The Roman town flourished for as long as the great empire of which it was an outpost could support it. But by the early fifth century, Aquae Sulis was in decline.
With the collapse of Roman rule, the great bathing complex fell into ruin. Emphasis shifted to the foundation of a Saxon monastery. Roman buildings were robbed to their foundations to provide building materials for the growing Christian settlement. It was to become one of the most important monasteries in England. In 973 King Edgar, first king of all England, was crowned in the Abbey Church in the presence of the Archbishops of York and Canterbury. A special service was devised for the occasion and this is still used, little changed, for the coronation of British monarchs.
With the coming of the Normans, Bath gained a new dignity – in 1091 it became a cathedral city. Bishop John of Tours replaced the monastery with a great cathedral priory on the continental model. The Tudor Abbey Church occupies only the nave area of the vast Norman cathedral. Also around this time new baths were built at the three hot springs: the King’s, Hot and Cross Baths.
During the Middle Ages, Bath was well-known for its cloth-making. But as the wool trade slumped in the mid-16th century, the hot springs reclaimed their status as the chief attraction of the town. The visit of Queen Elizabeth in 1574 set the seal of royal approval on Bath as a spa. The baths were enlarged
and improved and the nobility and gentry flocked to the city. Fine inns and lodging houses sprang up to accommodate them and already in the 17th century,
Bath was considered one of the loveliest cities in the country.
As the 18th century dawned a new era opened for Bath. The seasonal influx of a wealthy elite acted as a magnet to the luxury trades. Artists, actors, musicians and gamblers peopled a playground for the aristocracy. Richard Beau Nash, attracted to Bath as a gambler, became the city’s Master of
Ceremonies. His firm hand welded together polite society in a fashionable round of promenades, assemblies and visits to the Pump Room. Bath wasstill the hospital of the nation, but the glittering social life of the country’s premier resort drew ever more visitors.
