Finally I got to Bath, one of the prominent sites of Georgian* buildings in England. It's also the site of Roman Baths and one of the reasons to go there was to "take the waters". Yes, it's a spa. It's also famous for featuring heavily in Jane Austen's** novels, as her families were always going to Bath to see and be seen and thus make a good match (catch a husband). One of the places to "hang out" was the Pump Room, which is now a smart restaurant, and that is where I took myself for that strange meal called High Tea. It was packed. A Palm Court Orchestra tinkled away in the background.
High Tea consists of some rather pointless "savoury" (cucumber being the main ingredient) sandwiches to pretend it is serious food, and then gets down to the real carbohydrates and cholesterol. I justified this because I was starving after no breakfast or lunch (not even biscuits at the accountants). However I felt the Champagne High Tea was going too far, particularly as I did not think salmon and blinis were really originally in the English High Tea menu. So this is what I got, all to myself, plus the inevitable pot of tea:
The middle tier shows those essential components: scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam (alas not homemade but in a pot). After this indulgence it seemed unnecessary to have a glass of water from the "Pump", which has now become a fountain with the water being thoughtfully drunk by fishes rather than wasted.
After that I went to have a look at the Roman Baths next door. Having done the tour once before I just took a photo for the blog. So you can see the remains of the Roman baths with the Georgian buildings round them, and a pig.
The common features of Georgian style houses include - roof to ground-level:
* A hipped roof
* Chimneys on both sides of the home.
* A stone parapet surrounding the roof
* A portico in the middle of the roof with a ring window in the middle
* Small 6-paned sash windows and/or dormer windows in the upper floors, primarily used for servant's quarters
* Larger windows with 9/12 panes on the main floors.
Here are some examples of them in Bath, which is famous for terraces of houses like this, and Royal Crescent, which I didn't manage to take a photo of:
By now you will detect that Bath seems to be rather fond of pigs in public places, rather like Berlin has bears. This is a new undertaking since I was last there. Here are some more. The one on the portico appears to be dressed for a party of "Vicars and Tarts".
After a pleasant wander round the town I had an uneventful drive back home to Oxford.
*No, this is not Georgia where I work. Georgian in Britain refers to the period from 1720 and 1840 when the Kings were called George. There were four kings, running consecutively (not much originality in the names but after Henry VII, George IV doesn't seem so boring). Georgian architecture is one of the most famous styles in British architecture. When we lived in Somerset we even had a Georgian house, though they are rather rare in the countryside.
** You must have seen Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility even if you haven't read the books.
