The spa town of Bath has drawn visitors since the Roman's built baths
and a temple at the site of hot springs in the Avon valley. Bath Abbey
was founded in the seventh century but it was in the eighteenth century
that the town became the fashion centre of England. Bath's Georgian
architecture is one of its chief glories today but the city has seen
many changes in the intervening years, not least the destruction caused
by aerial bombardment during the Second World War. Postwar years saw new
housing and commercial redevelopment in the city, museums opened, fresh
industries established and the expansion of its two universities. In
Bath: The Postcard Collection the author has drawn on a remarkable
selection of old postcards to give a pictorial record of life in Bath in
the past. Although some of the historical Bath seen in these views has
been lost, many landmarks have remained and will be familiar today. The
postcards show the changes Bath's fabric and its community adapting and
changing over the course of this period. This fascinating collection of
images will be of interest to those who have lived in Bath or know it
well.
