Walcot is a suburb of the city of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, in the

Bath and North East Somerset Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority district in Somerset, South West England. Bath and North East Somerset Council was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the county of Avon. ...

district, in the ceremonial county of

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. It lies to the north-north-east of the city centre, and is an

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

of the city.Bath and North East Somerset Council
District Council Elections The Paragon and, continuing out of the city, London Road are part of the A4 road. The other main thoroughfare is Walcot Street, which adjoins the city centre and is well known for its artisan shops. Walcot Street and London Road are believed to be a

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

, leading north from the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

town of ''

Aquae Sulis Aquae Sulis (Latin for ''Waters of Sulis'') was a small town in the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia. Today it is the England, English city of Bath, Somerset. The Antonine Itinerary register of Roman roads lists the town as ''Aquis Su ...

'' and linking with the ''

Fosse Way The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia ( Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis ( Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bat ...

''. Walcot originally grew as a residential area (a ''

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus ...

'') in the 1st to 3rd centuries, located between the walled town, the ''Fosse Way'' and the possible

Roman fort ''Castra'' () is a Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified military base.. Included is a discuss ...

sited across the river in the Bathwick area. The parish church of St Swithin, on The Paragon was built in 1779-90 by John Palmer. The 18th-century poet

Christopher Anstey Christopher Anstey (31 October 1724 – 3 August 1805) was an English poet who also wrote in Latin. After a period managing his family's estates, he moved permanently to Bath and died after a long public life there. His poem, ''The New Bath Gui ...

is buried at the church. Walcot was the birthplace of Richard Debaufre Guyon, who would become, in succession, an Austrian officer, a Hungarian rebel and an Ottoman Pasha.

Governance

The electoral ward returns two councillors to

Bath and North East Somerset Council Bath and North East Somerset Council is the local authority for Bath and North East Somerset, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also pe ...

. The wards surrounding Walcot ward are: Lansdown to the north-west, Lambridge to the north-east, Bathwick to the south-east, and Kingsmead to the south-west. The River Avon forms the boundary with Bathwick and is crossed here by the

Cleveland Bridge Cleveland Bridge over the River Avon is a Grade II* listed building in the World Heritage Site of Bath, England. It is notable for the unusual lodges that adorn each corner in a style that could be likened to miniature Greek temples. Locati ...

. The Grosvenor area of the city falls within the ward. In 1891 the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

had a population of 24,899. On 26 March 1900 the parish was abolished to form Bath.

Notable residents

* Richard Guyon (1813–1856), British-born Hungarian soldier, general in the

Hungarian Revolutionary Army The Hungarian Defence Forces (, ) is the national defence force of Hungary. Since 2007, the Hungarian Armed Forces has been under a unified command structure. The Ministry of Defence maintains political and civil control over the army. A subordi ...

. * Sir William Herschel (1738–1822), astronomer, musician. * Benjamin Plim Bellamy (1782–1847), actor and proprietor of the

Bath Assembly Rooms The Bath Assembly Rooms, designed by John Wood, the Younger in 1769, are a set of assembly rooms located in the heart of the World Heritage Site, World Heritage City of Bath, Somerset, Bath in England which are now open to the public as a visito ...

. *

Arnold Ridley William Arnold Ridley (7 January 1896 – 12 March 1984) was an English playwright and actor, known early in his career for writing the 1925 play '' The Ghost Train'' and later in life for the British television sitcom ''Dad's Army'' (1968–77 ...

(1896-1984), actor and playwright. * Margaret Graham (balloonist) (1804-1864) first British woman to make a solo balloon flight, which she accomplished in 1826.

References

External links

St Swithin's Church

Walcot Street Artworks Trail leaflet

Explore Walcot Street

History of Walcot Street
Roman town of Bath Areas of Bath, Somerset Electoral wards in Bath and North East Somerset Former civil parishes in Somerset {{Somerset-geo-stub