History
Widcombe is an area of Bath situated on the south side of the River Avon. It has a great local association with a history page at this Link
A sample extract from the linked website is below:
Apart from its modern day attractions of shopping and restaurants, Widcombe has spectacular views, and streams and springs which in the past provided power for two mills and cold water spa facilities in Lyncombe Vale.
There is much to captivate historians of all kinds: interesting bridges (including Ralph Allen’s Palladian Bridge – pictured below), churches, and quiet, now unused, burial grounds including the landscaped Abbey Cemetery of 1844. Other burial grounds include Perrymead Cemetery, the Baptist Burial Ground, the Quaker Cemetery and although not falling within Widcombe proper but containing the remains of many of its inhabitants, the Smallcombe Cemeteries. There are also many interesting war memorials in Widcombe which are worthy of attention.
Widcombe ward is bigger than its historic namesake but in spite of disaster (Ha’penny Bridge, which connects Bath Spa station with Widcombe, collapsed in 1877) and flood (the last being in 1968), bomb damage in 1942 and major redevelopments in the 1970s, most of the area is much the same as shown on postcards of 100 years ago, and one of the Widcombe Association’s main concerns is to preserve this heritage.
The story of Widcombe has several phases. After slow early growth, there was expansion in the 18th and 19th centuries and then some major changes in the 20th century - see the Widcombe Association for the rest of the history.