Although much of Roman Britain focused on the south and east of England, Devon was not untouched by the empire.
The Romans established forts and settlements across the region, leaving behind roads, relics, and ruins. Sites such as the Roman fort at Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) and the road networks through Devon hint at a well-organized occupation, with traces still visible today.
We started our day at the Roman Baths in, well, Bath.
A temple was constructed on this site nearly 2,000 years ago. The baths were designed for public bathing and were in use until the 5th century, which is when Roman rule ended in England.
In the 2nd century it was enclosed within a wooden barrel-vaulted building, and included the calderium (hot bath), tepidarium (lukewarm bath), and fridigarium (cold bath).
After the Romans withdrew from England in the the 5th century, these fell into disrepair and were eventually lost due to silting up and flooding. Reporting suggests that the original Roman baths were destroyed in the 6th century.
The spring is now housed in 18th-century buildings, designed by architects John Wood, The Elder (architect of Bath, and John Wood, The Younger, father and son.
There is a road in Bath named Quiet Street, named after John Wood, The Younger. He was known to be brash and loud and townsfolk were known to scold him by saying “Be QUIET, John!”. Today it is Bath’s premier shopping street.
We also stopped in at the Royal Crescent in Bath.
Built around 1770, it is one of the greatest example of Georgian architecture in England and was designed by John Wood, The Younger. The 30 row houses found here are still occupied today. Maybe John wasn’t so awful.
From here we headed to another Roman town named Wells, just south of Bath.
Wells takes its name from three wells dedicated to St. Andrew, one in the market place and two within the grounds of the Bishop’s Palace and cathedral.
Wells was founded in 704, and played an important role in England’s early trade with the world as it had a port that came within 3 miles of the town center.
William Penn stayed in Wells briefly before he went to America in 1682 and founded the Pennsylvania colony.
The Bishop’s Palace has been the home of the bishops of the Diocese of Bath and Wells for 800 years. The hall and chapel date from the 14th century. There are 14 acres of gardens including the springs from which the city takes its name.
We dashed from Wells to a small place called Tavistock, on the western edge of Devon. We were headed to a place called Endsleigh at which there is a hotel converted from a 200 year old English country home.
The road to Endsleigh definitely tried our patience.
But once you got there you were greeted by a charming old English setting (if you can overlook the cars).
However once you got to the other side of the house, wow.
The gardens you can see from the main building were designed in 1814 and meant to please the lady of the manor who was Scottish. She wanted her view to remind her of Scotland and so much of what we see today is a result of that plan.
Jeff had a private tour with the head gardener, Ben.
Ben was a super friendly and had knowledge of the gardens.
Overall the gardens cover over 300 acres although only 108 acres are maintained today.
As the sun began to set the true beauty of Endsleigh began to shine.
In the morning we head east to The Pig in the New Forest and stop at three gardens along the way!
