Circus, The, Bath, England

The houses, a circle formed by three equal crescents, were designed by John Wood the Elder. They were started in 1754 and finished 15 years later.

William Pitt, who became Prime Minister, at one time lived in the Circus.

No. 4 was bequeathed to the Bath Corporation by the widow of artist Charles Cooke in 1961. It was restored and annexed to the City's Museum of Costume. The garden of this house has since been renovated in the Georgian style.

Originally there was a pump in the centre and the Circus was cobbled. Water was pumped to containers in the cellars of the houses. At some stage the pump was removed and grass was planted along with some shrubs, which probably included the young plane trees. The stone coping around the central grass supported railings in the 19^th century, but these were removed during the Second World War for use in the armaments factories.

It is thought that the garden was laid out and planted between 1800 and 1808, based on information available in the cuttings file at Bath reference library.