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One of the best preserved Roman remains in the world.
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A world-class collection of contemporary and historical dress.
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Bath's public art museum housing paintings, sculpture and decorative arts.
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Stunning and historic venues for hire in the heart of a World Heritage city.
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Collecting and keeping safe historical records relating to Bath.
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Promoting and assisting film-making in Bath & North East Somerset.
In the second half of the eighteenth century the City Council needed to provide essential public amenities such as paved streets, lighting and ‘watching’ (police). It lacked the powers to do this itself, so set up ‘Commissions’ which could do so.
These Commissions, established by Acts of Parliament, covered small areas: Bath city centre (Acts of 1766, 1789 and 1814), Walcot (1793) and Bathwick (1801). The composition of each Commission varied slightly, but included representatives of the Council and of the parish(es) covered. The Bath Acts of 1766 and 1814, and the Walcot and Bathwick Acts, gave the Commissioners extensive powers and responsibilities over paving, cleaning and lighting of streets, and ensuring their drainage, the removal of ‘nuisances’ (rubbish), and ‘watching’ (policing). The Bath Improvement Act of 1789 was a little different, being concerned more with the built environment: it empowered the Commissioners to protect and secure the Hot Baths and Springs, rebuild the Pump Rooms, build new streets and widen existing ones, by compulsory purchase of premises if necessary.
1. Records of the Commissions
Excellent series of records for all of the Commissions have survived. They show how public amenities were provided, how the huge sums of money required were raised, and how the work was actually carried out. They throw light on the public health concerns of this period, which predates the era of sanitary reform, and provide insights into social conditions. The records of the Commissions include:
Records of the individual Commissions survive as follows:
Records of the Commissioners of the Bath Act 1766 (6 Geo. III c.70) and Bath Act 1814 (54 Geo. III, c.105), 1766-1851 (BC/22/2)
Records of the Bath Improvement Act Commissioners 1789 (29 Geo. III c.73), 1678 -1851 (BC/22/3)
Records of the Commissioners of the Walcot Act 1793 (33 Geo. III c. 89), 1793-1851 (BC/22/4)
Records of the Commissioners of the Bathwick Act 1801 (41 Geo. III c.126), 1801-1851 (BC/22/5)
Full catalogues for all the Commissions are available at https://somerset-cat.swheritage.org.uk/records/BNES/BC/22
2. Other Records: minutes of the City Council (BC/2/1/1/7-BC/2/1/1/16)
While public health work was mainly carried out by the Commissioners during this period, there are occasional references to sewers, drainage and ‘nuisances’ in the minutes of the City Council. The minutes are not indexed at this period, and the Council was mainly concerned with matters relating to its ownership of property; researchers should therefore be prepared to spend a considerable amount of time searching through the minutes in order to find relevant information.
3. Other records: local Acts of Parliament (BC/1/2)
The Acts of Parliament which established the Commissions set out in detail how the commissioners are to be appointed or elected, how often they should meet, the extent of their powers and how they should carry out their responsibilities. The Record Office holds a full set of all the local Acts relating to Bath, including the Acts setting up the Commissions.
4. Other records: local newspapers
Local newspapers contain valuable information on the work of the Commissions, public attitudes towards them and the political differences they could provoke. They provide an alternative perspective to the official records. The Record Office holds various Bath newspapers, including the Bath Chronicle; details can be found in our research guide to newspapers.
The online British Newspaper Archive (BNA) at www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk includes the weekly edition of the Bath Chronicle 1760-1950. The BNA enables targeted searches to be carried out, and is the best place to start research in the Chronicle. The Record Office offers free access to the BNA; for more information see https://www.batharchives.co.uk/computers-and-internet-access
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