THE ABBEY-CHURCH. 

 C. W. Dymond, F.S.A. 



'T'HE prominent points in the ecclesiastical history of Bath, 

 and in its fine-art record, have been noted in preceding 

 pages,- — with one exception — the architectural story of its 

 Abbey - church, which has been reserved for a separate 

 chapter. The plan of this volume, and the space allotted to 

 our theme, forbidding, for the most part, any notice of minor 

 details,* all that can here be attempted is to pen a rapid 

 sketch of the antecedents, fortunes, and characteristic features 

 of the fabric. 



It has been the common fate of buildings, centuries old, to 

 have been subject to many vicissitudes arising either from 

 the ravages of time, from accidents, from the violence of man, 

 or from changes in architectural style. While the memory 

 of some of these is preserved only in the chronicles of the 

 past, others have left enduring marks on the structures 

 themselves, equally legible to those who are skilled in reading 

 them. The Abbey-church of Bath is no exception to this 

 general rule ; but, being one of the latest examples of English 

 ecclesiastical architecture, erected before its better traditions 

 had begun to be seriously set aside, perhaps less than most 



* The reader who may desire fuller informalion is referred to the following^ 

 as the principal authorities : — Wood's " Description of Bath," 2 vols., 2ncl 

 ed., 1765; Warner's "History of Bath," 1801 ; Britton's "Bath Abbey 

 Church," 1825 ; and especially to the new edition of Britton, continued to 

 the present time, with additional notes, by Mr R. E. M. Peach, and pub- 

 lished in 1887 ; — a work to which the writer wishes to aclsnowledge his large 

 indebtedness. 



