritage Vaults free
Open: Abbey Apr.-Oct., Mon.-Sat. 9-6, Sun. 1-2:30 and 4:30-5:30; Nov.-Mar., Mon.-Sat. 9-4:30, Sun. 1-2:30. Heritage Vaults Mon.-Sat. 10-4

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