1899 J. BELLOWS — ROMAN REMAINS 49 



part of the city subordinate to the existing buildings ; so 

 that they would simply arrange their cross streets in the 

 centre of the city in such a manner as to get the baths and 

 the temple close to the cross. The Roman temple of Sul- 

 Minerva stood on the site of the present Pump Room, 

 and this determined the site of the Abbey, which was 

 built as close to the temple as possible. 



The street leading to the East gate of the city is not 

 now called Eastgate street, as is the case in Gloucester, 

 but Cheap street. The explanation is that the position of 

 the river Avon made the East gate merely a water gate, 

 not a roadway equal in importance to the West gate ; so 

 that the fact of its being east ceased to impress itself so 

 much on the mind as the fact that the market was in it, 

 and it therefore got to be known as Cheap street (or 

 Market street). That Bath was the great market of the 

 district, and was known to the country folk outside as 

 the Forum, is shown by this name having lasted till the 

 present day in the name of the Hundred of which it is 

 the head borough, for the Hundred still bears the name 

 of Bath-Forum. 



There is good reason to conclude that in the erection 

 of the Abbey the builders made a compromise, as the 

 Romans had done before them: that is, they found the 

 position of Sul-Minerva too strong to permit of the 

 demolition of the temple, for a portion of the latter was 

 standing till comparatively recent times. 



Two other traditions have come down from the Roman 

 times, and leave their mark on Bath of the present day. 

 One is that while many of the streets are macadamised, 

 there are still others in which the Roman method of 

 paving with squared sets is continued : not necessarily 

 old streets, for some of them are quite recent. The 

 other tradition is the Roman system of building pillared 

 porticos along the streets, for that system has been 



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