''The Sack of Bath: A Record and an Indictment'' is a book written by Adam Fergusson in 1973 about the destructive urban redevelopment of the city of Bath in the 1970s. The original newspaper pieces that the book comprises inspired a resurgence in architectural conservation in the United Kingdom and gave additional strength to the

Bath Preservation Trust The Bath Preservation Trust is a charity that is based in Bath, Somerset, England, which exists to safeguard for the public benefit the historic character and amenities of the city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its environs. The trust is i ...

Summary

Matching its original format as a newspaper opinion column, ''The Sack of Bath'' is written in a fiery, invective style against what Fergusson perceived as the injustices committed by the Bath Development Committee in the 1960s and 1970s. An example of this style is Fergusson's claim that the redevelopment efforts caused more damage to the city's architecture than the

Bath Blitz The term Bath Blitz refers to the air raids by the German ''Luftwaffe'' on the British city of Bath, Somerset, during World War II. The city was bombed in April 1942 as part of the so-called "Baedeker raids", in which targets were chosen for th ...

of 1942. In a 2013 presentation, Fergusson explained how the book's title was also selected for its emotive force, rather than more "workaday" titles like "Bath at Risk" or "Bath in Danger". Fergusson begins by discussing the

Georgian era The Georgian era was a period in British history from 1714 to , named after the Hanoverian Kings George I, George II, George III and George IV. The definition of the Georgian era is often extended to include the relatively short reign of Willi ...

construction of Bath, with its distinctive

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

and use of

Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of ...

. Fergusson points out that up through the Victorian era the architecture of Bath was almost entirely preserved, and only in the twentieth century (after the creation of

Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s in the UK) did Bath begin to redevelop. Fergusson blames the Bath Corporation and the Development Committee of Bath Council for ignoring the

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...

that made Bath unique; they instead focused on preserving landmarks and high-graded buildings. Fergusson argues that even unremarkable historic houses ought to be preserved because they create the context or "frame" for more notable listed buildings. As he puts it, In contrast, Fergusson critiques attempts at making modern, "packing case" buildings fit in with Georgian architecture by facing them with yellow Bath stone. Fergusson thinks that not even the city planners thought much of the redevelopment work. He points to a famous quote from Bath's development committee chairman who when asked which of the modern developments the city was proud of answered "None". Fergusson often references the ''Bath: A Planning and Transport Study'' published by Colin Buchanan in 1965. He agrees with Buchanan's suggestions for preserving Bath, but bemoans that the Bath Development Committee seems to publicly agree with the conclusions of Buchanan's report while taking actions to undermine it. He points out that the map provided to Buchanan to conduct the study seemed to omit Grade II and Grade III protected buildings, which lead to them being excluded from Buchanan's recommendations. Fergusson agrees that Bath needed rehabilitation but thought that the city seemed to ignored the potential benefits of historical architecture. He thought that many of the destroyed buildings could easily have been rehabilitated for a price similar to the new constructions: "Thus property which could and should have been modernised has been declared unfit and allowed to fall to pieces. Outwardly tumbledown buildings which needed only some attention to roofing, new plumbing and a coat of paint have been cleared away as soon as they could be acquired". Fergusson ends the book with a call to action to halt the "Sack of Bath" from progressing. But he laments the limitations of local conservation movements that necessarily have to oppose salaried, well-resourced opponents.

Themes and interpretations

Curator Amy Frost from the

Museum of Bath Architecture The Museum of Bath Architecture (formerly known as the Building of Bath Museum and the Building of Bath Collection) in Bath, Somerset, England, occupies the Countess of Huntingdon's Chapel, where it provides exhibits that explain the building ...

views Peter Smithson's 1969 book ''Bath: Walks Within the Walls'' as an early precursor to ''The Sack of Bath''.''The Sack of Bath'' has been compared by conservationists to other British books of

polemic Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...

against development that were also published in the 1970s, like ''The Rape of Britain'' and ''The Erosion of Oxford''. These texts were united in their argument that, as academics John Pendlebury and Ian Strange put it, "Conservation of the historic city ... should not just be about the major set pieces, but about understanding places as a total historic system".

Publication history

''The Sack of Bath'' was first published as a series of newspaper articles in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' from 23–29 September in 1970. In a 2013 speech, Fergusson said that he was commissioned by ''The Times'' to go down to Bath to "see what the fuss was about". The ''Times'' articles were published together as a book in 1973. It was reissued in a revised edition, edited by

Tim Mowl Professor Timothy Mowl FSA (born 1951) is an architectural and landscape historian. He is Emeritus Professor of History of Architecture and Designed Landscapes at the University of Bristol. He is also Director of AHC Consultants. He was awarded th ...

in 1989 and released as a reprint in 2011 by

Persephone Books ''Persephone Books'' is an independent publisher based in Bath, England. Founded in 1999 by Nicola Beauman, Persephone Books reprints works largely by women writers of the late 19th and 20th century, though a few books by men are included. Th ...

. The later issues included photographs from

Lord Snowdon Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017), was a British photographer and filmmaker. He is best known for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in ''Vogue'', ''Vanity Fai ...

, E. L. Green-Armytage, and introductory verses by

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

Reception

The profile of the initial newspaper articles in ''The Times'' that composed ''The Sack of Bath'' gave the pieces national attention in the United Kingdom and international attention in the United States. The pieces were noted for their fiery rhetorical tone and their impassioned defense of the Georgian architecture of Bath. Historians have argued that the published pieces (and a separate "Save Bath" piece in the ''

Architectural Review ''The Architectural Review'' is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism � ...

'') gave strength to local conservation movements and additional pressure for their campaigns, due to the additional media attention. Writers have also credited ''The Sack of Bath'' with contributing to the Bath's recognition as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage site in 1987. It's debated how accurate Fergusson's dire tone was in 1970. Christopher Book, for example, argued that the earlier development programs of the 1950s and 1960s had already cleared large swathes of Georgian houses by the time Fergusson published in ''The Times''. Others felt like the response to ''The Sack of Bath'' was so immediate and strong that the worst of the damage was prevented. As Fergusson describes in the 2011 preface, "The serious, serial depredations which Bath was suffering stopped almost overnight". Geographer Larry Ford points out that the Georgian version of Bath that Fergusson wrote in defense of was, in fact, itself the result of a massive development that destroyed and redeveloped the medieval town of Bath. Other cities, like Chester and Norwich, had similar redevelopment crises. More recent development campaigns in Bath, like the Churchill House in 2007, have often been compared to the original "Sack of Bath" that Fergusson's book documents, either to indicate that modern developments do have a place in the city or to tout the benefits of grassroots conservation efforts and

Nimbyism NIMBY (or nimby), an acronym for the phrase "not in my back yard", is a characterization of opposition by residents to proposed developments in their local area, as well as support for strict land use regulations. It carries the connotation that ...

References

External links