i. Bath is a city in Somerset, nestled in a valley the river Avon runs through. The Romans made use of the hot springs there, building bathing complexes, and named the place Aquae Sulis. In the 17th and 18th centuries Bath underwent rapid development. The Abbey was restored in 1611 after it had been closed by King Henry VIII in 1539. The original pump room, which Chandler’s shop was near, was built in 1706 by Richard ‘Beau’ Nash.

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ii. The poem was dedicated to Princess Amelia of Great Britain (1711-1788) in the second edition of the poem, which featured Mary Chandler's name for the first time and was printed in larger quantities. 'Princess Amelia's visit to Bath in April 1728 was of particular significance in encouraging investment there and the maintenance of Bath's social status' Hembury, (1990, p.133). This poem uses the prestige of a royal visit to promote the town's prosperity.

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14. Chandler is effecting a modest voice as she begins her poem, also inferred with the use of ‘Humbly Inscribed’ in the subtitle. Staves, (2006, p.171) summarises Alexander Pope’s The Dunciad; he criticises the works of uneducated women writers such as Manley and Haywood as being of low standard. Without formal education herself, Chandler is appealing here to Pope’s ideals of literature by copying his form in a humble, self-aware manner.

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19. The Romans founded Aquae Sulis in the 1st Century. They built a temple, reservoirs and baths. The golden eagle or aquila was a significant symbol for the Roman Empire as mentioned by Cousins (2019, p.71).

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20. Albion, the ancient name of Britain.

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21. Meaning Bladud, founder of Bath, tenth descendant of Brutus in the mythological The History of the Kings of Britain (1136) by Geoffrey of Monmouth.

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23. Pallas was daughter of Triton.

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25-26. Referencing the poetical works of John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667) and A History of Britain (1649) ‘Milton was concerned to qualify his Gothicism with his puritan belief,’ Chandler is subtly commenting on political issues. ‘Gothic parliamentary rhetoric was firmly associated with the Whigs’ which Chandler identified as. Groom, (2012, p.75).

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28. Roman goddess dedicated to the hot springs, jointly with the Celtic deity Sulis. Minerva was associated with wisdom and healing, as explained by Bradley, (2012, p.52).

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29. R. Cruthwell describes in The New Bath Guide (1789) ‘In the banqueting room over one of the chimney pieces is preserved the head of Minerva, cast in metal, a very curious piece of antiquity, that was dug up in Stall-Street opposite the Three-Tuns, in the year 1725.’ Cruthwell, (1789, p.42)

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36-37. Giving a pseudo-scientific explanation for the waters’ heat, and why they have healing properties, Chandler is showcasing Bath’s main attraction.

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38. Many physicians have written about the healing properties of the waters at Bath. They include Dr. Guidot Treatise On The Waters (1676), Dr. Pierce Catalogue of Eminent Cures Performed by the Bath Waters (1697) and Dr. William Oliver Dissertation on the Bath Waters (1719). Dr Oliver was acquainted with Chandler as she wrote ‘To Dr. Oliver Who Corrected My Bath Poem’ which appears in the third edition (1736); the first collected edition of Chandler’s works.

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42. Chandler is using the spring waters as an analogy for parliamentary unity under Walpole after the civil war.

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46. The earliest account of possible leprosy appears in an Egyptian papyrus; many believed the disease to originate from there. Stanford University, available at, https://web.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/ParaSites2005/Leprosy/index.htm (accessed 4th January 2020).

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51. Chandler, a vegetarian, was concerned that food was the key to good or bad health. She believed rich foods and alcohol brought disease. Cibber (1753, p.351).

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58. Aurora was the Roman goddess of dawn.

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74. Naaman’s leprosy healed (2 Kings 5:14).

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88. Chandler showing an example of Prospect Poetry. ‘a description of sites from atop a hill or other elevation…often interlaces with moral reflections on history and temporal prospects’ Potkay (2011, p.177). Chandler takes the reader to the lofty vista of Bath and then on to lofty spiritual musing for the remainder of the verse.

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96. See Thomas Burnet, ‘a natural philosopher whose Sacred Theory of the Earth (1680, 1689) was an early diluvialist work. He tried to correlate the seven days of creation with Earth history, describing the Earth as a giant shell from which flood waters gushed when it was broken by God in the Deluge. The broken fragments of the crust formed mountains.’ Oxford University Press (2020), Oxford Reference, available at  https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095537298 (Accessed 4th January 2020).

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113. Bath made use of the Avon for transport and trade. 

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115. Chandler takes the reader from spiritual musings to the focal place of worship and gives a potted history of the abbey. From the origins of the nunnery founded in 676 AD to the restored abbey of James Montague, Bishop of Bath (1568-1618).

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118. The period of the invasion of the Vikings during the Anglo-Saxon era (793-878).

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121. eg. St. Edmund – Refusing to submit to Ivar in 869 he was tied to a tree, shot with arrows, beheaded, and subsequently sainted. Oxford University Press (2020), Oxford Reference, available at https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095537298 (Accessed 4th January 2020).

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122-124. Reference to religious practices of the Vikings to their pagan Gods.

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127. On the west face of the abbey, Jacob’s ladders are depicted with saints and angels climbing them.

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133. Chandler praising the well-established place of Christian worship

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138. See Thomas Carew Lips and Eyes (1640). Much of his poetry is addressed to an ex-lover, Celia.

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141. James Montague became Bishop of Bath in 1608. He paid to have the roof repaired, costing £1,000. The wooden doors on the west front were paid for by his family in his memory. Cassan (1827, p.23).

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142. The tomb of which Montague is buried, on the top of which is carved his effigy, hands clasped in prayer.

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144. See Epitaph [The Monument of a Fair Maiden Lady] by John Dryden. It first appeared on a funeral tablet belonging to Mary Frampton. Hammond, Hopkins (2005 p.29.)

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145. From religion, Chandler directs the reader to leisure. A portico is a roof column porch associated with ancient Greek architecture. Chandler reinforces this image with the simile of patrons to Homer’s gods.

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152. Chandler is complementing the local stone used to build the town. ‘The colour of Cotswold stone varies, from the honey colouring of the north and north east of the region, through the golden stone of the central area down to the pearly white stone associated with Bath,’ particularly in the interest of Ralph Allen, who is also mentioned in the poem. Cotswold District Council (2016), Cotswold District Council, available at https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/visitors/attractions/cotswold-stone (accessed 4th January 2020)

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157. Bladud, mythological founder of Bath. A statue is situated in the King and Queen Bath that Chandler is describing here.

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160. Due to the water being cooler and frequented by ladies, Chandler advertises that the baths are a safe space for women. ‘Ladies of quality were generally attended in the Cross Bath by the daughters of chief citizens,’ Wood, (1742, p.437).

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163. A marble cross was in the centre of the cross bath with a depiction of The Holy Ghost on it. It was defaced several times, especially in the rebellion of 1715. Wood, (1742, p.262).

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164-165. Roman-catholic idolism (the marble cross).

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169. See Horace Ode V To Pyrrah. Noted to be Chandler’s favourite author in her biography. A man is thanking Pyrrah for his safety after a storm. This is an allegory to the triumphs of the healing properties of the water.

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177. Chandler takes the reader from the baths to the ever-developing landscape of Bath. Princess Amelia’s visit to Bath encouraged lots of investment for the new town. The main feature of these new towns was designed for leisure with walks, gardens and promenades. Hembry, (1990, p.133).

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193-196. Orange Grove, named after William IV, Prince of Orange. ‘At the Hanoverian succession in 1714, Bath was suspected as a Tory and pro-Stuart city’ Hembry, (1990, p.113).

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201. Nassau, in reference to William IV, Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau (1711-1751), who visited Bath in 1734 to cure his illness.

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202. Anne, Princess Royal (1709-1759) who was married to William IV, Prince of Orange on 25th March 1734.

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207. The significant result of the mix described was William V, Prince of Orange (1748-1806), who’s actions many years later in 1795 resulted in the passing of Ceylon and South Africa into British rule.

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208. William ‘Beau’ Nash master of ceremonies of Bath, and held the position from 1705-1761. Nash was very influential in his position of MC. Nash was the person who liaised and provided the social scene for the gentry. ‘Under the aegis of Nash, backed by the city council, the company at Bath became a regulated society’. Hembry, (1990, p.136). Chandler particularly highlights here that Nash’s name is immortalised on the aforementioned obelisk.

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222. Alexander Pope (1688-1744) is mentioned several times in the poem. Chandler’s biography states Pope complimented this poem.

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231. Note the emphasis on how appealing it is for women to be in Mr. Leake’s shop. As a milliner, Sharon Young (2015, p.250-259) addresses that Chandler would have many wealthy females come through her shop. The above stanza shows a mutually beneficial endorsement of female customers between herself and Mr. Leake.

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265. Reference to Pope. ‘Mr Pope’s epithet of “low-born Allen”, which on hint from Bishop Warburton, was changed to “humble Allen”’ (Kilvert, 1857, p.5).

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270. Ralph Allen’s Prior Park. Chandler is utilising the Country House poem genre until line 314. Not only was Allen responsible for the modern postal system which made him incredibly wealthy, he ‘opened extensive stone quarries on Combe Down…after supplying materials for the public buildings in that city (Bath) it was conveyed by water to Bristol, London and Liverpool and to Ireland and almost every part of Europe.’  Kilvert, (1857, p.9). By complimenting Allen, Chandler’s name is circulated with him and his peers. Women without wealth relied on such patronage for their writings. ‘Authors dedicated books in order to gain support for a cause or to draw attention to loyalty and personal expertise in an attempt to improve their own social position through “preferment”,’ Prescott, (2003, p.112). This poem has illustrated Chandler to be appealing to Nash, Leake and Allen.

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305. See Mary Leapor (1722-1746), Strephon to Celia: A Modern Love Letter. Leapor refers to herself as Myra in many of her poems. She too writes in the style of Pope. Lonsdale, (1989, p.375).

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321. Chandler finishes humbly with a compliment to Pope, that her offering of words does not compare to his skill. Prandi (2008, p.163) explains, ‘Pope’s availability as a model coincided with other influences to encourage a number of women poets…some felt compelled to salute the reigning bard in their own volumes’. Like Leapor, Chandler uses Pope’s heroic style along with country house, pastoral and topographical poetry as an advertisement of Bath and as a way of ensuring her own financial stability.