Hi, and welcome to our look at Bath Abbey in the historic city of Bath
Bath is in the county of Somerset in the South West of England and is a UNESCO World Heritage site
Bath Abbey can be found in the centre of Bath, a 5 to 10-minute walk from Bath Spa railway station and right next to the Roman Baths
Bath Abbey is free to enter, but a donation would be welcomed.
So without further ado, let's take a look at Bath Abbey and discover a little of its history.
Records show that a Saxon Convent existed here as early as 675 AD.
However, what you see today started life in 1499
when Bishop Oliver King ordered a new church to be built to replace the ageing Norman Cathedral that had fallen into disrepair.
I think it's time to step inside.
And a quick word about the background music.
When we visited, we were lucky enough that the Abbey's organist was practising.
So what you can hear is a remix of that, and I can only apologise to him, I'm no Mark Ronson.
The first thing you will notice when you step inside is how light it is.
and that is because the Abbey has 52 windows that fills around 80% of its wall space.
This is the Abbey's Font; a Victorian masterpiece from 1874, whose cover is raised on chains when the font is required.
It comes from the same time as the restoration project of 1860 -1873, overseen by George Gilbert-Scott.
Another thing you will notice inside the Abbey is the beautiful fan vaulted ceiling that draws your eyes up to the heavens.
Designed by the 15th/16th-century King's stonemasons, Robert and William Vertue
Another touch of Victoriana is those wonderful gas chandeliers, which have now been converted to low energy electric lights.
Thankfully Bath Abbey was not directly hit in the Second World War
but it did require repair due to nearby bombing with work carried out between 1948 & 1960
Another feature of Bath Abbey is the 635 wall memorials and 891 Ledgerstones laid in the floor.
The wall memorials date from the 18th & 19th-Century, the Ledgerstones much earlier.
The South Transept is home to another of Bath Abbey's beautiful stained glass windows, as well as Victorian embelishments.
In the South Transept you will find the memorial to Sir William Waller's first wife Jane, who died in 1633.
Sir William fought for the parliamentarians in the English Civil War and took refuge in Bath Abbey after the Battle of Landsdown in 1643.
Interestingly for us, Sir William Waller was born in Knole House in Kent - you may have caught our video on that.
And now the source of that fabulous sound, the Klais Organ
The family-run business has been producing organs in Bonn, Germany since 1892.
This example was rebuilt in 1997 using the casing & mount from an earlier organ.
Bath Abbey has been a place of worship for over 1,000 years, but seemingly constantly changing fortunes.
As I mentioned, it started life as a convent in 675 AD, before becoming a monastery.
After the Norman invasion of 1066, and a power struggle John of Tours takes ownership in 1088 and replaces the Abbey with a Norman Cathedral .
The Norman Cathedral falls into disrepair and in 1499 Bishop Oliver King orders a replacement monastery
After Henry VIII's fallout with Rome he orders the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the Abbey is sold off, and plundered.
In 1560 the roofless remains of the abbey church are gifted to the City of Bath
In 1574 Elizabeth the first permits a national collection to restore Bath Abbey as a church for the people of Bath.
And in 1620 the restoration is complete and it becomes the Parish Church of Bath.
But there's more to come.
In the southeast corner, we find the Norman chapel, remodelled into a War Memorial Chapel in the 1920s.
The chapel was restored and renamed the Gethsemane Chapel in 1999
This is the eastern window, completed in 1873, and restored after bomb damage in the Second World War
In the northeast corner, we find St Edgars window,
to commemorate the crowning of The first King of All England in 973 AD at the Saxon Abbey in Bath
Another piece of George Gilbert-Scott's design work, and maybe a contentious one
These are the choir stalls; There were once Victorian pews in the Nave too.
However, the pews were removed in 2018, as part of Bath Abbey's project Footprint.
To paraphrase - The project is about moving from past to future and opening up the building to be enjoyed in its full glory by future generations.
And a few more of those memorials, There are some interesting names here,
The last to be added in 1958 was Issac Pitman, developer of the Pitman Shorthand system
Where did we get to in that timeline? Oh yes, 1620, restoration completed.
In 1834 another restoration is undertaken, which adds features both inside and outside.
but the major works are undertaken by Gilbert-Scott from 1860 to 1873
In 1899 Sir Thomas Jackson restores the West Front of the Abbey, and in 1929 Sir Harold Brakspear redesigns the East End of Bath Abbey.
It's all starting to sound a bit like Trigger's broom
Here we have the tomb of James Montague, the Bishop of Bath and Wells in the early 17th-century.
He helped kickstart the Elizabethan restoration by giving a £1,000 pounds for a new timber roof for the Nave.
And wanted to encourage others to support the Church
As we head to the exit, via the Abbey Shop, it's time for me to thank you for watching.
I really hope you like what we have put together. I am not asking for donations; just give me a like, I would appreciate that.
And if you enjoy this type of video, why not subscribe? Who knows where we'll be next.
Anyway, thanks again for watching; stay safe, stay well, and happy travels.