Bath World Heritage Day
News
Bath takes a dip into its rich spa heritage with free event
Thursday, 2 March, 2023Those of us lucky enough to live, work or study in Bath know that as well as being stunningly beautiful, it’s steeped in arts, culture and history - and this weekend visitors will have a chance to dive in and explore 2,000 years of Bath’s unique spa heritage.
In partnership with several local organisations, including Bath Spa cultural and educational partners Fashion Museum Bath and Bath College, Bath will celebrate our city’s rich cultural history with a free event at the Guildhall on Saturday 4 March.
Visitors will be able to take part in a range of activities including guided walks of Bath’s Spa Quarter, short talks on the theme of Bath’s spa heritage, costumes, crafts and relaxing spa activities. There will also be several displays presented by museums and heritage organisations from across the city, including the Museum of Bath at Work and Bath Medical Museum.
Alison Hems, Head of the School of Writing, Publishing and the Humanities, said:
“It's easy to stop seeing our own surroundings: Bath's extraordinary architecture, its relationship to water, and the views across the city to the countryside that encircles it. This weekend is a wonderful opportunity to stop and look at something we think we already know - and to explore the history of a city beyond its graceful crescents and public spaces - Bath's many stories, its complex heritage.”
David Coast, Reader in Early Modern History and Programme Coordinator, added:
“Bath is a wonderful city to do a History degree in because it’s full of archives, museums, galleries and historic sites covering a huge chronology. We make full use of all of these in the single honours history degree, and particularly the heritage pathway, at Bath Spa University.”
Bath enjoys a rare status as a ‘double inscribed’ UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1987 the city was inscribed as a World Heritage Site due to its Roman remains, hot springs, famous architecture and town planning and its influence on Georgian society. In 2021, the city received a second inscription as one of the 11 Great Spa Towns of Europe - fashionable spa towns laid out around natural springs which are used for health and wellbeing.
The event will run from 11:00am to 3:00pm and no booking is required. For more information, please visit the Bath World Heritage website.
If you love history, Bath is the perfect place to study. Find out more about our undergraduate History degrees, or explore further with our postgraduate Heritage Management course.