Bath will celebrate the annual UNESCO World Heritage Day with a free event at Green Park Station on Thursday 18 April 2019, from 11am to 3pm.
Visitors of all ages will be able to take part in activities exploring the city’s exceptional architectural and engineering achievements: past, present and future. There will be themed talks, guided walks, hands-on activities, displays and a chance to meet costumed characters from Bath’s past.
Tony Crouch, City of Bath World Heritage Site Manager, said: “Last year more than 3,500 people came to celebrate World Heritage Day in the sunshine on the Royal Crescent lawn.
We hope that this year’s event, which falls during the Easter school holidays, will be just as popular with local residents and visitors to the city. The event provides the perfect opportunity for all to learn about why ‘The City of Bath’ was designated a World Heritage Site.”
Highlights of the day will include:
- Themed talks on subjects including Roman building and engineering innovations, Bath’s bridges across the river, the 18th-century expansion of the city, and present and future architectural development in Bath
- Walking tours around the Green Park area with the Mayor’s Honorary Guides
- Guided walks with Bath Preservation Trust along Bath riverside
- Letter-carving demonstrations and a chance to try your hand at stone carving
- Original Roman building and engineering objects from the Roman Baths collection
- Arch, aqueduct and pillar-building challenges
- Hands-on problem-solving for budding engineers of all ages with BuroHappold Engineering
- Activities and news from exciting heritage projects in Bath such as Bath Abbey Footprint and the National Trust’s restoration of the dams at Prior Park
Historical characters that helped shape the World Heritage city will be in attendance: 18th-century architect John Wood; a Georgian builder; and Major Charles Davis, the Victorian city surveyor and architect who was instrumental in the excavation of the Roman Baths.
Local residents will be able to find out more about the history of where they live and add their home to a giant map of Bath.
As well as celebrating Bath’s past, World Heritage Day will look to the future, with a chance to hear the latest updates from major heritage projects in the city, including the Archway Project (www.romanbaths.co.uk/archway) which is due to open a World Heritage Visitor Centre and Roman Baths Clore Learning Centre in 2020.
For more details please visit www.bathworldheritage.org.uk/events.
