11 Facts About Bath Abbey

1.

Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is a parish church of the Church of England and former Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, England.

FactSnippet No. 2,073,803
2.

Bath Abbey is a Grade I listed building, particularly noted for its fan vaulting.

FactSnippet No. 2,073,804
3.

Bath Abbey encouraged monks to adopt the Rule of Saint Benedict, which was introduced at Bath under Abbot Ælfheah, who repaired the church.

FactSnippet No. 2,073,805
4.

Bath Abbey was ravaged in the power struggle between the sons of William the Conqueror following his death in 1087.

FactSnippet No. 2,073,806
5.

John rebuilt the monastic church at Bath Abbey, which had been damaged during one of Robert de Mowbray's rebellions.

FactSnippet No. 2,073,807
6.

Bath Abbey described lax discipline, idleness and a group of monks "all too eager to succumb to the temptations of the flesh".

FactSnippet No. 2,073,808
7.

Bath Abbey did not live to see the result, but the restoration of the cathedral was completed just a few years before the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539.

FactSnippet No. 2,073,809
8.

Bath Abbey ordered that a national fund should be set up to finance the work, and in 1583 decreed that it should become the parish church of Bath.

FactSnippet No. 2,073,810
9.

Apart from the story mentioned above connecting it with Oliver King, Bishop of Bath Abbey and Wells, this is a direct reference to the dream of the patriarch Jacob mentioned in the Bible and commonly called Jacob's Ladder.

FactSnippet No. 2,073,811
10.

Bath Abbey is a noted centre of change ringing in the West Country.

FactSnippet No. 2,073,812
11.

Bath Abbey replaced Shean Bowers who stood in the interim after the departure of the long serving Peter King who served from 1986 to 2016.

FactSnippet No. 2,073,813