The Cross Bath, Bath
| The Cross Bath | |
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| Location | Bath, Somerset, England |
| Coordinates | 51°22′52″N 2°21′41″W / 51.38111°N 2.36139°WCoordinates: 51°22′52″N 2°21′41″W / 51.38111°N 2.36139°W |
| Built | c. 1789 |
| Architect | Thomas Baldwin |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Designated | 12 June, 1950 |
| Reference no. | 442195 |
 Location of The Cross Bath in Somerset
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The Cross Bath in Bath Street, Bath, Somerset, England is a historic pool for bathing. It was rebuilt, in the style of Robert Adam by Thomas Baldwin around 1789. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and was restored during the 1990s by Donald Insall Associates.
The water which bubbles up from the ground at Bath, fell as rain on the nearby Mendip Hills. It percolates down through limestone aquifers to a depth of between 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) and 4,300 metres (14,100 ft) where geothermal energy raises the water temperature to between 64 °C (147.2 °F) and 96 °C (204.8 °F). Under pressure, the heated water rises to the surface along fissures and faults in the limestone. This process is similar to an artificial one known as Enhanced Geothermal System which also makes use of the high pressures and temperatures below the Earth's crust. Hot water at a temperature of 46 °C (114.8 °F) rises here at the rate of 1,170,000 litres (257,364 imp gal) every day, from a geological fault (the Pennyquick fault).
The warm water spring was possibly used before the nearby Roman Baths were developed.
The name is believed to commemorate the body of St Aldhelm resting there on its journey from Doulting to Malmesbury Abbey in 709.
The healing powers of the bath were one of the reasons for the foundation of St John's Hospital, Bath around 1180, by Bishop Reginald Fitz Jocelin and is among the oldest almshouses in England.
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