No. 1 ROYAL CRESCENT – BATH
Georgian Life and Architecture at Bath's Best Address
The city of Bath in southwest England is perhaps best known for its ancient Roman Bath and for its place in the life and stories of author Jane Austen (see Jane Austen in Bath). A walking tour around Bath, the only city in the UK designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, will take the visitor on a journey through a colorful city of unique style evoking a golden age of the Georgian and Regency period when prosperity seemed to blossom. One of the most iconic sights of Bath is the Royal Crescent, a semi-circle of thirty joined residences in formal golden beige stone in the Palladian style, especially popular in England.
While the houses of the curving joined buildings still serves the function of private residences, the first house to be built at the start of the crescent, with the address of Number One Royal Crescent is now a museum dedicated to showcasing the lifestyle of Bath’s rich and fashionable residents at the turn of the 19th Century, and to illustrate the interior of the architecture which gives the city its unique look.
Design & Exhibits
The house was designed by John Wood the Younger, who also designed the Assembly Rooms a few blocks away (see Bath Assembly Rooms and Fashion Museum) and built between 1767 and 1774 as the first house in the Royal Crescent. The interior design has been changed over the years by successive residents to fashions of the times and improvement on home architecture. There are ten rooms to explore on three floors representing both upstairs and downstairs life with period furnishings, decorated as it might have been when its original owner occupied it in the late 1700s. The rooms feature historic furniture, paintings and artifacts, with several objects on loan from various museums.
History
The house’s first resident was Henry Sanford who lived in Bath from 1776 until his death in 1796. He had been born an Irishman in County Roscommon (see Roscommon Castle) the son of an esquire who had been granted Ireland lands in the “Flight of the Earls”. His actual wealth is a bit of a mystery, though he served in government in Ireland before relocating, but he could obviously afford to live at Bath’s most fashionable residence and his neighbors included the Duke of York and Elizabeth Montagu, one of the richest women in England at the time. The declining fortunes of Bath in the industrial age can be seen in the history of the house, as its residents went from landed gentry to becoming a seminary for young ladies in Victorian 1840s and later a rental boarding house.
Visiting No1 Royal Crescent Bath
Opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm, and Mondays from 12 noon to 5:30 pm with last entry an hour before closing. Admission prices are £9 for adults £7 for seniors and students, £4 for children 6 to 16. A family ticket is £22. Visitors with a Bath Discovery Card get a 30% discount. © Bargain Travel EuropeFind best hotel and travel deals in Bath on TripAdvisor
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No. 1 Royal Crescent
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SEE ALSO:
BATH'S ROMAN BATHS AND PUMP ROOM
STONEHENGE - NEOLITHIC MYSTERY OF WILTSHIRE
BRUNEL'S SS GREAT BRITAIN SHIP - BRISTOL
ARUNDEL CASTLE & GARDENS - WEST SUSSEX
