According to its legend, Bath was founded as follows: In 850 BC, Bladud, the eldest son of the legendary Celtic King Lud, was born. As a boy, Bladud contracted leprosy and was sent to Swainswick to become a pig farmer. One day as he was watching his pigs, Bladud noticed that some of the pigs were rolling around in the thick mud and he went to take a closer look. The mud was warm, and he found that close to the puddle of mud, there was a hot spring coming out of the ground. When he noticed that the pigs' skin diseases had been cleared up by the mud, Bladud himself started to roll in it, covering his whole body from head to foot. His leprosy soon disappeared, and he ran back in delight to his fathers court. Soon, Bladud was made king. In gratitude he built a temple by the hot spring and founded the city of Bath.
Although Bath was in fact built more than 1,000 years after Bladud, it was without doubt a major Celtic place of power. In a druids grove by the hot steaming spring, the goddess Sul was worshipped as the guardian to the gateway to the Underworld. The Celts believed that though major "gateways" like this one, the people could get in contact with gods and ancestors.
When the Romans came to Bath in 60 AD, they combined the "local" gods with their own beliefs and so, when they built their temple where the druids grove had been, Sul was put together with the Roman goddess of arts and science, Minerva. The former Celtic goddess Sul became the Roman goddess Sulis Minerva. Like the Celts, the Romans believed that the goddess guarded the entrance to the Underworld.
About 2 metres below the present level of the city, the Romans started building their great baths and temple at the sacred spring soon after the Conquest. In the middle of the 1st Century AD, they named their city Aquae Sulis and soon, the Celtic druids grove was transformed into one of the major therapeutic centres of the West. The Romans praised the Spring just as the Celts had done, and by the 3rd century its stunning temple and luxurious baths attracted pilgrims from all over the Roman empire.
The remarkable baths at Minerva's temple offer us a glimpse of Roman Britain at its most glorious times. By the time it was completed in the 4th century AD, the complex housed five healing hot baths, hot sweat rooms, swimming pools and cold rooms. In the centre of the temple there was the Great Bath. Surrounded by statues of all the Roman gods, the Great Bath must have seemed like a wonder to the visitors in the ancient world.
People visiting the bath believed that the mysterious sacred spring at the heart of the temple was the actual residing place of Sulis Minerva. Minerva's water was not only known for its healing powers, but pilgrims even believed that they could communicate directly with the Underworld by throwing their offerings into the spring. Almost 20,000 coins and several gold and silver artefacts have already been recovered.
The Great Bath complex was finally ruined by flooding in the 4th century. As the River Avonn rose and rose, the river water blocked the drains of the Roman baths with mud and dirt. When the Romans left Britain, the baths were not repaired and soon fell to ruin.
In 818 AD, King Arthur defeated the Saxons in Bath. It is said to have been the greatest battle fought agains the invading Saxons. However, in 937 AD, Bath finally fell to the Saxons at a great battle just north of the city. Although the great Roman temple and baths were lost to flood and ruin, Bath continued as an important religious site. In the 7th century, a saxon monastery was founded.
In 1066, the Normans invaded England, and in 1643, a Norman doctor bought the city for 500 pounds of silver. He called himself the Bishop of Bath and started to build a new cathedral on the ruins of the Saxons monastery. The huge new cathedral was 100 metres long and at that time one of the largest in Europe. But the most important was his interest in the therapeutic qualities of Bath's hot springs. He ordered the baths to be repaired and built treatment centres in the city.
From its Roman origins as a spa town, Bath began to lose its glory. Many complained that only the sick and diseased came to enjoy the waters. Buth one more time, Bath was saved:
When Queen Anne visited Bath at the beginning of the 18th century, Richard Nash, a well-known gambler at the time, saw his chance to make money and influential friends. He raised a large sum of money for the repair of Bath's roads. Soon, Bath's new public buildings, orchestras and ballroom dancing, turned the city into "the place to be". In just 100 years, Bath had transformed from a still small classic medieval city of just 2000 people into a fashionable metropolis of nearly 30,000 citizens.
In 1790, when new foundations were being laid in the city, Minerva's great temple was discovered. About 100 years later, the great Roman bath was unearthed.
During the Second World War, Bath was bombed ten times. With exception of the last time, all of these missiles were not meant to fall on Bath, but on other targets close by. The last great bombing, though, was in revenge for the RAF's bombing of Lübeck. 900 buildings were completely destroyed and around 12,500 buildings were damaged. Over 400 people were killed, many of them women and children.
In 1964, the major excavation of the Roman baths started. Today, Bath has a population of about 85.000 and up to now, the city is a highlight of English history and a must-see for every visitor to England.