Bath summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Bath.

Bath, City (pop., 2001: 90,144), southwestern England. Situated on the River Avon, it was founded as Aquae Sulis by the Romans, who were attracted to its hot mineral springs. The Anglo-Saxons arrived in the 6th century ad, followed by the Normans c. 1100. In the Middle Ages it was a prosperous centre for the cloth trade. When the Roman baths were rediscovered in 1755, Bath had already revived as a spa; its popularity is reflected in the works of Jane Austen, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and Tobias Smollett. It was rebuilt and extended in the Palladian style during the 18th century. Bath today retains many of its 18th-century structures.

spa Summary

Spa, spring or resort with thermal or mineral water used for drinking and bathing. The name was taken from a town near Liège, Belg., to which persons traveled for the reputed curative properties of its mineral springs. The practice of “taking the waters” for therapeutic purposes reached its heyday

World Heritage site Summary

World Heritage site, any of various areas or objects inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. The sites are designated as having “outstanding universal value” under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural

Somerset Summary

Somerset, administrative, geographic, and historic county of southwestern England. It is bordered to the northwest by the Bristol Channel, to the north by Gloucestershire, to the east by Wiltshire, to the southeast by Dorset, and to the southwest by Devon. Taunton, in west-central Somerset, is the

England Summary

England, predominant constituent unit of the United Kingdom, occupying more than half of the island of Great Britain. Outside the British Isles, England is often erroneously considered synonymous with the island of Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) and even with the entire United