By Harry Mottram: The residents’ association held their AGM on March 12 which included a talk by Bath local historian and author Kirsten Elliott discussing “How to be a House Detective.”
Introduced by the driving force of the association Julie Ingerfield (see below), Kirsteen has written various books on Bath including ones on the city’s pubs and also the ghost signs on the side of buildings. Kirsteen engaged the audience who had the opportunity to buy her books at the meeting.
The AGM announced the opening of the BBRA’s website at https://www.bloomfieldbathresidents.org/
Founded in 2020 during the Covid Crisis the group has been active in promoting road safety in Bloomfield Road which had been seen as a ‘rat run’ for commuters and traders.
The group said of their main purpose: “The Bloomfield Bath Residents’ Association (BBRA) was founded in 2020 by a group of your neighbours who wanted to take control of our road & build a sense of community. We want to work towards making our neighbourhood an even safer & more pleasant place to live. Early on we identified 4 goals: to reduce speeding, to enhance pedestrian safety, to improve cycle safety and to reduce inconsiderate or unsafe parking.”
Two new zebra crossings in the street, a 20mph speed limit and a pro-active speed watch group has led to improvements with traffic slowed and road safety increased.
Andrew Swift and Kirsten Elliott are the founders of Akeman Press and the leading historians on the city of Bath. Kirsten has always had an interest in industrial archaeology, particularly canals, but her other interests are architecture, dance, literature and the social life of the Georgian period.
For over thirty years Kirsten has taken guided tours around Bath, as well as professionally researching the history of buildings. Her first research project, however, was to uncover the story of Bath’s Georgian pleasure gardens, a study she has continued for thirty five years. For details of Akeman Press visit: https://www.akemanpress.com/
Julie Ingerfield of Bloomfield is a native Californian who arrived Britain in 1992 on the coattails of an English husband. Originally a Nurse, Julie co-founded a professional organisation for her specialty which grew across the US during her tenure as Executive President. Once in the UK she and her husband opened & ran a successful B&B in Wells. In retirement she served as a volunteer locally in Wiltshire. In 2018 as a new widow, she fulfilled the dream of coming to Bath to live where she thrives thanks to the people, the culture and the beauty of our city.
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