Bath Abbey: The Best of English Gothic Architecture

Larger than life: Art that inspires us through the ages

Bath Abbey rises majestically in the historic town square of Bath, in Somerset, England. Like most buildings in the city, such as the Roman baths located on the right, the abbey was built with local Bath stone, a pale yellow limestone. Most of the abbey’s exterior dates from the 1500s, including the carved statues, the wooden front door, the arched windows, and the flying buttresses. However, the decorative pinnacles were only added in the 1830s. JeniFoto/Shutterstock

Bath Abbey rises upward from the heart of the ancient Roman city of Bath, in the southwest of England. The church is regarded as an English architectural treasure, famous for its late medieval architecture.

Its rich history began in about 1499, when Oliver King, the Bishop of Bath, had a vision of angels climbing a ladder to heaven; he interpreted it as a divine message to build a new church, Bath Abbey, on the site of a Norman Cathedral. The church was the last great medieval religious structure built in England, in the Gothic Perpendicular architectural style.