City of Bath


Royal Crescent	Sunrise from Parade Park	Roman Globe ca. 150 A.D.

The area now occupied by the city of Bath has been known from prehistoric times for its natural hot springs. These were believed to have curative properties and were considered sacred by the ancient Celtic tribes. When the Romans conquered Britain in the first century A.D. they established an elaborate bath and spa complex at the site. Many Roman ruins remain, the most extensive in Britain. After the fall of Rome the building complex fell into disarray, although the springs continued to attract people seeking cures for various physical ailments throughout the Middle Ages. At the end of the eighteenth century, the springs were "discovered" by the English upper class, and a handsome city designed around the then current ideas of neo-classical (or Georgian) architecture came into being. This is largely the city that we see today, and it is the city that William and Caroline Herschel set up residence in 1766.


Herschel's Home 19 New King Street, Bath	Herschel's Workshop	Telescope that discovered Uranus (Replica)	Garden where Uranus was discovered

William Herschel was born in Hanover, Germany but immigrated to England as a young man. By training he was a musician, and his choice of residence was dictated by where he could obtain employment befitting his talents. Even at an early age, however, he was fascinated by astronomy and spared no effort to obtain a telescope as soon as it was financially feasible. He was one of the first serious astronomers to rely on reflecting telescopes for most of his observations. Initially this was due to his frustrations with the poor image quality of the refracting telescopes he constructed, but he later came to realize that the most important telescopic attribute for stellar astronomy was light gathering power, a feature relatively easy to achieve with large mirrors.

The illustrations above show Herschel's home on New King Street. He had secured a musical post at Bath and initially had other quarters, but he specifically chose this house because it had a garden in the back suitable for setting up a telescope. His sister Caroline joined him here soon after he moved in. It was in this garden on March 13, 1781 that Herschel discovered an object that made him one of the most famous men in the world. This was the planet we now call Uranus. This was the first planet discovered by a specific individual - the five naked eye planets had been known since prehistoric times - and it caused a sensation throughout the world. Royal patronage arising from his fame allowed him to devote the rest of his life to astronomy.


Model of 36" telescope at Windsor		Memorial to William and Caroline

King George III of England agreed to provide funding for a large telescope, providing Herschel agreed to move to Windsor Castle. This Herschel was willing to do, and a model of the large 36" telescope constructed there is shown above. The second illustration, a memorial plaque in the garden at 19 New King Street, recognizes the astronomical work of William's sister, Caroline. She was as enthusiastic about astronomy as William and aided him during virtually all of his observations. On her own she discovered six new comets, along with many new nebulae now in the Herschel catalog. She is recognized as the first significant woman astronomer since Hypatia of Alexandria in the first century.