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Walcot, Bath

Walcot
Street scene with shops and houses. Church tower in the distance.
Walcot Street
Walcot is located in Somerset
Walcot
Walcot
Location within Somerset
Population5,920 (2011; ward)[1]
OS grid referenceST753659
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBATH
Postcode districtBA1
Dialling code01225
PoliceAvon and Somerset
FireAvon
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Somerset
51°23′31″N 2°21′21″W / 51.3920°N 2.3558°W / 51.3920; -2.3558

Walcot is a suburb of the city of Bath, England. It lies to the north-north-east of the city centre, and is an electoral ward of the city.[2]

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.[3][4]

Walcot Street and London Road are believed to be a Roman road, leading north from the Roman town of Aquae Sulis and linking with the Fosse Way. Walcot originally grew as a residential area (a vicus) in the 1st to 3rd centuries, located between the walled town, the Fosse Way and the possible Roman fort sited across the river in the Bathwick area.[5]

The parish church of St Swithin, on The Paragon was built in 1779-90 by John Palmer.[6] The 18th-century poet Christopher Anstey is buried at the church.[7][8] Walcot was the birthplace of Richard Debaufre Guyon, who would become, in succession, an Austrian officer, a Hungarian rebel and an Ottoman Pasha.[9][10]

The electoral ward returns two councillors to Bath and North East Somerset Council. 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. The Grosvenor area of the city falls within the ward.[2]

  1. ^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  2. ^ a b Bath and North East Somerset Council District Council Elections
  3. ^ "Artisan Quarter". Visit Bath. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Walcot Street Artworks" (PDF). Bath and North East Somerset Council. 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  5. ^ Pevsner Architectural Guides: Bath (2007) Forsyth, M
  6. ^ "Church of St Swithin, Walcot". Images of England. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  7. ^ "Christopher Anstey". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Christopher Anstey: A life in 18th century Bath". Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  9. ^ "General Richard Guyon". Bath Heritage. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  10. ^ "Guyon, Richard Debaufre (1813-1856), army officer". Oxford Index. Retrieved 24 April 2015.