Over the past centuries much of our built heritage has been irretrievably lost. At the 1972 World Heritage Convention, the international community committed itself to preventing further loss of our valued heritage assets and today there are over 700 sites in over 120 countries inscribed upon the World Heritage List. Each site is of “outstanding universal value to humanity” and constitutes an intrinsic part of our universal civilisation. Each site if endangered or destroyed would be an irreplaceable loss.
The city of Bath in its entirety has been a World Heritage Site since 1987, recognised as a place of “Outstanding Universal Value” for its architecture, town-planning, surrounding green landscape, archaeological remains, and its role as a setting for social history. The history of the city extends over six millennia, from its earliest days when the Hot Springs were a place of worship for the Britons, to the modern day when Bath is an international icon of architecture and archaeology within a thriving local community as recognised in the City of Bath World Heritage Site Management Plan.
The future of our heritage depends on the actions of the present generation. Local and national organisations, residents and visitors to Bath have a responsibility to understand and recognise what is important about our World Heritage Site and just how special and worthy of protection Bath really is!
