Bath Abbey

Bath Abbey is the last of the great medieval churches of England. The West Front of the Abbey depicts the dream that inspired Bishop Oliver King, the Abbey’s founder, to pull down the ruined Norman cathedral that once stood here and raise the present building on its foundations.
Over the last twelve and a half centuries, three churches have occupied the site of today’s Abbey: An Anglo-Saxon Abbey Church dating from 757 that was pulled down soon after 1066. A massive Norman cathedral begun in about 1090 that was larger than the monastery could afford to maintain and was in ruins by the end of the 15th century and the present Abbey church which was founded in 1499 and ruined after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 by order of Henry VIII.
Worship has taken place on the site of today’s Abbey for over one thousand years.

Bath Abbey is a place of worship where people meet for services on Sundays and during the week. This does mean that the Abbey has to be closed to visitors during some services and events, but there will always be a notice on the door to inform you when the Abbey is open again. The Abbey does stay open during any weekday Choral Evensongs and during Holy Communion at 11.00 a.m. on Thursdays.

Disabled access.