Throughout recorded history, Bath has been famed for its hot springs. The Romans bathed there; Elizabeth I promoted the spa town; Hanoverians visited it for their health. By the eighteenth century Bath was the fashionable venue for high society. Entrepreneurs of all types seized the opportunity. 'Beau' Nash instituted a strictly regulated social life; eager young architects including John Wood the Elder and his son Wood the Younger transformed the cityscape. In this text, Kirsten Elliott tells Bath's story through the centuries and brings it up to date, celebrating the modern city as a vibrant place attracting visitors from all over the world. Illustrated with over 200 stunning colour photographs by renowned location photographer Neill Menneer, text and pictures come together to make a book which is a joy to anyone who loves Bath, a must for any visitor.

Author Biography

Kirsten Elliot has been giving tours of Bath to visitors from all over the world since 1985. Among the tours are those she devised for Bath International Music Festival and Bath Literature Festival. She has published widely in magazines and newspapers and has written two guidebooks to Bath and its surrounding area. She also lectures on many aspects of the city's history, has broadcast talks on BBC Radio and has appeared on television. Neill Menneer has been a freelance photographer since 1980 when he won the Observer Photographic Competition. He has had several exhibitions, including, most recently, 'Portraits of the People', which formed part of the 2002 Bath International Music Festival. He has used many of his imaginative and idiosyncratic images of Bath to produce a series of postcards and calendars.