18 minute read
HISTORY: THE BATH ASSEMBLY
From medieval city to resort
Bath’s famous Assembly Rooms in Bennett Street are celebrating their 250th anniversary this year. Emma Clegg looks back at the period before they were built and tracks the city’s swift transformation into a destination spa resort
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Bath has always drawn the crowds, its allure linked to the mineral-rich hot spa waters, and this goes right back to the Celtic Britons who used it as a sacred shrine. However the city has had two grand periods of note, firstly at the time of the great Roman town of Aquae Sulis, founded in the first century AD, which was built and orientated around its spa, which included a temple and bathing complex. We have few clues about what ailments were treated there, but it’s possible that the mineral-rich mud from the springs was used to treat eye conditions and skin complaints. The city’s second heyday in the Georgian era saw the arrival of visitors from smart society with financial resources seeking the waters for health cures. This saw the civilisation and dramatic architectural development of the city, which still make it distinctive today.
People came to Bath in the 17th century to visit the Cross Bath and the Kings Bath, the latter built above the Roman reservoir, but the city struggled to cope with the numbers, and the baths themselves were often crowded. From 1688 Queen Anne (then Princess Anne) visited the city regularly to take the thermal waters for minor health complaints. She visited Bath again in 1702 and 1703 as Queen, seeking relief from her gout.
Bath at this time was little more than a medieval walled city: timber-framed properties clustered around the abbey, the streets were unpaved, not lit at night, and muggings were common, so there was not the infrastructure or resources to support high numbers of visitors. In the words of architect John Wood the Elder, describing his home town, “Soil of all sorts, and even carrion, were cast and laid in the streets, and the pigs turned out by day to feed and rout among it.” So when news of the Queen’s visits and the healing effects of the waters spread, resulting in large numbers of new visitors and pleasure seekers, Bath realised that in order to keep its visitors it had to change. It was time to create a city to house, feed and entertain them.
The arrival of Beau Nash
This course of action hailed the beginning of Beau Nash’s time in the city and a sustained period of structural development. When professional gambler and social magnet Nash visited Bath in the early years of the century shortly after Queen Anne’s visits he would have seen bathers soaking in the mineral waters from the early morning, for the rest of the day free to relax, walk in the parks or visit taverns and coffee houses. He would have noted this carefully.
When Nash moved to Bath in 1704, he and his associates were determined to remodel the city – with all its crowd-drawing potential – into a fashionable town with attractions beyond the use of the waters. Initially Nash was the aide-de-camp to the Master of Ceremonies Captain Webster, whose role was to manage the social gatherings in the city. When Webster was killed in a sword duel, caused by an argument over a card game, Nash was his natural successor as Master of Ceremonies.
The first Pump Room was built in 1704–6, initiated by Nash and designed by John Harvey, located on the site of the current Pump Rooms. This quickly became the centre of social activity, headed by Nash, a flamboyant and enterprising character who lived for socialising and gambling. While the basement of the Pump Rooms was in the early years used as a changing area for people going swimming in the waters, before too long – driven by how dirty the water often became – drinking water from the Pump Room itself became the preferred and more accessible way of taking the water. In this way the Pump Room was effectively the first (unchristened) assembly room.
The Lower Assembly Rooms
To cater for the growing number of visitors to the city, two other sets of rooms were built. The first was Harrison’s Rooms in 1709, located on the east side of Terrace Walk and overlooking Harrison’s Walks –a formal garden bordering the river known as St James Triangle –
Public Bathing at Bath, or Stewing Alive, engraving by Isaac Robert Cruikshank, 1825
British Museum Collection
A crowd of invalids and loungers on the North Parade in Bath, etching 1780–90 Lady Catherine Hyde, Duchess of Queensberry, dressed as a milkmaid, circa 1725–30, by Charles Jervas
allowing people to gather to see and be seen, with admission only by subscription, thereby assuring a higher calibre of person. A large ballroom was added to this Assembly House in 1720. Lindsey’s, later called Wiltshire’s Rooms, followed, built by John Wood the Elder in 1730, and a formal grove was also laid out as a public garden with gravel walks immediately east of Bath Abbey, named Orange Grove in 1734 after William IV, Prince of Orange had visited the city.
This notable garden could also be appreciated within the Assembly Rooms themselves. Constance Hill, Jane Austen’s 19th-century biographer, refers to the view from what became known as the Lower Assembly Rooms. “The ball-room was used during the daytime as a promenade, for which it was well suited from its size and pleasant situation; its windows commanding extensive views of the Avon winding amidst green meadows and flanked by wooded hills.”
Assembly rooms – popular in the 18th and 19th centuries – were designed as gathering places for members of the higher social classes and played a crucial part in the marriage market of the time, given that opportunities for women to meet or gather in public places were extremely limited before this. This was a public place of entertainment where both sexes could meet, or ‘assemble’. Purposebuilt assembly rooms had three key elements: the ballroom, the card room and the tearoom, and visitors were encouraged to move from one area to another and to circulate rather than to congregate in small groups.
When the first Assembly Rooms were built, Beau Nash drew up and oversaw the rules of polite society that operated within them. He disallowed all private parties –an excellent way of drumming up custom –and invited all visitors to the Assembly Rooms for dinners, teas, breakfast concerts and balls. The regulations were extensive and strict: all balls began at 6pm and finished at 11, even if this happened to be mid-dance – the justified reason being that many at Bath were invalids and needed their rest. Swords were not allowed in the city –a result of Nash’s experience of Webster’s death by duel – and more unusually he specified that the high-born should mix with the less socially advantaged. Nash was also aware of the toll that the highstake losses had on those who played at his tables, occasionally giving losers some of his own money, or offering words of advice to novices.
The published rules drawn up for the 1771 opening of the Upper Assembly Rooms were based on Nash’s guidelines for the Lower Assembly Rooms. Instructions included…
“That ladies who dance minuets be dressed in a suit of clothes, or a full-trimmed sack, with lappets and dressed hoops, such as are usually worn at St James’s.”
And that… “Gentlemen crowding before Ladies at the Ball, shew ill Manners, and that none do so for the future…”.
Beau Nash – who dressed with exaggerated elegance, in a black wig (unusual for the time) and a bejewelled cream, beaver-trimmed hat – had immense charisma and a powerful character, so that all visitors followed his regulations. On one occasion Kitty, Duchess of Queensberry, a fashionable figure of the era, appeared at the Assembly Rooms with a delicate white apron over her skirt. Beau Nash snatched it from her and threw it onto the back benches (where the ladies’ attendants sat), remarking that ‘none but Abigails [ladies’ maids] appeared in white aprons!’ Kitty had the good humour to laugh this off. ➲
The ball-room was used during the daytime as a promenade, for which it was well suited ... its windows commanding extensive views of the Avon ❝
Victoria Art Gallery, Bath and North East Somerset Council Robert Woodroffe, Bath Abbey and Lower Assembly Rooms, circa 1830
Portrait of Richard (Beau) Nash Dancers bowing before the minuet
Assembly Room dancing
The dancing followed different styles over the week, including Masquerades, which were balls or ball-assembles with guests wearing masks; Ridottos, which featured both dances and concerts; and Routs and Drums, which were large assemblies. All balls offered supper or tea halfway through the evening, when couples would proceed to the tearoom to enjoy hot food, wine, tea and sweets.
The dances themselves would have varied according to the fashions, but before 1800 they typically started with the minuet, a dance for two people, which would have been nerve-racking for those taking part as dancers would be surrounded by 500 or more critical spectators. Because ladies usually outnumbered gentlemen, it was customary for gentlemen to ‘walk’ the minuet with first one lady, then a second. Ladies wore the enormous hoops that were the standard court dress and gentlemen wore full-bottomed coats, vests, and knee-breeches. Both sexes wore high-heeled pumps.
Minuets over, the ladies retired to remove their hoops before returning for the country dances. These were reminiscent of modern Scottish country dancing, performed in groups of three couples, with the top couple naming the dance and the tune before setting the figures and working their way down the line.
The building of the city
As the city’s entertainments flourished under Nash, its structural development was also underway. The first architectural set piece outside the town walls was Queen Square, built by John Wood the Elder between 1716 and 1725, formed from the garden of the house of a baronet and named after Queen Caroline, wife of George II. This marks the beginning of Wood the Elder’s development of the upper town, following his dream to build a superior city with the visual splendour of ancient Rome. The North and South Parades followed around 1738 to the south of St James’ Gardens, both locations that became strongly associated with the fashionable elite. Gay Street, George Street, and the Circus followed in the 1750s (started by Wood the Elder and completed by Wood the Younger), and the Royal Crescent (by Wood the Younger) between 1767 and 1774.
Significant investment allowed the architectural growth of the city, and much of it was funded by the profits of slavery. The city was frequented by absentee plantation owners from Jamaica and Barbados, who indulged their profits there and John Wood the Elder’s first patron was The Duke of Chandos, who was heavily involved in the Royal Africa Company which transported slaves to the Caribbean. We have to recognise this heritage, and understanding these links is as important to the history of the city as its celebrated architecture.
The Crescent provided a grand lodging for people up the hill and away from the stagnant air in the city centre. While this worked well in many ways, it did mean that those privileged visitors who were staying there were the furthest away from the central action and entertainment. Gravel Walk (the setting for a love scene between Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth in Austen’s 1816 novel Persuasion) was laid in 1771, offering a fast track bypass to take residents from the Crescent by Sedan chair down to where the action was in the city centre. Initially the walk was only for residents of the Crescent, but over time those living in Brock Street and Gay Street could buy in to the privilege of using it.
By the mid-18th century Bath was the most fashionable spa in England and therefore the city’s growth continued organically. Beau Nash’s plan had worked brilliantly, although his own fortunes gradually declined, driven by the tightening in 1745 of the antigambling law that Nash had previously sidestepped by the introduction of new games and other evasive methods. This enforcement impacted on Nash significantly, not only because he was a successful gambler himself, but because he received a percentage of all winnings.
Meanwhile Bath’s social scene was still flourishing and the city’s key figures knew that it needed continued investment, in particular to develop larger and grander entertainment facilities higher up the hill where the new elite population was based. So the Lower Assembly Rooms, which had been such an important part of the city’s growth, could soon be in danger of becoming marginalised by a proposed new spectactular purpose-built building. John Wood the Younger and Robert Adam both proposed rival designs for the new assembly rooms building; but who would secure the contract? n
Are you at risk of professional burnout?
By Viv Kenchington, hypnotherapist
We have all felt the stress of balancing workhome life. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the workload, and therefore our time for self-care is limited. Usually this feeling of overwhelm passes as you accomplish a certain task that was giving you particular grief, but what if it doesn’t pass? You could be suffering from burnout.
Professional Burnout, also known as Occupational Burnout, is a unique form of stress related specifically to work. It often presents itself as a state of total emotional and/or physical exhaustion, with tertiary symptoms such as reduced workflow, goal attainment, and motivation. While it isn’t classed as a medical condition, there could be related conditions that act as contributory factors, such as depression or anxiety.
Am I at risk?
• Do you feel constantly tired, lacking the energy required to be productive consistently? • Do you feel disconnected from your job? • Are you relying on vices to relieve stress/feel happy, such as food, drugs or alcohol? • Have you noticed a change in your sleeping schedule? • Do you have trouble focusing? Or lack concentration? • Do you suffer from unexplained physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach pains, or nausea? • Do you struggle to bring yourself to work?
If you answered ‘yes’ to multiple questions, you may be suffering from professional burnout. Do consult your doctor as these could also be symptoms of other health issues, such as depression.
What increases my risk?
• Lack of communication and support – often difficult when you’re in a position of seniority as there may not be anyone to supervise and support you, and you also have your employees relying on you. • Excessive workload – it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed if you have a workload that feels unmanageable and this can turn into a feeling of hopelessness and burnout. • Time constraints – if experienced in conjunction with excessive workload, or even on its own, tight schedules and ‘crunches’ can have an effect. • Work-life imbalance – if you don’t have time to unwind and practice self-care.
How can I overcome burnout?
• Seek support – contact the HR department of your company to discuss the issues and voice your concerns. • Take up a relaxing activity – practise mindfulness orientated activities such as meditation or yoga to help you destress. • Maintain a good sleep pattern – follow a set schedule to make sure you’re getting good quality sleep. This will also help regulate your energy levels. • Exercise – is proven to relieve stress and releases endorphins. • Hypnotherapy – can help you break habits and address the root causes of your burnout. It can help you to set new routines, and reset your mindset. Take some time to evaluate yourself every now and see if you’re at risk of burnout. It’s easier to prevent, than it is to fix it. If you think you might already be suffering, send me an email or give me a call for a chat. n
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Mays Al Ali, CNM Nutritional Therapy Graduate
Iworked as an advertising producer for 18 years but I became unhappy and dissatisfied with my very stressful corporate career that negatively impacted my health. I was teaching yoga on the side for many years but it wasn’t enough and I knew it was my calling to be in service.
During my yoga teacher training in India, I was introduced to raw vegan food and the concept of conscious clean eating which changed my life. Before that I ate a standard western diet, drank alcohol and had lots of late nights living the typical London party lifestyle; and as a result, I suffered with serious gut health, skin and mood issues. Eating a natural, plant-based diet while doing my yoga training for a month increased my energy levels and I felt amazing. So, I naturally transitioned to a plant-based diet and all my health issues slowly cleared up.
A friend recommended the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM) and told me their Naturopathic Nutrition course was excellent. I enrolled on the course and never looked back. What I loved about CNM’s course was the naturopathic element. I’m a big believer in the healing powers of nature and having looked at other courses, none of them had this important holistic element. The lecturers were amazing and so inspiring.
Initially, I signed up to the course for my own interests; I never thought I would quit my advertising job and become a nutritionist. However, by the start of the third year, I knew there was no turning back and that I’d found my calling. I left my job in advertising and launched my clinic as soon as I qualified.
I can honestly say I’ve never been happier. Being able to help people every day and change their lives for the better is so rewarding and brings me so much joy on a daily basis.
My clinic is in London but I mostly work virtually now. Many of my clients suffer with burn-out, stress, insomnia and anxiety, often linking to gut problems, so I help them overcome these issues. I host webinars, group weight loss programmes, including one for the NHS, and transformational wellness retreats.
I love helping people transform their lives and feel great inside and out. I work holistically and look at the overall mind body soul connection; their diet, lifestyle, connection to others, spiritual connection and purpose.
Attend CNM’s Online Open Day Saturday 4th September 2021
Claim your free ticket – Scan the QR code or visit www.naturopathy-uk.com/bbmod or call 01342 777 747
Geoff Don
