Bath is now a World Heritage city with beautiful crescents and squares in mellow stone largely created in the eighteenth century by three men - Richard Nash, Ralph Allen and John Wood the elder. Its origins lay before the first century Roman Spa of Aquae Sulis but it came to prominence when its warm mineral waters came to the attention of Doctor Oliver as a treatment for gout. The Roman Baths still stand at the centre of the city.
The city‘s Georgian heyday is celebrated in the Pump Room, built above the famous Baths, and where eighteenth century society came to take the waters. John Wood is perhaps the most famous architect to be associated with Bath and Queen Square is his interpretation of the Palladian architectural style. The city has numerous mansions and villas and one of the most beautiful crescents in Europe, Royal Crescent. The Bath Festival of Music held each year in June attracts leading performers and the various museums are visited by many. Bath Abbey is known as the lantern of the west as it features more glass than wall.
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