Bath, the UNESCO World Heritage Site in southwest England’s Somerset countryside, is named for its top tourist attraction. The city was founded in the first century by the Romans, who used its natural hot springs as a thermal spa. But a dip in those steaming waters, in an elaborately engineered underground temple dedicated to Minerva, goddess of healing, is off limits to visitors who wander through the historic site today.
At the Cleveland Pools, however, you can once again take the plunge. This equally impressive water complex was built in 1815 and continuously used for bathing until 1984. Following a nearly £10-million restoration, the complex, believed to be the oldest surviving outdoor public swimming pool in the United Kingdom, reopened to the public in the fall. Its main attraction is a large curvilinear pool, originally reserved for male bathers who had been banned from swimming nude in the adjacent river.
The Cleveland Pools complex is believed to be the oldest surviving outdoor public swimming pool in the United Kingdom, reopened to the public in the fall.Anthony Brown/Supplied
Cleveland Pools can only be reached on foot through the scenic trails of a quiet residential cul-de-sac, which contributes to its somewhat secret status. Travelling there takes you through layers of Saxon, medieval and Tudor architecture, and most notably, neoclassical Palladian buildings constructed during the 18th century under the reign of George III. Accented with honey-coloured limestone pediments and Corinthian pilasters, these landmarks give the city its distinctive glow, even in the pouring rain.
The direct 90-minute train from London Paddington means that Bath, population 100,000, sees a significant influx of visitors, particularly for weekend getaways. Many of those tourists come to town to experience the waters and the historic cityscape, to follow in the literary footsteps of Mary Shelley (who wrote much of her landmark gothic Frankenstein while attending lectures in town) and Jane Austen (who lived here, briefly), and to hop between filming locations of Netflix’s blockbuster Regency-era series Bridgerton. Lately, the city is also becoming a destination for fans of a branch of contemporary British design that’s anchored in history.
Bath’s influx of weekenders also includes more than a few hen and stag parties, which is why, during my visit in October, I opted to stay in Bathwick. It’s a quiet area on the opposite bank of the River Avon and only a 10-minute stroll across neoclassical Pulteney Bridge from the bustling city centre. I enjoyed coming and going along Great Pulteney Street, a wide formal avenue flanked by the unspoiled Georgian architecture of luxurious terraced townhouses.
Holburne Museum, Bath's first public art gallery and former home of Sir Thomas Holburne.
At its east end is the Holburne Museum. Doubling as the stately residence of Bridgerton’s formidable Lady Danbury, in real life it’s the onetime home of Sir Thomas Holburne, a lifelong collector of quirky miniatures, old masters and objets d’art he later bequeathed to the city. A recent exhibition was devoted to painter Gwen John, whose reputation only emerged out the imposing shadow of her artist brother Augustus and lover Auguste Rodin after her death in 1939.
Great Pulteney Street is only one of the city’s architectural set pieces. The Circus, a round residential street of townhouses from 1754, is another masterpiece of graceful urban planning. Its streetscape overflows ornamentation in the forms of friezes, decorative emblems and triglyphs. The curving Palladian façades of nearby Royal Crescent overlook the vast Royal Victoria Park lawn. Among them, No. 1 is the city’s most prestigious address, housing a museum styled entirely in the Georgian manner (and doubling as another Bridgerton backdrop, the Featherington family’s abode).
The Assembly Rooms, referenced by Austen, was one of the legendary dance halls at the heart of aristocratic socializing in her day, and it still drips with crystal chandeliers and ornate mouldings. During a visit, you can practically hear the gossiping ghosts of socialites past. At the nearby Jane Austen Centre, those ghosts are, in fact, real-life guides costumed in Regency garb, who lead tours in character.
Berdoulat’s apothecary fixtures are bursting with history-inflected housewares
All this history – and occasional kitsch – forms the groundwork for the contemporary designers, galleries and quirky shops that draw on the city’s heritage values. Nowhere is this more in evidence than at the influential design boutique Berdoulat. Based in Margaret’s Buildings, a historic pedestrian street lined with independent design shops, Berdoulat is Patrick Williams’s architectural design practice, which specializes in period building restoration. It’s also the three-storey Georgian shopfront he co-founded with his wife, Turkish and Bulgarian photographer Neri Williams.
The wood countertops, brass scales and antique apothecary jars are heirlooms, just as Berdoulat’s many tableware and interior accessory collaborations with local artisans will eventually become. From cutlery baskets by Bath’s Willow pottery to canelé-shaped ceiling fixtures by Devon ceramicist Feldspar, all its pieces are designed in collaboration with regional makers. The simple refectory tables, lipped bowls and oak egg racks highlight craft and epitomize beautility, the latest buzzword for functional home essentials in modest materials.
The Bird Hotel, a boutique hotel in a refurbished Victorian villa.
As someone who thrills at the archaic terminology of estate interiors – think “boot rooms,” “butler’s pantries” and anything featuring the word “scullery” – the new DeVOL Kitchens showroom tucked in the corner of a historic building block nearby is a twofold pleasure. The firm specializes in (and popularized) handmade kitchen furniture inspired by historic home aesthetics that fuse classic unfitted Georgian and farmhouse styles with modern conveniences. The copper worktops, Shaker wainscotting, aged brass taps, slatted plate racks and fluted marble bib sinks of the three atmospheric showroom kitchens are swoon-worthy – and could easily have been plucked out of any of the high-ceilinged townhouses on the street.
Niche bookshop and publisher Persephone Books sits next door in the Edgar Buildings. It was established 25 years ago to excavate a more recent history: neglected works (mostly by women) from the mid-20th century. As much as I adore Austen, Persephone is the reason I’ve come to Bath: a pilgrimage to the bookshop that has unearthed so many of my favourite reads. The publisher’s attention to design detail rivals that of its neighbours. The vestibule and fixtures are done up in the same signature dove grey as its books, each with individual endpapers reproducing period textiles and wallpapers chosen to complement the material. A period upholstery fabric, for example, lines an edition of the once-forgotten 1938 charmer Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson that is Persephone’s perennial bestseller.
Korean-Canadian founder and director Rosa Park opened Francis Gallery to present the work of emerging international artists.
Among the cluster of well-curated art and antique shops up the hill, Francis Gallery is set inside another of these heritage-listed Georgian townhouses, with wood furnishings and plinths in tonal shades of ecru arranged like a living space. Korean-Canadian founder and director Rosa Park grew up in Vancouver. Prior to opening the gallery (which also has an outpost in Los Angeles) to present the work of emerging international artists, she created Cereal, an acclaimed indie magazine about travel and lifestyle. The space is as warm and understated as her magazine pages, with diffused lighting like something out of a Hammershøi painting adding to the moodiness of the ghostly Krista Mezzadri monotype prints on show when I visited.
Retracing my steps to explore an area around the railway station, I took the invigorating waters of a different kind at Bath Botanical Gin Distillery & Herbal Apothecary, the passion project of medical herbalist Sue Mullett. As a one-woman operation, its hours are limited, but I stopped by at just the right time to sample the micro-distillery’s offerings of boozy, small-batch tonics inspired by traditional apothecary tinctures. Mullett’s crisply refreshing No.1 Gin is the only authentically Bath-produced gin, and every wax-sealed bottle comes out of the copper still that is the petite room’s centrepiece. It is yet another example of how Bath’s modern sense of craft and culture flourishes because of the reverence for the city’s history.
1. Bath Botanical Gin Distillery & Herbal Apothecary
This gem of a distillery tucked behind Bath Spa railway station produces the only true Bath-made gin; sample echinacea and other herbal elixirs when it’s open on weekends and bring a bottle of No.1 Gin home as a souvenir. bathbotanics.co.uk
2. Beckford Canteen
An elegant room in a former greenhouse and a menu of modern British comfort food classics (Welsh rarebit and beef tongue) are the draw here, alongside an extensive regional wine list. Small plates at nearby sister haunt the Beckford Bottle Shop are also highly recommended. beckfordcanteen.com
3. Berdoulat
The understated homewares at this 18th-century shop are often utilitarian delights. Covet made-to-order furniture such as the solid oak Bath Dresser (a bibbed style inspired by the typical built-ins of Bath townhouse kitchens) and pick up an elegant mortar and pestle by ceramicist John Julian. berdoulat.co.uk
4. The Bird
This boutique hotel in a refurbished Victorian villa overlooks the town’s recreation grounds in the Bathwick neighbourhood. In the hallway, a candy pantry is stocked with treats, while below stairs, restaurant Plate serves the included breakfast, cocktails and other meals. Rooms from £120 through thebirdbath.co.uk
Chapter 22 Roots & RecordsBETH SQUIRE/The Globe and Mail
5. Chapter 22 Roots & Records
Inspired by 1980s alternative music culture, this leafy café is both a plant shop and vinyl record haven where florist Nicola Taylor’s eye-catching greenery spills out onto the sidewalk. Inside, Dean Brown, who has run the record destination since the 1980s, curates across all genres. chapter22rootsandrecords.com
6. Cleveland Pools
Grab a towel and enjoy this recently-refurbished 1815 riverside lido for a taste of Georgian period architecture and an invigorating swim. It’s unheated from September to April and time slots can be booked online in advance for £6 per person. clevelandpools.org.uk
7. Devol Kitchens
This new Bath showroom features the English firm’s classic Georgian-style luxury kitchens, propped in lifestyle vignettes with dishes and dried flowers. devolkitchens.com
8. Eight Holland
Bath native Tobias Vernon curates a past and present who’s who in contemporary textiles, furniture and art at his design gallery, studio and, for a truly immersive aesthetic experience, short-stay townhouse. 8hollandstreet.com
9. Francis Gallery
Rosa Park founded the gallery in 2018 after running influential arts and culture magazine Cereal, and highlights work by emerging international artists in a serene series of rooms arranged like a minimalist living space. francisgallery.co
10. The Hideout
More than 500 whiskies line the stone walls of this quiet subterranean whisky bar, found down a tiny lane, but there’s no list. Patrons arrive at a selection through a chat with the expert server. hideoutbath.co.uk
11. Persephone Books
Besides the publisher’s own reissued 20th-century titles (nearly 150 now), the light-filled bookshop has charming ephemera and its own fold-out Literary Map of Bath to follow in the footsteps of 45 writers, from Austen to Zweig. persephonebooks.co.uk
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