The Circus is a fascinating Georgian Street in Bath. Built around the 1750s, the town houses here are very large and very beautiful, all encircling a public green area in the middle. In this way, although the houses are all facing each other, when you look out of your window, you don’t look directly into someone else’s window across the street. Sadly none of the houses are open to the public, but the exteriors are certainly worth seeing. There’s also a quaint garden at No4 which you can visit.
The Circus was originally called King’s Circus and was designed by the architect John Wood the Elder. His inspiration was the Colosseum in Rome and although he never lived to see his plans put into effect, his son John Wood the Younger, completed the scheme to his father’s design. The initial leases were granted in 1755 with further leases available up to 1766. Other projects by the same architect include nearby Queen Square, but the Circus is seen as his masterpiece. This father and son team are responsible for the redevelopment of Bath as you see it today. Originally the central area was paved, although it is now grassed over with a number of trees surviving from earlier years. Most of the houses in the Circus are split into flats, but when whole houses do come up for sale they are very expensive. In March 2009, No 7 The Circus sold for £3.5 million. Hollywood actor Nicholas Cage even bought one of the houses on the Circus a few years ago.
The Georgian Garden at the rear of No4 The Circus is accessed from the historic Gravel Walk at the rear of the southern properties. It’s been laid out exactly as it would have been in the 1760s from a plan of the garden at the time. Excavations also took place to recover some of the original features. You’ll notice that the garden allows lots of space for walking around it which was the pastime in that era. Sadly, no record was kept of the plants in the garden, but the planting you see is typical of town gardens of the same period. The Georgian Garden is open daily from 9am to 7pm and is admission is free.
LOCATION & MAP
Address: The Circus, Bath, BA1 2EW
The Circus is a public street up a small hill (Gay Street) from the city centre. Please be considerate towards the people who live there when visiting.If you struggle with hills, or just don’t want to walk to the Circus, we’d recommend the Bath Hop-on, Hop-off Bus Tour which stops nearby. It also takes you to all of the other significant locations in the city with an informative commentary along the way.
MORE ON BATH CIRCUS
The Circus – Wikipedia
Georgian Garden – VisitBath
Hotels in Bath – Best prices from Hotels.com
Books on Bath’s Architecture – Amazon