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CITY | READING
IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK We pick six books about Bath – a tough choice given that there are many – covering aspects from the history of the Roman Baths to the Bath Blitz and the famous people who lived in the city Ghost Signs of Bath by Andrew Swift and Kirsten Elliott, published in paperback by Akeman Press, £16.99
Bath – Colouring History by Lynne Bridge, paperback, published by Charta Colouring, £12.99 We’ve singled this out simply because we’ve never seen anything like this book before. It consists of five beautifully hand-drawn maps of Bath, showing the city at different stages in its history, from 1694 to the damage done by the Bath Blitz of 1942. For all those fascinated by typography and in the changing landscape of the city, this is a unique adult colouring book for you to create your own version of Bath. The Sack of Bath by Adam Fergusson, reissued with a new foreword, published in paperback by Persephone Books, £15 Inside the unprepossessing plain grey cover lies a classic work on what happened in the city during the late 1960s and early 1970s, when swathes of Georgian and Victorian buildings were destroyed in the name of progress. When Fergusson wrote the book in 1973, he stated that he came to Bath from London as a journalist but after what he saw, he became a crusader. He’s unafraid to use direct language, describing the wholescale demolition of much of artisan Bath as the act of Philistines. The book is illustrated with grainy black and white photographs which allow us to peer into the city’s past and see what we have lost. Much of what Fergusson wrote 40 years ago still resonates today.
The faded signs on the city’s old shop walls have long been a source of fascination for visitors and locals alike. This very thorough examination of more than 160 ghost signs not only shows us where to find them (who knew, for instance about the faint sign marking Gratious (sic) Street, off Broad Street, which marks the entrance to a long-demolished alley of slum dwellings?) but also the history behind them, including telling the story of the tradesmen and women and the families who once plied their trade on these streets. The guide works either as a basis for meandering walks around the city or as an armchair guide and there are chapters too on Box, Corsham, Freshford, Bradford on Avon and Willsbridge. Pevsner Architectural Guide: Bath by Michael Forsyth, published in paperback by Yale University Press, £14.99 Michael Forsyth is an architect and an authority on historic buildings and this is reflected in his thorough and authorative approach to the architecture of Bath. He covers all the set pieces, such as the Circus and the Royal Crescent, presenting their history and the finer points of their architecture, but also covers many more lesser known buildings. In this very dense but comprehensive architectural guide we can learn much about all kinds of buildings, including churches and some of the more unusual places, such as the distinctly quirky nonconformist Kilowatt House (now known as Woodside House) built in the 1930s as the city’s only Modern Movement house. There is much to learn about Bath’s archiecture and this volume is a great foundation stone for that knowledge.
The Story of Bath by Dr Cathryn Spence, published in paperback by The History Press, £18.99 An intelligently written comprehensive history of Bath which puts events into a timeline and helps the reader to get key events in context. The historian takes us from the Bath of Roman times, through its medieval Christian flourishing and on to the Georgian heyday as a spa resort. From there the story takes us into the city’s 19th century industrial era and includes the re-discovery of the Roman Baths and subsequent excavation. Dr Spence, who has written much about the city in the past, then brings the story up to date, covering the socalled Sack of Bath and the continuing debate about planning new buildings while preserving the past.
Literary Walks in Bath: 11 Excursions in the Company of Eminent Authors, by Andrew Swift and Kirsten Elliott, published by Akeman Press, paperback, £15 We make no apology for picking a second title by Bath’s duo of historians, who know more about the city’s past and its inhabitants than, arguably, any other living soul. You can use this book as a guide to actual walks, reading extracts as you go and seeing the past unfold in stories and events, or you can stay at home and enjoy them vicariously. Step out in the company of Coleridge and the Shelleys, or of Charles Dickens or Georgette Heyer. You are
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JANUARY 2017
certain to learn something about Bath that you didn’t already know, for example that there were Gordon Riots in the city in 1780, part of a nationwide anti-Catholic movement. Or that poet John Betjeman was one of the fire wardens who spent their nights on the roof of Bath Abbey in the Second World War on watch for stray bombs and sparks that might otherwise have burnt the great church to the ground. The book is well illustrated with photographs and pictures and, as always, meticulously researched with the occasional waspish note of disapproval about certain events and organisations, which will either raise a smile or a mild tut.