Postcards from Bath #5

Postcards from Bath #5: Bathwick

The Pulteney Bridge (see last Monday’s post) was intended to be the grand entrance to a neo-classical estate built on the east bank of the river. In the end, little of the ambitious plan was realised. There is, however, a beautiful wide street, Great Pulteney Street - one of the loveliest streets in Bath, in my opinion. It is lined with tall Georgian houses, designed by architect Thomas Baldwin in 1789. The avenue connects Laura Place, a tree-lined roundabout with a central fountain (above), with the former Sydney Hotel, now the Holbourne Museum (below).  

The author Jane Austen, who lived in Bath from 1801-1806, resided opposite this once-fashionable venue and would, I am sure, have enjoyed watching the comings and goings of the wealthy visitors. I enjoyed seeing its elegant rooms and the beautiful paintings and objects on display. I had serious chandelier envy!  

I loved this exquisite, small sculpture (1752) by an Italian, Giuseppe Plura, who had relocated to Bath around 1750. Sculpted in marble, it depicts the love story of Diana and Endymion. 

Equally enthralling to me was the view from one of the windows, into Sydney Gardens, as weak sunshine lit up the autumn foliage against a stormy sky.