In the footsteps of Jane Austen — a stroll through Sydney Gardens
Written by Kirsten Elliott.
Kirsten Elliott has always had an interest in industrial archaeology, particularly canals, but her other interests are architecture, dance, literature and the social life of the Georgian period. For nearly thirty five years she has taken guided tours of Bath, and she also professionally researches the history of buildings. With her husband Dr Andrew Swift, she formed Akeman Press in 2003, and since then they have produced many local history books by themselves and by other local authors.
When Jane Austen came to live in Bath, her only consolation was that she would be opposite Sydney Gardens, which had been open for nine years. Right from the start, it was a green oasis. ‘The foliage is so luxuriant as to afford ample shade,’ wrote a correspondent to the Bath Chronicle, in 1795. It also afforded ‘beautiful prospects’. Today, tall trees hide most views. Sydney Gardens are very different from when they attracted thousands of visitors in the late Georgian period. However, lottery funding was granted in 2019, and if all the plans are successful, they will create a pleasure garden for the 21st century.
Start at the front gate of the Holburne Museum, as Jane Austen would have done, but first gaze down Great Pulteney Street. Sydney Gardens were intended as the hub of the Pulteney estate, with Great Pulteney Street forming a grand approach to the city. On the horizon at the far end you can see the trees on top of Twerton Roundhill. In the 18th century this was known as Barrow Hill and was believed to be the burial place of Bladud.
For Georgian visitors seeking vigorous exercise, a ride, equipped with leaping bars, encircled the gardens. However, most visitors to Sydney Gardens wanted to enjoy the attractions within. They would have entered through what is now the Holburne Museum. Late in 1796, work began on the building, described as a tavern with banqueting room, coffee and billiard rooms. Despite extensions and additions over the intervening years, in 1853 the hotel finally failed and was converted to a college. A new entrance was made to the gardens, and in 1857, a gatekeeper’s lodge, now hidden behind the former tea-room, was constructed, originally with a thatched roof.
Walk to the back of the Holburne. Two crescents of alcoves once enclosed this space, where visitors dined, watched firework displays, or listened to music. Walk up through the gates to the central promenade, and cross the lawn to your right, formerly a bowling green, heading for the iron railway bridge. A serpentine path once led towards the entrance to a grotto and labyrinth, but all that changed when Brunel brought the railway though the gardens in 1840. Stop in the middle of the bridge and look to the right, to see a large flat area, designed as a viewing area to watch the trains. The grotto, which was also the exit from the labyrinth, would have been in front of you, with the labyrinth looming up ahead.
The labyrinth was one of the original attractions. It was described as one of the most intricate and extensive in Europe, and at its centre was a Merlin Swing, the fore-runner of the modern swingboat, named after its inventor JJ Merlin. Steps led from the swing through a tunnel to the grotto.
Although it was long thought that the labyrinth and grotto were destroyed with the coming of the railway, it is now clear they did not vanish then. An account of 1847 not only describes the trains passing through the gardens, but also mentions both the labyrinth and grotto. It is possible the Merlin swing too survived. However, part of the ride and a section of the gardens were sold in 1853 so that two houses could be built there. It was this sale that brought about the destruction of both labyrinth and grotto. However, there is a grotto in the grounds of the Bath Spa Hotel — once known as Vellore House — which dates from about that time. It now seems very likely that this is indeed the Sydney Gardens grotto, rescued by the owner of Vellore, General Augustus Andrews. It almost precisely fits a description from 1825 of the Sydney Gardens grotto.
Of the former labyrinth, there is no trace. Fortunately, the owners of Glendurgan Gardens in Cornwall decided, in 1833, to copy it, so we have a good idea of its appearance. The restoration scheme includes a plan to recreate a labyrinth in another part of the garden.
Walk up to cross the Kennet and Avon canal on the first iron bridge. To your right is the western tunnel portal bearing the face of Sabrina, spirit of the Severn. The canal was allowed through the gardens in 1800, after payment of 2000 guineas (£2100) to the proprietors, and the promise of decorative bridges. The two iron bridges were made in Coalbrookdale. Just above the water level you will see a lump of stone over which water runs. This is a 200 year-old accretion of limescale.
Continue across the bridge. Ahead are sunken stone walls with iron doors. These form the entrance to reservoirs which supplied water to Bathwick, but only at certain times. It was turned on and off by ‘an appointed engineer’. A short diversion to your right, brings you to a building somewhat tucked away. Now known as the Bothy, and at one time used as an electricity substation, evidence suggests it is the ‘store for gardeners’ built from the stones of an original shelter, which stood elsewhere in the garden, and which Jane Austen might have used. We will pass the old site later.
Retrace your steps past the reservoirs and walk on past the tennis courts, where originally there were simple swings, to the loggia. This is all that remains of another original feature. It was once longer, with a serpentine façade, and two charming carved cherubs on the central bay. In 1938, however, the council ‘restored’ it by chopping off the sides, a decision greeted with dismay by many. Sadly, there are no plans to restore the loggia to its former glory, though the existing structure will undergo repairs. It must be said that the views which would have been enjoyed from the wings of the pavilion have long been obscured by the trees.
Head down the main path to cross the canal on the second iron bridge. To your right is the eastern tunnel portal, with Old Father Thames above the arch. The K&A was the link between the Thames and Severn. The canal was not accessible directly from the gardens until the mid 1980s when a gateway between the bridges was installed, although a gateway was made in the side wall of Sydney Gardens to give access to Darlington Wharf. After crossing the bridge, take the path on your right. As it curves round to approach the railway you will see a gap in the trees, which was the site of the moated sham castle, often the centrepiece for firework displays. Although many were spectacular, there were occasional failures, as Jane Austen related. Beyond it is a deserted nursery, occupying part of the ride, which is to be reabsorbed into the gardens. From the moat, a rill ran down to the lower bowling green, which we will visit later on.
Turn left alongside the railway to head back to the central promenade, and cross the bridge. Here once stood the Middle Bar, a refreshment room and ticket office, but that a feature that was swept away by the railway.
From as the stroll continues from here, there is little that Jane Austen would recognise. Immediately in front of you is a representation of Minerva’s Temple. Designed as Bath’s exhibit in the Empire Exhibition of 1911 at Crystal Palace, it was erected here in 1914 to commemorate the Bath Pageant of 1909. Although the pageant was in Royal Victoria Park, the fringe events held here attracted more visitors and the final fringe event, a Great Battle of the Flowers, attracted thousands, including many of the pageant’s performers in costume. The temple replaced the shelter, whose stones now form the bothy. Turn right on the path which runs parallel with railway until the tarmac runs out. Beyond it is a gravel surface which for some time was thought to the only surviving piece of the ride’s Macadamized surface, dating from 1825. However, recent archaeological investigations have shown that the original surface was obscured by the excavations due to the works on the railway. Nevertheless, it gives a clear indication of the width of the ride. Turn back and take the path on your right, which leads past the children’s playground, which it is intended to extend and improve. The lawn on your left as you pass the tennis courts was formerly the small bowling green. In 1840, the Horticultural Society erected a rustic pavilion here, behind a rockery and fountain which may date back earlier, to 1830. Only the rockery remains, at present rather overgrown. However, a dip in the ground has developed in front of it, which may be the site of the pond — archaeological investigations should show whether this is correct. The pavilion was designed by Edward Davis, who was probably responsible for the gardener’s lodge, which you see as you reach the end of the path. Davis was a pupil of Sir John Soane, and this building is very much in Soane’s style.
Down to your right, you see the paybox of 1914, designed by the then city architect AJ Taylor. Lurking behind the modern loos is one of a pair of iron loos, this one being a ladies, installed in 1921. The other, in better repair, is the gents, on the far side of the modern block. First installed as a ladies and gents, it dates from 1913. It is planned to restore both of these rare survivals and put them to alternative use. Finally, return to the main promenade where, in bushes on your left, a bandstand was erected in 1861, only to be demolished in 1948 for lack of money needed to repair it.
More information about the park and the proposed development can be found at: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/sport-leisure-and-parks/parks-green-spaces-information/sydney-gardens/sydney-gardens-parks-people-heritage-lottery-fund-project
To buy a copy of Kirsten Elliot’s book about Sydney Gardens, No Swinging on Sundays, click on this link: http://www.akemanpress.com/books/no-swinging-sundays/
This article is one that Kirsten Elliot has updated from a 2018 publication in the Bath Magazine. The original article can be found here: https://thebathmagazine.co.uk/walk-in-the-footsteps-of-jane-austen/
