Good Thursday to all our friends and family. The internet was “iffy” in our hotel in Bath, so I decided it best to get home to Oxford before trying to post a new blog. I’ll warn you up front, this blog is extremely long, so skim or skip as time permits for you.
Our time in Bath was fantastic and I will try to give it “proper service”, as the Brits say, in this blog. The weather is getting more “wintery” with each new day and we continue to play tug of war with our umbrellas. Winter here is mild compared to Colorado or North Dakota, but still with the wind, averaging 50 miles an hour and the temperature, averaging 40 to 50 degrees, combined with the rain, averaging some of every day, it can be fairly uncomfortable and cold.
Our first two stops in Bath were the Roman Baths and the Thermal Spa. I wanted to be sure I had an appointment for a treatment as this is a must in Bath! Dating back to the earliest recordings, the thermal mineral-rich baths were a source of medicinal healing and spiritual renewal. Today the real Roman Baths (see photo above), referring to the great remains, are not used at all except for tourists to view and learn the rich history that lay beneath the ground until 1880. Excavation continues today to uncover the years of history still buried in Bath. But, Thermal Spa makes use of the same natural springs of warm water which run through the Roman Baths and are the only hot springs in Britain. The Celtics and the Romans both record usage of the springs for both healing and spiritual meaning. There is documented evidence of worship to the Celtic god, Sul, and the Roman goddess of healing, Minerva, thinking these gods were the source of the warm water and the healing the water would bring. One theory now is the warmth of the water did relieve such things as arthritis and other aches and pains, leading the people who used them to believe there was healing power in the water when it was probably only temporary.
Also during Roman times, the Roman baths were a social gathering place where men and women bathed in the warm waters without the hindrance of their heavy clothing, if you get my drift, and received treatments of all kinds. Obviously, the Christians fought the whole idea of the Roman baths for the immoral practices going on and for the worship of false gods. It was a moving experience to stand in front of an altar where sheep and other carefully chosen animals were slaughtered as a sacrifice to a false god. It made the ministries of Paul, Timothy, and Silas, who stood up to these very establishments and declared the one true God, seem very real. This particular Roman bath dates back to the exact time of their ministries, just a different part of the world. The Romans left England for good in 407 AD. The tour guides joke that England was too cold and rainy for them. Maybe so.
Now, let’s go to the spa part of the Roman bath story. In Roman days ladies could chose from a number of treatments. They could have their hands and feet groomed, their hair braided or hair extensions added (we just thought this was new), receive massages with various kinds of oils, or, for the very brave, have the hair on their arm pits plucked out one by one. Of those choices, I went with the hand and feet treatments, plus a hot stone massage. I just couldn’t go with the hair plucking thing. It was all incredible and the warm mineral baths were amazing. I’m not sure anything was healed, but it should have been as the water felt so wonderful. The bath was just like a large swimming pool with oodles of noodles (foam) floating around for the comfort of the guests who were, thankfully, all clothed and most resting comfortably on a noodle.
Our next stop was Bath Abbey, which was first established in 1499 from the ruins of a cathedral that dated back to 1090. There is evidence that Christians were in Bath dating back to 300 AD and remains from a monastery were also found prior to 1090. The Abby is another extraordinary place of worship with incredible stained glass windows, a powerful organ, and a steeple that can be seen from all parts of the city. On our tour, we climbed up 212 tiny, spiral, “mind-your-head” steps into the bell tower. I cannot imagine anywhere in America this being allowed. It was incredibly “NOT SAFE!” The steps were so narrow the front part of my foot could only fit and the hand rail was a large rope that hung from the very top of the bell tower to the ground. We made it safely and the view from the top made the climb well worth it, not to mention all the facts we heard about bell towers. Our guide was a missionary from Ohio, so it fun to talk to her as well. On departure, we received a bookmark that says, “I’ve climbed up the 212 steps of Bath Abbey tower and down again.” The coolest thing was finding Rick Warren’s book we that published last year in the small Abbey bookstore.
Other things we saw in Bath include the Jane Austen center, the Fashion Museum and a Georgian house. The Jane Austen center was as expected—a look into Jane Austen’s rather short, but fascinating life. She died at the young age of 42 from Addison’s disease or Hopkins Lymphoma, but her literary mark in history has now spanned over 200 years. She didn’t particularly like the Georgian (during all the King George’s reigns in the 18th century) lifestyle, which was extravagant and showy and on display in Bath where she came to live for five years. She was so distraught about it that she didn’t write until she was moved to a country estate by her brother, where she drew from Bath experience to write many of her later novels. The Fashion Museum featured British fashions over the past 400 years. I always enjoy a look at fashion through the years to see the progression or regression, which both happen quite often, of the stylish. The Georgian house we toured is the only home in the famous Royal Crescent (a semi-circular set of homes designed by the younger John Wood-see photo) which is now open to the public. This John Wood and his father were commissioned to give Bath a unique look and further establish Bath as a social gathering place during the Georgian period. The exterior of the homes were built just as façade to keep the look of the building uniform and elegant. The home buyer would then purchase a certain length of the façade and hire their own architect to complete the home. The back of the home could be any design and was not considered important as no one saw it. It’s very evident that the Georgian Period was all about looks; what was behind the “look” mattered little. As in all cities, there was plenty of poverty in Bath during the Georgian period, but not much is written about that.
All of these things, plus lots of shopping completed our two and a half days in Bath. Bath is a shopping Mecca, as you can imagine, with 100,000 tourists a day in the summer months. I do not know how I will get everything home!
Sorry for the length of this blog. Lots to tell!
So much of England’s history is based on the class system. How thankful I am for Jesus, the great equalizer, who loves us all not for who we are, but because of who He is.
“In Christ's family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ's family, then you are Abraham's famous "descendant," heirs according to the covenant promises.” Galatians 3:28
Love you for who you are.
Hugs, 2 Mama
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