I had no idea what a delightful experience awaited me when we pulled out of London on Wednesday morning and headed southwest for Bath. Along the way we got to stop and marvel at Stonehenge, the large stones that the ancient people of Britain set up around 2500 B.C. What most amazes me about Stonehenge is not that people carved out and moved many miles these multi-ton stones to set them up in a precise pattern, but that there is evidence of humans gathering at this spot back to 8000 B.C. The city of Bath was a true delight. There was a large Roman complex around this natural hot spring for 400 years starting at the same time the apostle Paul was traveling around the Mediterranean. A monastery was started on the site in 757 and the first king of a unified England, Edgar, was crowned here in 973. The French Normans arrived in the next century and built a huge church (50% bigger than the current Abbey) that stood for 400 years before they decided to tear it down and replace it with a gothic style cathedral. This was the last great cathedral built in Britain before the Reformation and many consider it the most beautiful. The fan vaulted ceiling is truly breathtaking. Fun fact- there are about 3800 people buried below the floor of the Abbey. Spots closest to the altar commanded the highest fee. The practice was discontinued in 1853 as a danger to public health.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 23:12:52 +0000
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