Georgian dandy who, together with local businessman Ralph Allen and architect John Wood, wwas instrumental in the huge Georgian expansion of the city of Bath as a spa resort for the wealthy.
The young Nash was educated at Carmarthen grammar school and at Jesus College, Oxford. He obtained a commission in the army but he soon exchanged this for the study of law at the Temple where became to be accepted as an authority on dress, manners and style.
After his accession, the members of the Inns of Court entertained king William III and Nash was chosen to conduct the pageant at the Middle Temple. The event was such a success that the king offered Nash a knighthood which he declined unless the honour was accompanied by a pension.
With no pension forthcomming from the monarch, nash turned to gambling and this brought him to Bath in 1705 where, almost immediately, he succeed Captain Webster as 'King of Bath' or 'Master of the Ceremonies', with virtual control over all the city's social life. Nash's aptitude for gambling, augmented by good fortune, made him prosperous enough to live in a fine mansion in St John's Court, Bath.
While Allen and Wood busied themselves building the city, Nash's contribution to Bath was principally a social one. He drew up a strict code of conduct for those attending social events in Bath and these became widely accepted and he was chiefly responsible for a marked improvement in general behaviour. Gentlemen were not allowed to wear riding boots or swords at functions, and duelling was banned in the city. The ladies were informed that their apparel and behaviour should be beyond reproach. The enjoyment of the spa by all visitors was assured as members of the aristocracy were firmly told that rudeness to fellow guests of lower station would not be tolerated.
His fortunes changed in 1739 ( or 1745 !!! ) when several popular card games were made illegal by Act of Parliament and his income was slashed. The corporation of Bath subsequently granted him a pension of sixty guineas a year which, supplemented by the sale of his snuff-boxes and other trinkets, enabled him to support himself in a faded splendour although forced to move out of his mansion into a smaller house.
Nash died on February 3rd, 1762, aged eighty-eight. Despite being the figure of ridicule, not least through living with his mistress, he was afforded a magnificent civic funeral at the expense of the corporation of Bath as a recognition of his service to the city and buried in Bath Abbey.
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Bath under Beau Nash
by Lewis Melville, 1908
The Life of Richard Nash, of Bath, Esq; Extracted Principally From His Original Papers
by Oliver Goldsmith, 1762
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