In 1499, then in a ruinous state, was taken down, and Bishop King and Prior Bird began to build the present structure, which was not completed for public worship until 1616. In 1834 the Corporation of Bath carried out extensive repairs and removed adjoining buildings which for many years disfigured the church. In 1864 the Reverend Charles Venable, aided by public subscriptions, began the work of restoration under the direction of Sir Gilbert Scott, R.A.” No English county is richer in Roman remains than Somersetshire, and with only a few exceptions they are all to be found in Bath. In the early days of their occupation the Romans discovered the value of the hot springs and cleared the rough and primitive British dwellings to erect in their place a splendid city. The Roman baths, which have been unearthed quite recently, bear distinct witness to the early celebrity of the city. These remains cover but a small part of the original site, because it has been calculated the baths alone must have covered an area of seven acres, and in addition there would be the lounges, pleasure grounds, and the villas of the Roman residents. The earliest name of the city of which there is any record is Aquæ Solis--“the waters of the sun.” A temple to a British deity, Sul (thought by the Romans to be the same as their own Sol) has been found near the hot springs. When, therefore, the conquerors built their temple at Aquæ Solis they linked the name of their Goddess Minerva with the British Sul, and on the site of this temple to Sul-Minerva was erected the church of St Peter and St Paul. The nave is the only portion left of the original abbey church. The present church is a very striking example of the late Perpendicular period--a period of straight lines and huge windows. The building, as it stands, dates from as near as possible 1500, when it was commenced by Bishop Oliver King. It was completed by Bishop Montague in 1616, and a restoration was effected by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1864. The west front, which pictures in sculpture the dream of Bishop Oliver King, is not only one of the grandest, but one of the most singular pieces of architecture in existence. The vision commemorated was one of the Holy Trinity with angels going up and down a ladder, a crown and an olive tree--interpreted by the bishop as a message to him to rebuild the church.