[5009] Bath - Sydney Gardens : Kennet & Avon Canal

Sydney Gardens, Bath.

Kennet & Avon Canal.

Coalbrookdale Footbridge.

A footbridge over the Kennet & Avon Canal, dated 1800.

Designed by John Rennie (1761-1821), engineer, and manufactured by the Coalbrookdale factory at Ironbridge, Shropshire.

Grade ll* listed.

 

The Kennet & Avon Canal is made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section. From Bristol to Bath the waterway follows the natural course of the River Avon before the canal links it to the River Kennet at Newbury, and from there to Reading on the River Thames. In all, the waterway incorporates 105 locks.

 

Sydney Gardens were laid out as commercial pleasure grounds between 1792 and 1794; the initial design was by the architect Thomas Baldwin, who, after he went bankrupt, was replaced by Charles Harcourt Masters in 1794. They were opened on 11 May 1795 as Sydney Gardens Vauxhall, and rapidly became a popular place of entertainment, hosting public breakfasts, promenades and galas. The main building was the Sydney Tavern, which stood at the western end of the central walk, and housed tea and card rooms, a ballroom, coffee room and a public house. In 1799, a section of the Kennet & Avon Canal was cut through the gardens, with the addition of decorative bridges and tunnels, which added to the picturesque appeal of the pleasure grounds; these were insisted upon by the proprietors of Sydney Gardens as part of their agreement with the canal company, which was entered into in 1795. The canal company paid £2,100 and the cost of providing the bridges and tunnels as compensation for the intrusion into the gardens. During the early C19, additional features and structures were introduced, adding variety and surprise in accordance with landscape design principles of the period. From c1839, a section of the Great Western Railway was constructed, cutting through the gardens. Later in the C19, further ornamental structures were introduced, but these were largely cleared away after World War Two. In 1891, when the original 99-year lease of the Gardens expired, the entire site, including the Tavern, by then in use as a college, was sold, with the intention of replacing the former Tavern with a large hotel, and remodelling the grounds. The plan was abandoned and in 1908, the site was purchased by Bath City Council; the gardens were opened to the public as a municipal park in 1913, while the Tavern was remodelled by Sir Reginald Blomfield into the Holburne of Menstrie Museum. The gardens remain in use as a public park.

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