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were certainly not meant by Wood to apply to the City during 
the whole of that period. 
Small as the City then was in extent, its faults were those 
common to all cities at that date, and it possessed some virtues 
almost peculiarly its own. The majority of its houses were built 
of stone, and as to sanitation it was in advance of the time, 
abundantly supplied with water, brought by lead and wooden 
pipes from the surrounding hills, the open channels common in 
the paved streets were copiously flushed by the flows from 
numerous public conduits, and many of its houses had water 
supplies carried inside them. With stone easily accessible from 
the quarries on its Common-lands it was for that date exceptionally 
well-paved. Its Records also shew that stringent regulations were 
made and enforced, for the cleansing of its footways and streets, 
by individual householders and the scavengers employed by the 
City authorities. 
It has been observed, and possibly with truth, that Bath was 
then ‘‘a City of lodging-house keepers’”’ In the early part of the 
Century its curative Hot Springs came rapidly into great repute, 
and as the policy then pursued by the authorities restricted the 
expansion of the City, there could have been no accommodation 
available for the numerous visitors attracted, had not all classes 
of the citizens anticipated the modern hotels. 
Within its fortified walls the narrow streets held many fine 
residences and public buildings, and the free use of ornament 
and color then customary, possibly imparted a gay appearance to 
the streets far removed from the scmbre tints now so prevalent. 
Without the walls, small as the suburbs were in extent, the streets 
were spacious, and “ Broade Streete,” which held the residences 
of the principal citizens, was not then a misnomer. 
Bath for a long period was the centre of the West country 
4 cloth trade, and although this trade gradually declined, there is no 
_ reason to doubt the accuracy of Wood's statement (which has 
_ been challenged) that in 1660 “the Cloathing Trade flourished so 
