The Story of Bath. Pairs Up and Down

 Wednesday has rolled around again and it is time for Helena's meme Pairs. I am using two photos that I took in December when I was Christmas shopping in Bath. Bath is one of those cities where you can almost point the camera in any direction and come up with a good picture.

 I stopped for a coffee and a quick bite to eat in the Guildhall market. Should you get a chance to visit Bath it is well worth a visit. There is a cornucopia of different stalls. The central dome can be seen from some distance around the city. I however never recall looking up inside before. Probably because I was too busy studying the paperbacks for sale on a very good second hand book stall. Sitting drinking my coffee I had a good view of the inside of the dome.

I was quite amazed to find out that there has been a market here since the 1770s and that the dome was built in 1863. The dome was damaged in a fire in the 1970s and rebuilt 20 years later. I have more photos of it that I will save for another day.

 However when you look down you see something that tells the story of Bath.

The centre of the market has a pig on display which was part of a trail of pig figures around the city in 2008 known as "King Bladud's Pigs". These originate from a story that was very familiar to me as a school child.

 Bladud is reputed to be the founder of Bath. Legend has it that he came to the throne in 863BC. He had as a young man contracted leprosy and was sent to tend the pigs who also then also caught the disease. Whilst working as a swineherd he brought his pigs through the Avon valley. He found that where they had bathed in the muddy water from the hot springs they were rid of their skin conditions. He too bathed in the hot spring water and was cured of his leprosy. He then as king went on to build the city of Bath in gratitude for his cure.