Queen Elizabeth I famously had a bath
once a year, 'whether she needed it or not' during her reign in the 16th
century. By the Georgian era 150 years later, advances in ceramics and the
delivery of cleaner water allowed the better-off classes to be more fastidious
in bathing, leading to development of spa towns like Epsom, Bath ,
Leamington, Cheltenham and Harrogate . However
this new health fad could also be used as a cover for more licentious
activities.
Ian Betts, a ceramics
expert at the Museum
of London Archaeology
Using contemporary illustrations, he will go on to discuss what
they were like and place bathing in the context of 18th century Georgian
society generally. They had controversial reputations, often linked to prostitution,
although this is not as clear-cut as some authors suggest. In London
the baths were largely concentrated around Covent Garden ,
a creative hub with its theatres, coffee shops, book-binders, actors and
artists.
He will then examine the reasons for their decline and replacement
by the more respectable municipal baths which became popular in the following
century and survived into modern times. He will also mention the establishment
of the spa towns elsewhere in the country.
Ian's talk is based on a paper submitted to Transactions London
& Middlesex Archaeology Society which is due out next year when
L&DLHS members will have access to the full text.