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BCD Special Report
Historic Gardens 2010
37
Taking the Plunge
18
th-century bath houses
and plunge pools
Clare Hickman
O
ne of the defining features of
contemporary western society is
its obsession with health fads,
whether in the form of macrobiotic diets or
sweating it out in the gym. However, this
is an age-old concern and in 18th-century
Britain the health craze of the day resulted
in the creation of plunge pools and cold
baths in houses and gardens across the land.
These containers filled with cold water
could be located within the main house or
within a purpose-built structure set in the
landscape, such as a grotto, where they often
formed part of a circuit of garden features
to be inspected. Although they were often
aesthetically pleasing, their main purpose
was to help facilitate a healthy way of life,
and their placement, particularly when they
formed part of a designed landscape, was
as important in terms of encouraging good
health as a dip in the cold water itself.
The popularity of cold baths and plunge
pools in the 18th century followed both the
trend for coastal and spa bathing, and the
aspiration of a long and healthy life. The 4th
Baronet and 2nd Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn,
of Wynnstay in Denbighshire, combined sea-
bathing with frequent trips to his very own
cold bath. This was sited in the grounds of his
Welsh estate and represented both the desire
to include a classical garden structure within
his landscaped park, as well as the desperate
search for a cure for the disfiguring and
painful skin condition from which he suffered
all his life. The baronet’s stone bathing tank
was rectangular in form, with elegantly curved
steps leading down to it from the bath house
itself, which served as an icy changing room.
The act of bathing required some Spartan
bravery, but then that was all part of the
healthy process. Unfortunately for Sir Watkin,
despite frequently subjecting himself to the
healing powers of the Wynnstay bath, he
died of his symptoms on 29 July 1789.
1
The Corsham Court bath house was originally designed by
Lancelot Brown 1761–3 and later remodelled by John Nash
at the end of the century. The front is open to three sides giving
views across the landscaped grounds.