A Brief History of early Bath

Roman Bath

Legend has it that Bath was Founded in 860BC by the soon to be King Bladud, father of King Lear. The story goes that Bladud had caught leprosy and was banished from court and sent to look after pigs. The pigs too suffered from Leprosy but Bladud noticed that after they rolled around in the hot mud they were cured. Bladud copied the pigs and found that he to had been cured thanks to the Bath mud. After he became king he founded the city on the site of the spring that cured him.

It’s not known exactly when the city was founded or when the healing properties of its water first came to light. We do know that the Romans built a temple here in around 50 AD. They dedicated the temple to Sul, the Celtic goddess of hot springs and Minerva the Roman goddess of healing. By the AD 60s a town had started to form which became know as Aquae Sulis, the waters of Sul.

By the 4th Century the Roman civilisation began to decline and in 407 AD Roman troops left Britain for good. Little is know of what happened to the town in the immediate aftermath of the Roman withdrawal.

Saxon Bath

After the Roman invasion of Britain came the Saxon invasion. In 577 AD the Saxons were victorious at the battle of Dyrhan where they then went on to capture Bath.

In the 9th century Bath became one of Alfred the Greats network of fortified towns. They were designed so that in the event of an invasion by the Danes all the local men could gather at the fortified towns to repeal they invasion. By the 10th century the town was flourishing and in 973 Edgar the first king of all England was crowned here.

Middle ages

During the 1088 rebellion rebels sacked Bath and burned its monastery to the ground, though the town soon recovered. In the 12th century a great abbey was created which dominated the town.

During the middle ages the town was still popular with those seeking treatment for their ills with people coming from far and wide to bath in the hot spring. A leper hospital was set up just out side of the town. In 1189 Bath was give its first charter, granting the people of Bath certain rights.

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This article was written on behalf of The Royal Hotel a Bath Hotel providing accommodation in Bath.

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