John Wood the Elder was born 300 years ago in 1704 and died in 1754. In this the anniversary year The Building of Bath Museum steps behind the classical façade to reveal how one man's obsession led to the creation of Georgian Bath.

The Circus, one of Bath's most recognised landmarks, is often thought to be based on the celebrated Colosseum in Rome. It comes as a surprise then to discover that this strange circular building owes more to Stonehenge and the druids than it ever did to classical antiquity and the heathen gods.

In an age when the remains of ancient Greece and Rome were defining the nation's architecture, why did John Wood, creator of England's most famous neo-classical city, look towards druids, freemasonry and God for inspiration?

At the age of 21 John Wood had a vision for Bath. It was an individual and highly personal vision and it became his obsession. The manifestation of that obsession is the city we know today.

This exhibition investigates the development of this obsession explaining how Wood's extraordinary theories on architecture affected every building he imagined, and combined to form his ideal city.

A publication linked to this exhibition will be available in October 2004. Priced at £9.95 it will contain three essays and the catalogue to the exhibition and a forward by Prof. Dan Cruickshank. If you would like to be informed when the publication is available to buy, please send or e-mail us your details.