St Swithin, Bath
St Swithin, Bath
St Swithin’s is a Grade II* Georgian parish church on The Paragon, Walcot, Bath, the only remaining eighteenth-century parish church in the city, in the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
- Location
- Bath, Somerset
- Country
- England
- County
- Somerset
- City / town
- Bath
- Address
- The Paragon, Bath, Somerset, BA1 5LY
- Postcode
- BA1 5LY
- Built
- 1777–90
- Consecrated
- 1777
- Architect
- John Palmer
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Dedication
- Swithin
- Diocese
- Bath and Wells
- Parish
- Walcot
- Grade
- II*
- Style
- Georgian classical
- Materials
- Limestone ashlar with hipped slate and lead roofs
- Opening hours
- Open Tuesday to Friday 9.30am to 4.30pm.
- Access
- Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets in church
Overview
Historic England records a parish church of 1779–90 by John Palmer, of limestone ashlar with hipped slate and lead roofs, a rectangular six-bay aisled plan and a west entrance tower. Giant Ionic pilasters articulate the elevations; the east end stands on a high rusticated plinth above London Street, with a shallow canted sanctuary. The three-stage tower has a slender octagonal spire on a cylindrical drum with Corinthian columns. The parish history states that a church dedicated to Swithun stood here soon after 971, its foundations beneath the crypt; a 1742 church by Robert Smith succeeded a storm-damaged Saxon building. Palmer’s church was consecrated in 1777, extended eastwards by two bays within ten years, and completed with a classical spire in 1790.
Jane Austen’s parents were married in the old church on 26 April 1764; her father George Austen is buried here. The church is open Tuesday to Friday 9.30am to 4.30pm.