Places To Stay Near Bath Abbey
After a busy day exploring the magnificent Bath Abbey, our nearby boutique hotels are the perfect place to stay the night with comfy beds, stylish decor and delicious breakfasts. Each is home to an on-site restaurant serving tasty, locally-sourced pub meals and refreshing pints of award-winning Butcombe beer.
The Methuen Arms
Steeped in history and character, The Methuen Arms hotel in Corsham started life as a nunnery before being converted into a brewery and coaching inn in 1608. The inn offers 19 newly-renovated bedrooms, a mouth-watering food menu created with ingredients sourced from its kitchen garden, and a cosy bar area and spacious beer garden perfect for enjoying the inn’s range of hand-pulled ales. Book your room today and stay the night after exploring the wonderful city of Bath and visiting the wonderful Bath Abbey.
Broad Street Townhouse
See all that the beautiful city of Bath has to offer with a stay at Broad Street Townhouse hotel, a Grade II-listed building based in the heart of the Roman city and just a stone’s throw from the magnificent Bath Abbey. Relax in style in one of 11 luxurious boutique rooms, each with sumptuous king-size beds and en-suite bathrooms. Take a break from exploring the city in the ground floor café/bar, or enjoy a more hearty meal at our sister venue next door, The Pig & Fiddle pub.
The Crown
Just a stone’s throw from Dyrham Park and within easy reach of Bath, The Crown has 9 welcoming ensuite rooms, perfect for a sound night’s sleep after exploring the Georgian city of Bath and the magnificent Bath Abbey. On the menu at the on-site restaurant, you’ll find a cracking selection of hearty pub classics, perfectly paired with a variety of Butcombe beers behind the bar.
The King’s Arms
The King’s Arms hotel is a charming 18th-century inn set in the heart of Melksham. Featuring 13 modern, comfy bedrooms, a pub-restaurant offering exciting takes on pub classics and an array of award-winning Butcombe beers behind the bar, The King’s Arms is the perfect option for a boutique stayaway that is within close proximity to the wonderful city of Bath and its magnificent abbey.
The Northey Arms
Situated in Box near Corsham in Wiltshire, The Northey Arms is the perfect base for exploring nearby Bath and the world-class walking, cycling and dog-walking opportunities in and around the Cotswolds. With 13 en-suite rooms of varying sizes, we can accommodate guests for family breaks, romantic getaways or perfect staycations.
We’re close to many of the most popular attractions in Bath, so you can relax at The Northey Arms after your day admiring the magnificent architecture of the Bath Abbey.
The Quarrymans Arms
Located in picturesque Box Hill, The Quarrymans Arms hotel is a gorgeous country inn boasting sweeping views of the Box Valley. The inn offers the perfect boutique getaway with four flawlessly-decorated bedrooms, a delightful restaurant serving the finest, locally-sourced seasonal produce, and a fantastic selection of ales, craft beers, local ciders and fine wines to get stuck into. Just a short drive from the centre of Bath, it is the perfect spot to relax after a day visiting Bath Abbey.
Bath Abbey
Towering above the streets of Bath, the awe-inspiring Bath Abbey is a world-famous monument attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
A brief history of Bath Abbey
The site where Bath Abbey currently stands has been a place of Christian worship for over 1,200 years, with three different churches built there during this time. First, an Anglo-Saxon monastery was built in 757 AD but was then pulled down by the Normans. The construction of a huge Norman cathedral began in 1090, but the building had turned to ruins by the end of the 15th century.
Finally, construction of the present abbey as we know it began in 1499, taking a whole 120 years to complete from start to finish!
The Ladders of Angels
One of the first sights of Bath Abbey visitors have is of its west front, most of which is taken up by an enormous arched window.
Carved on each side of the window are two stone ladders with intricate stone angels climbing up and down them. This design was conceived by the Bishop of Bath Oliver King after dreaming of angels ascending and descending above him!
Bath Abbey’s fan-vaulted ceiling
Designed by architect brothers Robert and William Vertue, the abbey’s beautiful ceiling is hailed as one of the greatest examples of fan vaulting in the country. Whilst the original ceiling dates back to the 1500s, eagle-eyed visitors may be able to spot a difference in the vaulting above the abbey’s centre, which was restored in the 1860s.
Bath Abbey memorials and burials
Up to 8,000 people have been buried at Bath Abbey over the course of centuries, with the earliest burial dating from 1625, and the last from 1845.
The abbey’s walls and floor feature a staggering 1,526 memorials, which honour people from all walks of life, from the Chiltons – a family of local plumbers who lived during the early 19th century, to US Senator William Bingham.
Bath Abbey’s stained glass windows
With 52 glass windows filling around 80% of the wall space, the abbey is nicknamed ‘The Lantern of the West’. Many of its windows use stained glass to depict stories, including:
- The Great East Window, which tells the story of Jesus in 56 scenes.
- The King Edgar Window, which shows the crowning of Edgar the Peaceful as ‘the first king of all England’ at the Anglo-Saxon monastery once located where the current Abbey stands today.
- The West Window, which depicts stories from the first five books of the Bible, including God’s Creation of Eve and Noah’s Ark.
Bath Abbey Tower Tours
Bath Abbey is home to the city’s tallest tower, which stands at 161 feet high.
Visitors can climb the tower’s 212 steps for stunning views of Bath and beyond, as well as to see the abbey’s 18th-century bells, stand on top of the famous fan-vaulted ceiling and even sit behind the abbey’s famous clock face!
See pictures of Bath Abbey here.