Bath: The Circus, part 1

As a resident of Bath for the last thirteen years, I have not tired of wandering around looking for hidden gems across the city. With so much beauty and craftsmanship embedded into the architecture, Bath is abundant with secret motifs if you know where to look!

One that has fascinated me is the Circus, located adjacent to the Royal Crescent. The Circus consists of three curved segments of Grade I listed townhouses, forming a circle with three entrances. The Circus mimics Stonehenge’s layout, and when viewed from the air, along with Queen Square and adjoining Gay Street, form a key shape.

Carved into the stonework are 525 emblems; flora & fauna, acorns, suns, moons, compasses, paint palettes, books, instruments, and nautical symbols. When I have mentioned this to friends, family and colleagues I have been shocked to know that even locals to Bath have not noticed these "hidden-in-plain-sight” symbols before, giving me even more enthusiasm to bring attention to them.

While the symbols take inspiration from freemasons, I aim to reimagine these into textiles pieces, by hand sewing some of these motifs into fabric. While I’ll take direct inspiration from the original designs by photographing, tracing and printing onto water soluble paper to then embroider, some symbols I’ll reinterpret slightly to simplify the detail.

Throughout my exploration, I intend to update the blog with my findings and research and see how my ideas develop into physical works.