It’s a special treat to attend an Evensong service in one of England’s old churches, so I didn’t want to pass up one at Bath Abbey. Most of the service, except for the two bible readings and a few prayers, are sung by the chorus. These Gothic churches are just made for glorious music.
Historians say that there has been a place of Christian worship on this site for over a 1,000 years. Bath Abbey hasn’t had a smooth history, though, it’s full of starts and stops, construction and decay.
It started with Anglo-Saxon King Osric, who gave lands near Bath to the Abbess Bertana for a convent in 675 AD. In 757, land was granted to the brothers of the Monastery of St Peter in Bath. But it wasn’t until 1088, when John of Tours, the Bishop of Wells, ordered the construction of a new cathedral to replace the old Anglo-Saxon monastery. A grand Norman cathedral was completed in 1090. By 1499, John of Tours’ cathedral had fallen into disrepair, so Bishop Oliver King ordered the building of a new church. This is the beginning of Bath Abbey as we know it today.
But only 40 years later, in 1539, King Henry VIII (who, as you recall, created the Protestant Church of England), closed Bath Abbey along with many other convents and monasteries throughout England. The poor Abbey was left to decay. King Henry VIII’s daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, raised money for the restoration of the Abbey 34 years later in 1573. Her restoration was completed in 1620.
Numerous restorations and additions occurred during the 19th and early 20th centuries. These restorations changed the design of the towers, added flying buttresses and an organ, replaced the old wooden ceiling with stone fan vaulting, replaced aging statues, and created a new chapel to honor those who died in World War I.
Bath was bombed during World War II but the Abbey didn’t take a direct hit. However, the great East Window and the windows on the north side of the building were badly damaged. The Friends of Bath Abbey was created in 1948 to raise money to repair the war damage; those restorations were completed in 1960. In the meantime, a Book of Remembrance was placed in the Abbey to honor all the people from Bath – both civilian and military – who perished during WWII.
Additional restoration projects took place during the early 21st century, and were completed in 2023.
Bath Abbey
Interior
Abbey Courtyard
(This space reserved for a video. I’m having trouble uploading it)
You won’t see anything significant on the video; I just used it to record the sound. Can you make out the words to the 72nd Psalm?
Bath Abbey is located in the historic center of Bath. Visiting hours for the Abbey are 10:00am to 5:30pm Monday through Friday, from 10:00am to 6:00pm on Saturday, and from 1:00pm to 4:30pm on Sundays. Of course, admission to worship services and Evensong are free.
Their gift shop has similar hours. Regular Abbey admission during the summer is 9.02 GBP for adults and 7.37 GBP for students. An audio guide is an additional 3.50 GBP. The Abbey also offers Tower tours if you’re energetic enough to climb the 212 steps to the top of the tower. Tickets for the Tower tour include admission to the Abbey. Tower + Admission tickets cost 19.80 GBP for adults and 16.50 GBP for students. Finally, there are Organ Tours where you get to join the organist for a behind-the-scenes tour of the organ. Tickets for the Organ Tour alone are 15 GBP, or an additional 6 GBP if you also purchase an admission ticket. Note that reaching the organ loft requires climbing a narrow staircase and two ladders.