Susan reports:
From the Diary of Samuel Pepys, written between 1660-1669:
"My wife being busy in going with her woman to a hot-house to bathe herself, after her long being within doors in the dirt, so that she now pretends to a resolution of being hereafter very clean. How long it will hold I can guess. . . .
"At night late home, and to clean myself with warm water; [now] my wife will have me, because she doth [wash] herself, and so to bed."
Above: The King's Bath and the Queen's Bath at Bath 1675, by Thomas Johnson (1634-1676 fl.) from the collection of the British Museum; copyright The Trustees of the British Museum. The King's Bath is the oldest of the baths, dating from at least the 13th c. This drawing from the 17th c. shows a lively scene worthy of a modern swimming pool, with bathers of all ages (and of all dress and undress) and both genders, plus many spectators gathered along the rails and watching from the windows of surrounding houses. To learn more, click on the title of the print.
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