Bath Abbey
What is it?
The current Abbey church of St. Peter and St. Paul is the third
building to have stood on this site since Roman times. In the Saxon
church, Edgar was crowned as the first King of All England in 973 (see
plaque 1 below).
Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Saxon church was replaced by
a much larger Cathedral church in the period 1090-1161 (see plaque 2
below).
By 1500, the Norman church was seriously delapidated. The current Abbey
church was begun in 1502 and largely completed by 1533, occupying just
the nave section of the Normal church. [
Forsyth
2003].
Where is it in Bath?
Bath Abbey is in the centre of Bath, adjacent to the Roman Baths
complex. The two plaques are located on the outside of the east wall:
The right hand plaque (1) relates to the coronation of Edgar
in
973:
The text on plaque 1 reads
"Edgar First King of all England was crowned by Dunstan Archbishop
of Canterbury in the Saxon Abbey on this site on Whitsunday A.D. 973"
The left hand free-standing plaque (2) describes the Norman
Cathedral that
stood on this site:
The text on plaque 2 reads
"The tower of the Norman Cathedral built by Bishop John de Villula in
the reign of William II (c 1091) stood here. The apse is believed to
have extended 36 metres east from this point"
Location map of plaques:
(c) 2011
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