f them again further on. The general appearance of the place is
symmetrical, but there are remarkable variations and inaccuracies
that point to the fact that the juxta-position of this bath with
other buildings, of which we have at present no knowledge, must have
rendered these variations necessary, ultimately interfering with the
completion, architecturally, of the building.

[Footnote 20: The house over the bath having been purchased by
the Corporation, the Antiquities Committee (of which Mr. Murch was
chairman) with a liberal subscription from the Society of Antiquaries,
the Duke of Cleveland, and many noblemen and gentlemen of Bath and the
neighbourhood, bore the expense of the removal of the soil from the
bath and the general opening out of the rains, the arches beneath the
Poor Law Office and the Viaduct supporting Abbey Street.]

On either side, north and south, are three recesses, or _exedrae_,
two of which are circular and one (the centre) rectangular. The south
rectangular one is 17ft. wide by 7ft. deep; the north one is nearly
a foot wider, and one foot less in depth. Greater variations exist
in the circular recesses; for, commencing in the western one, on the
south side, the width is 17ft. 3in., and the depth 7ft. 6in.; the
eastern one is 14ft. 3in. wide, and 6ft. 9in. deep; the _exedrae
vis-a-vis_ on the north is 17ft. 3in. wide, and 8ft. 4in. deep; the
remaining one, to the west, is 17ft. wide, and 7ft. deep. I give these
dimensions irrespective entirely of the pilasters which are attached
to the walls on either side the reveil of the recesses, and in the
rectangular recesses in the enclosing angles also. Piers are now
standing on the margin of the bath, dividing the north and south
sides each into seven bays. These piers are built with solid block
freestone, but as there are continuous vertical joints on either side
of the central division of each pier, it is clear that an alteration
was made in the design either previous to its entire completion or
subsequently.

I will endeavour to describe the bath as originally designed. Along
the margin of the bath, north and south, stood six piers, equally
divided (about 14ft. apart), as far as the length of the bath, but
allowing a lesser distance from the attached pilaster at either end.
These piers are cut out of a block (in plan, 2ft. 101/2in. from east to
west by 2ft. 8in. from north to south), so as to form a pilaster of
three inches projection on either fa