Visiting Bath

I spent yesterday in the city of Bath with my husband and a good friend. Especially, we visited Holburne Museum, a small but fascinating museum in Sydney Gardens near the centre of the city.

We both love the city of Bath - a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and extraordinary in its extent and in the beauty of its buildings.  These date mostly from the second half of the 18th century and were built using the lovely local honey-coloured stone.

We used to live in the city in the 1970s - just round the corner from the Holburne, in fact - and have visited the city regularly since but we haven't been to the museum and gallery since its recent refurbishment - and beautiful it was too.

Most of the objects we saw on display were bought by a private collector, Sir William Holburne, in the 19th century. Wealthy collectors like him have amassed a hugely rich heritage for us and we love visiting the various museums and galleries around the country that house the objects.

The eclectic collection shown includes silver, ceramics, paintings, textiles and a wide variety of other objects. There were some delightful pieces to see and, as always, I've included what I can of my favourites - though photography was not all always that successful and that has limited my choice.

First of all, one of a pair of bronze candlesticks on a windowsill and taken looking out of the window and straight down Pultney Street to the centre of the city ...

 and then a lovely silver cow creamer - surprisingly modern-looking ..

... and some wonderful embroidered gloves dating from the end of the 18th centrury ...

There was also a fantastic oil painting by Pieter Brueghel the Younter - called The Visit of the Godfather - that I couldn't photograph and lots of beautiful, highly decorated silver which I would love to be able to show. All was beautifully displayed and accessible. It was a lovely visit.