The Bath Assembly Rooms, designed by John Wood the Younger in 1769, are a set of

assembly rooms In Great Britain and Ireland, especially in the 18th century Britain, 18th and 19th centuries, assembly rooms were gathering places for members of the higher social classes open to members of both sexes. At that time most entertaining was done ...

located in the heart of the

World Heritage City A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

of Bath in England which are now open to the public as a visitor attraction. They are designated as a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. During the Georgian era Bath became fashionable, and the architects John Wood, the Elder, and his son laid out new areas of housing for residents and visitors. Assembly rooms had been built early in the 18th century, but a new venue for balls, concerts and gambling was envisaged in the area between Queen Square, The Circus and the Royal Crescent.

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...

submitted a proposal that was rejected as too expensive.

John Wood, the Younger John Wood, the Younger (25 February 1728 – 18 June 1782) was an English architect, working principally in the city of Bath, Somerset. He was the son of the architect John Wood, the Elder. His designs were highly influential during the 18t ...

raised funding through a

tontine A tontine () is an investment linked to a living person which provides an income for as long as that person is alive. Such schemes originated as plans for governments to raise capital in the 17th century and became relatively widespread in the 18 ...

, and construction started in 1769. The new or upper assembly rooms opened with a grand ball in 1771 and became the hub of fashionable society, being frequented by Jane Austen and

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

, along with the nobility of the time. The building, made of Bath stone, is arranged in a U shape. There are four main function rooms in the complex: the ballroom—the largest

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

interior in Bath; the

tea room A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...

; the card room; and the octagon. The rooms have Whitefriars crystal chandeliers and are decorated with fine art. In the 20th century they were used as a cinema and in 1931 were taken over by the

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the destructive 'restoration' of ancient buildings occurring in ...

and restored. They were bombed and burnt out during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, with restoration undertaken by Sir

Albert Richardson Sir Albert Edward Richardson (London, 19 May 1880 – 3 February 1964) was a leading English architect, teacher and writer about architecture during the first half of the 20th century. He was Professor of Architecture at University College Lon ...

before reopening in 1963. They are now owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

and operated by

Bath and North East Somerset Council Bath and North East Somerset Council is the local council for the district of Bath and North East Somerset in Somerset, England. It is a unitary authority, with the powers and functions of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined ...

for public functions. The basement of the building provides a home to the Fashion Museum.

History

Several areas of Bath had undergone development during the Stuart period; development increased during

times, however, in response to the increasing number of visitors to the spa and resort town who required accommodation. The architects John Wood the Elder and his son John Wood the Younger laid out the new quarters in streets and squares, the identical façades of which gave an impression of palatial scale and classical decorum. Much of the creamy honey-coloured Bath stone used for construction throughout the city was obtained from the

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines owned by

Ralph Allen Ralph Allen (1693 – 29 June 1764) was an entrepreneur and philanthropist, who was notable for his reforms to the British postal system. Allen was born in Cornwall but moved to Bath to work in the post office, becoming the postmaster at ...

(1694–1764). The development at this time largely consisted of new residential areas located away from the old city centre. The elder John Wood designed Queen Square, the

Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

, and Gay Street in 1735, which would be completed by the younger John Wood. Queen Square was the first speculative development by the elder John Wood, who lived in one of the houses. The

consists of three long, curved terraces that form a circular theatre intended for civic functions and games and inspired by the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...

in Rome. Finally the elder Wood also designed and developed Gay Street which links the two; the buildings on Gay Street are now largely Grade I

s. The most spectacular of Bath's terraces is the Royal Crescent, designed by the younger John Wood, and built between 1767 and 1774. The heart of the Georgian city was Wood's Pump Room, which, together with its associated Lower Assembly Rooms, was designed by Thomas Baldwin, a local builder responsible for many other buildings in the city, including the terraces in Argyle Street and the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

, The Lower Assembly Rooms consisted of two buildings. The first built in 1708 for Thomas Harrison overlooking Parade Gardens between North Parade and Bath Abbey. A large ballroom was added in 1720, with further enlargement in 1749 and 1810 when it became known as The Kingston Assembly Rooms. In 1728 another building, known as Lindsey's Assembly Rooms, was constructed, lasting until demolition around 1820 for the building of York Street. Harrison's Lower Assembly Rooms were devastated by a fire in December 1820 and rebuilt, lasting until demolition in 1933 for road improvements on the site now known as "Bog Island". Fancy Dress Ball at the Bath Assembly Rooms by Thomas Rowlandson

Fancy Dress Ball at the Bath Assembly Rooms by Thomas Rowlandson

In around 1770 the neoclassical architect

designed

Pulteney Bridge Pulteney Bridge is a bridge over the River Avon (Bristol), River Avon in Bath, Somerset, Bath, England. It was completed by 1774, and connected the city with the land of the Pulteney family which it wished to develop. Designed by Robert Adam in ...

, a three-arched bridge spanning the River Avon. He used as his prototype an original, but unused, design by

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of ...

for the

Rialto Bridge The Rialto Bridge ( it, Ponte di Rialto; vec, Ponte de Rialto) is the oldest of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. Connecting the ' (districts) of San Marco and San Polo, it has been rebuilt several times since its fi ...

in Venice. Adam also submitted plans for the new Assembly Rooms but these were rejected as too costly. John Wood, the Younger raised funding for the construction of the Assembly Rooms by the use of a

Tontine A tontine () is an investment linked to a living person which provides an income for as long as that person is alive. Such schemes originated as plans for governments to raise capital in the 17th century and became relatively widespread in the 18 ...

, an investment plan that is named after the Neapolitan banker

Lorenzo de Tonti Lorenzo de Tonti (c. 1602 - c. 1684) was a governor of Gaeta, Italy and a Neapolitan banker. He is sometimes credited with the invention of the tontine, a form of life insurance, although it has also been suggested that he simply modified existing ...

, who is credited with inventing it in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1653. It combines features of a group

annuity In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, ...

and a lottery. Each subscriber pays an agreed sum into the fund, and thereafter receives an annuity. As members die, their shares devolve to the other participants, and so the value of each annuity increases. On the death of the last member, the scheme is wound up. Construction started in 1769 and was completed in 1771, when a grand opening was held. The Assembly Rooms formed the hub of fashionable Georgian society in the city, the venue being described as "the most noble and elegant of any in the kingdom". They were originally known as the Upper Rooms as there was also a lower assembly room in the city, which closed soon after the Upper Rooms opened. They served the newly built fashionable area which included the Circus, Queen Square and the Royal Crescent. Entrance to the Octagon

People would gather in the rooms in the evening for balls and other public functions, or simply to play cards. Mothers and chaperones bringing their daughters to Bath for the social season, hoping to marry them off to a suitable husband, would take their charge to such events where, very quickly, one might meet all the eligible men currently in the City. At one concert in 1779, attended by around 800 ladies and gentlemen, 60 members of the nobility were present. During the season, which ran from October to June, at least two balls a week were held, in addition to a range of concerts and other events. Scenes such as this feature in the novels of Jane Austen, who lived in Bath with her parents and sister from 1801 to 1805. Her two novels set in Bath, ''

Northanger Abbey ''Northanger Abbey'' () is a coming-of-age novel and a satire of Gothic novels written by Jane Austen. Austen was also influenced by Charlotte Lennox's '' The Female Quixote'' (1752). ''Northanger Abbey'' was completed in 1803, the first of ...

'' and '' Persuasion'', were published in 1818 and both mention the Assembly Rooms: Pickwick Papers, la salle de jeux à Bath29

also visited Bath on several occasions. He gave public readings in the Assembly Rooms and mentions them in ''

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with '' Sketches by Boz'' published in 1836, Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to ...

'' (published in 1837):

George Bridgetower George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower (11 October 1778 – 29 February 1860) was a British musician, of African descent. He was a virtuoso violinist who lived in England for much of his life. His playing impressed Beethoven, who made Bridge ...

, an Afro-Polish-born virtuoso

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist, made his debut at the Assembly Rooms in 1789. Another young violinist,

Thomas Linley the younger Thomas Linley the younger (7 May 17565 August 1778), also known as Thomas Linley Junior or Tom Linley, was the eldest son of the composer Thomas Linley and his wife Mary Johnson. He was one of the most precocious composers and performers that h ...

, played a series of concerts between 1771 and 1776. Many of the concerts during the late 18th and early 19th centuries were organised by

Venanzio Rauzzini Venanzio Rauzzini (19 December 1746 – 8 April 1810) was an Italian castrato, composer, pianist, singing teacher and concert impresario. He is said to have first studied singing under a member of the Sistine Chapel Choir. He was a cantante so ...

. In the 20th century several changes took place, with the Ballroom becoming a cinema, until the

became the owners in 1931. The building was restored by A Mowbray Green in 1938, with

Oliver Messel Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel (13 January 1904 – 13 July 1978) was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century. Early life Messel was born in London, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel a ...

as the interior designer. During the

Bath Blitz The term Bath Blitz refers to the air raids by the German ''Luftwaffe'' on the British city of Bath, Somerset, during World War II. The city was bombed in April 1942 as part of the so-called " Baedeker raids", in which targets were chosen for ...

of 25/26 April 1942, one of the retaliatory raids on England by the

Baedeker Blitz The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of aerial attacks in April and May 1942 by the German ''Luftwaffe'' on English cities during the Second World War. The name derives from Baedeker, a series of German tourist guide books, inclu ...

following the RAF's raid on

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

, the Assembly Rooms were bombed and burnt out inside. After the cessation of hostilities in Europe, they were restored by Sir

, with work being completed in 1963. The ballroom ceiling had to be repaired after it collapsed in 1989.

Architecture

The

building has a slate

hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

. It is rectangular with a projecting doric portico entrance and an extension to the rear. The interior is laid out in a U shape, with the larger Ball Room and Tea Room along either side with the octagonal Card Room at the end. The rooms have Whitefriars crystal chandeliers and are decorated with pictures by

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

, Allan Ramsay (artist),

Edwin Long Edwin Longsden Long (12 July 1829 – 15 May 1891) was a British genre, history, biblical and portrait painter. Life and works Long was born in Bath, Somerset, the son of James Long, a hairdresser, (from Kelston in Somerset), and was edu ...

and

William Hoare William Hoare of Bath (c. 1707 – 12 December 1792) was a British portraitist, painter and printmaker. From c. 1740 to 1759, he was the leading oil portraitist at Bath, Somerset, until Thomas Gainsborough arrived in the town. Noted for his ...

. The Ballroom has five chandeliers and capacity for up to 500 people. It is over long and nearly wide. The ceiling is high. The Tea Room holds up to 250 people. It was the location for a banquet attended by

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...

for the BBC television series the

Great British Menu ''Great British Menu'' is a BBC television series in which top British chefs compete for the chance to cook one course of a four-course banquet. Format Series one and two were presented by Jennie Bond, the former BBC Royal correspondent, whe ...

. It is long and wide. The Octagon is named for the shape of the room and has four fireplaces. It is across. It originally held an organ in the musicians gallery. In 1777 the Card Room was added. This is now used as a bar.

Current use

Today the rooms are owned by the

and operated by

. The main rooms are still available for hire for private functions. They are also used for concerts, including ones that are part of the

Bath International Music Festival The Bath International Music Festival was held late each spring in Bath, South West England between 1948 and 2016. The festival included many genres such as Jazz, Classical, World and Folk and merged with the Bath Literature Festival in 2017 to c ...

. The basement of the building provides a home to the Fashion Museum, which was known before 2007 as the Museum of Costume. The collection was started by Doris Langley Moore, who gave her collection to the city of Bath in 1963. It focuses on

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion i ...

able dress for men, women and children from the late 16th century to the present day and has more than 30,000 objects. The earliest pieces are

embroidered Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

shirts and gloves from about 1600. The grandeur of the building make it a popular location for feature films and television series set in the Georgian period. The BBC have used it as a location for the filming of an adaptation of ''Northanger Abbey'' in 1986 and in 1995 ''Persuasion''.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Bath Assembly Rooms
Bath Assembly Rooms information

Assembly Rooms page
Bath Council Cultural infrastructure completed in 1771 1771 establishments in England Assembly Tourist attractions in Bath, Somerset Assembly rooms Grade I listed assembly rooms National Trust properties in Somerset

History

Architecture

Current use

See also

References

External links