Roman Baths Archives -

England Bath, England, History, Jane Austen, Roman Baths

The Roman Baths at Bath–Healing Waters—Part 2

by Indu Sundaresan June 15, 2019 3 Comments

The Roman Baths that were:

The Roman Baths today don’t any longer function as usable baths. Waters are still pumped through ancient lead pipes into the bath, but they’re green with algae (pretty, actually!)–a sign that it’s not a good idea to try drinking it, or even trailing your fingers through it.

**Early excavations unearthed the Great Bath (right) and the circular Cold Water Pool (left).**
Source: *Outlines of European History* by James Henry Breasted. 1914.

England Bath, England, History, Roman Baths

The Roman Baths at Bath–Healing Waters—Part 1

by Indu Sundaresan April 10, 2019 4 Comments

But…not all the credit goes to the Romans, surely:

Before the Romans came to England and built the Roman Baths at Bath, there was good king Lud Hudibras. He ruled over England sometime in the 7^th or 8^th Century BCE, and had both a great sorrow and a terrible dilemma. His son had leprosy, a devastating disease, with no cure in the times in which he lived. Otherwise, this boy, Bladud, was a fine, stalwart young man, engaging of manner, fine of face and form, a splendid heir to a vast kingdom.

But, Bladud could not live at the English court anymore. Over time, this dreaded illness would eat away at his extremities, turning his hands and feet into stumps, causing everyone to recoil from him in disgust. What sort of a future king would Bladud make?