LUNCHTIME TALKS

Lost Stream of Bath

Meeting chaired by Andy Pepperdine

Mike Chapman

14 April 2005

Mike Chapman is a Historic Landscape Surveyor who has spent the last few years compiling a survey of Old Bath. This talk gave some of the results of that research.

Bath has always been known, not only for the hot springs that everyone has heard about, but also for the many clear streams that run off the surrounding hills. Indeed Leyland wrote of the ‘rare crystal waters’ in the area, although the quantity of water was not great. However, now, many of these ancient streams have been covered over, and Mr Chapman has spent a considerable amount of his own time tracing their courses. So many of them disappear under building work and other structures that it is very easy to overlook the flow underneath our feet.

The geology of the area is suitable for such a profusion, being a water soaked oolite sandwiched between impermeable Fuller's earth above and clay below, and thus the springs emerge in the hillsides all round the town.

In previous ages, the rivers were convenient natural features to act parish boundaries, and many have given their names to districts like Bailbrook and Lambrook.

In the 16^th century, Queen Elizabeth extended the boundaries of the city to include several of these streams, and businesses grew up using the good water, especially in the fulling of cloth; and taverns, maltings, paper making and brewing, and were usually supported by private supplies to the workshops and factories. There were 10 mills for grinding corn and 6 on the River Avon.

Mr Chapman then described with pictures and map the ways in which many of the streams have been hidden and it is a pity that so many are no longer used, as the local water supply company no longer draws from them for drinking water. Instead they are now used only for watering flowers and cleaning around the town.

Andy Pepperdine