On Valentine’s Day some sixty members of Westbury and District U3A met at the URC Church Hall to hear Dickon Povey talk about Bath in the 18th century.
Secretary Julie Vince reports, “We learned that the city become popular after Queen Anne took the waters. The only way to travel was either on horseback or by coach, both of which were extremely uncomfortable and coaches were in danger of overturning.
“The journey from London took three days, if conditions were favourable. Paintings and cartoons from the time show how basic the coaches were. Dickon then explained that the new building works such as the Royal Crescent were holiday lets and not meant as permanent residences and as such some of the internal building work was rather shoddy.
“Bath was run rather like an old fashioned holiday camp. People had to buy tickets from the master of ceremonies, the most well known being Beau Nash, in order to visit the library, bathe, attend the pump rooms, and dances.
“The MCs even decided on matters of dress and etiquette. Days were organised with going out for breakfast, promenading and attending the other activities. Gambling dens were also notorious with eventually roulette being made illegal thus reducing the MCs’ income.
“Dickon went on to explain that we would find life unhygienic in the extreme. At the Roman baths men used the main bath and women another with voyeurs trying to get a glimpse of them in their clinging shifts.
“It was common for people to relieve themselves in the waters so unless you were there first thing in the morning after the water had been changed it would have been very unpleasant as the baths were crowded with people having open sores, ulcers and other skin complaints.
“As we are all aware toilet facilities as we know them were practically non existent. There were earth closets at the end of gardens but at dinners and other functions people used pots often hidden behind screens and with gazunders under the bed.
“I am sure many of those in the U3A age group can remember grandparents keeping them under the bed even when there was a bathroom available. In areas such as the present Parade Gardens ladies would step off the path and then, because underwear as we know it, didn’t exist just relieve themselves and men would do so when and where they wished. The smell must have been appalling and in today’s Health and Safety conscious world it seems almost unimaginable.
“However, during Jane Austen’s time toilet facilities were being built onto the backs of houses and one can still be seen in a house off Gay Street. Travel around Bath was by sedan chair.
“There were two types, one of which was a special bathing one where the chair was brought to your bedroom and you travelled from there directly to the baths. As the men ran with the chairs it must have been an uncomfortable ride.
“Dickon’s slides also illustrated the extreme fashions of the time with pannier dresses, where ladies had to enter rooms sideways and beehive wigs for both men and women. His slides also included some of the cartoons of the day which showed the behaviour that was acceptable at the time.
“After such an interesting and entertaining talk we all enjoyed refreshments. Our next meeting is on 14th March 1.45pm for 2pm when we will have a complete change of subject with Ashley Jones talking about senior safety. Come along and find out more about U3A.”
