Over the past two years, the National Trust has been carefully planning the future of Bath’s iconic Assembly Rooms. Through consultation, creative events and conservation work, a bold vision is taking shape. We asked Tom Boden what’s been happening behind the scenes, and what visitors can expect when the building reopens in 2027.
What has taken place during the two years of planning and consulting around the future of the Assembly Rooms?
Over the last two years we’ve opened Bath Assembly Rooms as much as possible. During this time, we’ve tried a number of different ways to open – from hosting third party events, guided tours for small groups, crafting events for families during school holidays and dancing with the Fancy Ball, and we even opened with a Ball Room full of grass for Forest of Imagination in 2023. Each event helped us test how the building came to life in different ways and how people engaged with the Rooms. It was interesting to observe how the acoustics changed with the various events, we even tested the lighting with different bulbs in the chandeliers.
All feedback and observations have been shared with the team to help shape the new visitor offer in 2027. We’re confident that we’ll deliver an intriguing new attraction to Bath, while also enabling the building to come alive with more events through our partners and for the community.
What is the conservation and construction work taking place?
Bath Assembly Rooms is over 250-years old, so we’re conserving the original material of the building – from the ten Georgian chandeliers to the uncovered Cold Bath, along with the original vaults and flooring revealed in the basement.The building was significantly damaged in World War II, so we’re looking to restore some of the Georgian splendour it lost, through improvements such as the main doors and flooring.
How will the new immersive Georgian experience bring history to life?
We’re setting the new Georgian visitor experience in the 1790s – a time when balls were frequently held and where the Rooms were a place for people to meet partners and do business. History will be brought to life through 11 fictional characters, all of whom are composites of research into real people of Bath at the time. There are tickets to be printed, chandeliers to be cleaned, dresses to be made and deals to be had – all before visitors get to the ball themselves. Projection, audio and even smells
are being explored to bring the characters to life and transport visitors back to the atmospheric whirl of a Georgian ball.
What role will the fictional characters play?
Two characters – the Master of Ceremonies and Pearl, a servant girl, will welcome visitors to the Assembly Rooms and set the scene, while the other nine characters stories play out as visitors explore. Our curators and a team of volunteers have been researching all aspects of people from Bath in the 18th century. They’ve uncovered details of over 100 people in Bath at the time, which paints an incredibly diverse and vibrant picture of the city. This is being used to create the characters so that they’re representative of people in Georgian times. Beau Nash doesn’t feature as sadly he died before the Upper Rooms opened; however, visitors may spot some similarities in the Master of Ceremonies character.
‘Visitors will get a sense of every aspect from the grit to the glamour’. How will both of these be reflected?
In developing the characters and researching the role of Bath Assembly Rooms at the time, it was clear we wouldn’t be telling the story accurately if we didn’t show all sides. Bath was a city of opportunity and new beginnings in the 18th century and Bath Assembly Rooms had a part to play. Delivering a ball involved many trades, different people and skills, and preparation would be key. We’ll be sharing the stories from day to night to give a true sense of what was involved in putting on a Georgian ball. And the characters will represent people from across this spectrum to tell an accurate account of what it would have been like.
The Assembly Rooms will have air source heat pumps installed. Was this sustainable aspect key to the project?
Yes, taking such a large, historic property and reducing its reliance on fossil fuels is a key aspect of the project. We’ve been working with architects Connolly Wellingham and sustainability specialists Max Fordham LLP, who in turn have worked with specialists, such as Historic England, for advice on how to retro fit a Grade I listed building to make it fit for the future. We’re really pleased with how many improvements we’ve managed to make without impacting the significance of such a precious historic building.
Tell us about the new Georgian inspired modern staircase.
The new staircase is Georgian-inspired and will replace three staircases added in the 1960s. The new stairs will be accompanied by a lift to all floors to ensure the whole building is accessible.
How will the four main rooms look?
These rooms will be refreshed and restored. The floors will be replaced in the Ball Room and Tea Room to give a more authentic Georgian feel, and each room will be painted. The chandeliers will be returned having undergone essential conservation, rewiring and repair.
The new experience will unfold in these rooms using technology and objects that are easy to pack away so that the building can be used for other purposes outside the core opening times.
The budget for this project is estimated at £17 million, and you are still fundraising. How will you achieve this?
We’re hoping to raise £3.2 million as part of this project. The Luminaries launched in February to support this goal. It’s based loosely on the original subscriber model that funded the building in 1771. For those that donate £250 and join the Luminaries, they’ll receive an exclusive set of benefits in return. A welcome pack, set of postcards, regular updates of the progress and two tickets to see the new experience when we reopen. A generous local benefactor has offered to match-fund all donations in 2025, up to the value of £250,000.
What are the key goals of the Reconnecting the Rooms project?
Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Reconnecting the Rooms aims to bring people together to share the history of the Rooms through ‘Rooms on the Road’, demonstrate how this is relevant today to communities in and around Bath, and help shape the future use of this historic space – with aims to reduce loneliness, improve connection with the city’s heritage and widen skills development opportunities.
What is the timeline for the different stages of the work?
A lot of the work is happening in tandem. So, the chandeliers are offsite being restored, while construction work is happening on site. Once building work is complete, we can install the new visitor experience, and begin recruiting and training new team members.
How do you feel about the next phase for the Assembly Rooms?
John Wood the Elder had a vision for Bath Assembly Rooms and said “rank began to be laid aside, and all degrees of people…united in society with one another. [Thus, a bigger, more] capacious and convenient structure for people to assemble is highly necessary.”
The project aims to bring Bath Assembly Rooms back into the heart of the city and create a space for 21st-century assembly in all forms, for everyone. The Georgian experience is just one element of this – a big one, of course – and this will help to make the property a focal point for the city, somewhere people can come to experience an assembly of the past. Our ambition is that the rooms will also thrive as a venue for modern assembly through programming, partner events and community activity.
When we reopen, it’ll be around two-years since visitors came to an event here. And we’re already extremely excited.
Assembly Rooms, Bennett St, Bath BA1 2QH.
Find out more about The Luminaries on nationaltrust.org.uk