152 Tfie Baths, Ancient and Modern. 



mentioned ; and the hypocaust, partially complete in the 

 rectangular chamber, has disappeared altogether from the 

 circular room, which was the hottest. There were two 

 praefurnia also, but in the excavations made at the begin- 

 ning of this century — and perhaps previously — so much was 

 removed that it is difficult to complete the plan. 



The western wing, which was supplied with 



Western Wing. ^ , * . „ f ^, ^ 



water from the sprmg now called the Cross 

 Bath, has unfortunately but little history. The discovery 

 of the well has alone been noted, and that but recently; 

 but its Roman buildings to the east were cut through 

 without care, on the formation of Bath-street in 1793, and 

 no record was kept. The Hospital of St. John on the west 

 was no doubt originally built from Roman ruins, if indeed 

 the buildings themselves did not form a portion of the hos- 

 pital at the time of its first foundation, which is generally 

 supposed to have taken place under the auspices of Bishop 

 Reginald, who was consecrated in 1 1 74, or of his predeces- 

 sor Robert ; but a far earlier date may be safely assigned. 

 The area occupied by the buildings of the Charity may be 

 said, roughly speaking, to be the area of the former Baths. 

 A fragment of tesselated pavement described by the Rev. 

 Preb. Scarth, was, doubtless, as already mentioned, a floor 

 of one of the chambers of the western Baths. 



After the Romans abandoned this country, a.d. 410, the 

 baths still continued to be used, although the buildings 

 were not maintained in perfect repair. The pavements still 

 existing are, in places, so uneven from wear that there is a 

 difficulty in walking on them, and the tesserae, where made 

 good, are replaced by an inferior material. After the battle 

 of Deorham the Baths were abandoned, and the city became 

 a waste. 



