163 
There being no force to oppose them the royal troopers soon 
over ran the whole county ; and ranging from place to place stopped — 
every road and bye-way so that any communication within it be- 
came almost impossible. 
And soaffairs pretty much remained until the remarkable victories 
of Sir Thomas Fairfax and Cromwell in 1645-46 again altered 
them, and some three years later brought about the well-known end, 
The Bath WPaters. By Cart. MAcKAY HERIoT, 
(Read March 18th, 1874. 
The-subject of my paper is an enquiry into the composition of 
the different mineral springs of Bath. Before giving you the 
result of my researches, a few words on the antiquity of these 
baths may be interesting to those unacquainted with the subject. 
According to Warner, the earliest known period of these baths 
being of any repute was the year a.p. 44, and above a century 
ago the remains of a Roman Bath, of considerable size, were dis- 
covered on the site now occupied by the “ Roman Baths” near the 
Abbey. The size of this Bath was 240 feet long by 120 feet broad. 
The name “ Aque Solis ” (Waters of the Sun) is generally supposed 
to have been given by the Romans to this City. 
There are many legends in connection with these Baths. Geoffrey 
of Monmouth tells us how Bladud the son of an ancient British 
King was banished from Court, on account of his leprosy ; and 
whilst wandering in some menial capacity through the valley of 
the Avon, came across these mineral waters, and bathing in them 
was cured of his disease. 
John de Villula, Bishop of Bath and Wells, who lived in the 
year 1106, gave great attention to these Baths, and it is supposed 
that the present enclosures round the chief springs were built 
