City of Bath (1987)
Great Britain
Founded by the Romans as a thermal spa, Bath became an important centre of the wool industry in the Middle Ages. In the 18th century, under George III, it developed into an elegant town with neoclassical Palladian buildings, which blend harmoniously with the Roman baths.
The Roman town of Aquae Sulis was founded on the site of the springs in the 1st century. The baths were later abandoned, but by the 15th century the community was a center of the wool trade. During the 18th century, Bath became a fashionable resort; the layout of the city and its many fine Georgian buildings (including crescent-shaped blocks of town houses) date from that time. The city was severely damaged by bombing during World War II.
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St. Vincent & The Grenadines 1996. Souvenir Sheet. 50th Anniversary of UNESCO. Scan by courtesy of Miomir Zivkovic (Serbia & Montenegro).
St. Vincent & The Grenadines 1996. Close-up of the souvenir sheet, showing the City of Bath (bottom row, left).
Great Britain 1984. The original Bath Mail Coach of 1784. The stamp was engraved by Czeslaw Slania. The stamp is No. 1 in a set of five, printed together in se-tenant horizontal strips of five, and issued to mark the centenary of the first mail-coach run from Bath and Bristol to London.
The City of Bath is the administrative center of the unitary authority of Bath and North-East Somerset, southern England, on the Lower Avon River. Long known as a health resort, the city has the only natural hot springs in Great Britain. The University of Bath (1856) and the Bath Academy of Art (1946) are here. Points of interest in this elegant city include extensive remains of Roman lead-lined baths (discovered 1755), the Abbey Church (16th century), the Guildhall (1776), and the Pump Room (1796).
Sources and links:
Other World Heritage Sites in Great Britain (on this site). Inactive links are not described on postage stamps. Please refer to the UNESCO-listing, United Kingdom Section, for further information about the individual properties.
Revised 18 aug 2007 |
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