It contains war memorials for the local population and monuments to several notable people, in the form of wall and floor plaques and commemorative stained glass.

In 675 AD, Osric, King of the Hwicce, granted the Abbess Berta or Bertana[12] 100 hides near Bath for the establishment of a convent.

William of Malmesbury tells that Offa rebuilt the monastic church, which may have occupied the site of an earlier pagan temple, to such a standard that King Eadwig was moved to describe it as being "marvellously built".

Monasticism in England had declined by that time, but Eadwig's brother Edgar (who was crowned "King of the English" at the abbey in 973)[16] began its revival on his accession to the throne in 959.

He encouraged monks to adopt the Rule of Saint Benedict, which was introduced at Bath under Abbot Ælfheah (St. Alphege), who also repaired the church.

The victor, William II Rufus, granted the city to a royal physician, John of Tours, who became Bishop of Wells and Abbot of Bath.

[29] The half-finished cathedral was devastated by fire in 1137,[30] but work continued under Godfrey, the new bishop, until about 1156; the completed building was approximately 330 feet (101 m) long.

[34] King took a year to consider what action to take, before writing to the Prior of Bath in October 1500 to explain that a large amount of the priory income would be dedicated to rebuilding the cathedral.

[39] There are several stories that, on a visit to Bath, King had a dream in which he "saw the Heavenly Host on high with angels ascending and descending by ladder" which is now represented on the west front of the cathedral.

[18] During the 1820s and 1830s buildings, including houses, shops and taverns which were very close to or actually touching the walls of the abbey were demolished and the interior remodelled by George Phillips Manners who was the Bath City Architect.

[49] Major restoration work was carried out by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the 1860s, funded by the rector, Charles Kemble.

[49] The work included the installation of fan vaulting in the nave, which was not merely a fanciful aesthetic addition but a completion of the original design.

[51] Work carried out in the 20th and 21st centuries included full cleaning of the stonework and the reconstruction of the pipe organ by Klais Orgelbau of Bonn.

[53] † Rector died in post The Abbey is built of Bath stone, which gives the exterior its yellow colour, and is not a typical example of the Perpendicular form of Gothic architecture; the low aisles and nave arcades and the very tall clerestory present the opposite balance to that which was usual in perpendicular churches.

The building has 52 windows, occupying about 80% of the wall space,[37] giving the interior an impression of lightness, and reflecting the different attitudes towards churchmanship shown by the clergy of the time and those of the 12th century.

The walls and roofs are supported by buttresses and surmounted by battlements, pinnacles and pierced parapets, many of which were added by George Manners during his 1830s restorations.

[67] Restoration work in the late 20th century involved cleaning with electronically controlled intermittent water sprays and ammonium carbonate poultices.

[68] The sculptures on the West front have been interpreted as representing "spiritual ascent through the virtue of humility and descent through the vice of pride"[69] and Christ as the Man of Sorrow and the Antichrist.

[69] During the 1990s a major restoration and cleaning work were carried out on the exterior stonework, returning it to the yellow colour hidden under centuries of dirt.

The interior fan vaulting ceiling, originally installed by Robert and William Vertue, was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott between 1864 and 1874.

[64] The fan vaulting provides structural stability by distributing the weight of the roof down ribs that transfer the force into the supporting columns via the flying buttresses.

[78] Gilbert Scott's work in the 1870s included the installation of large gas chandeliers made by the Coventry metalworker Francis Skidmore.

[80] Pews installed in the nave during Scott's renovations were replaced with stackable chairs in 2018, a move which was opposed by the Victorian Society leading to a Consistory court case which was decided in favour of the Abbey.

[82] New quire screens were installed in 2004, partly to improve the acoustics, topped with 12 carved angels playing musical instruments.

[84] Work to rebury coffins which had previously been under the abbey and stabilise the floor included the digging of a trench in which the tiles were uncovered.

[87] The compasses of the manuals were extended, one and a half octaves of pedals were added and the instrument renovated in 1802 by John Holland; further repairs were effected by Flight & Robson in 1826.

[14] This instrument was removed first to the Bishop's Palace at Wells in 1836,[88] then to St Mary's Church, Yatton, where it was subsequently rebuilt and extensively modified.

[14] Norman & Beard re-erected it in a new case designed by Sir Thomas Jackson in the North Transept in 1914, with the addition of two stops to the Pedal.

The organ was totally reconstructed in 1997 by Klais Orgelbau of Bonn, retaining the existing instrument as far as was possible and restoring it largely to its 1895 condition, although the Positive division was kept.

Pierced panelling executed by Derek Riley of Lyndale Woodcarving in Saxmundham, Suffolk, was provided to allow sound egress from the bottom of the case.