If you have a few days in Bath I would recommend a visit to the Assembly Rooms in Bath. They are owned and managed by the National Trust and you can visit by pre-booked tour only. These are known as the New Assembly Rooms as they were actually the third set to be built in Georgian Bath. Designed by John Wood the Younger and opened around 1771.

A visit to the New Assembly Rooms Bath

With a few days to spend exploring the pretty city of Bath we decided to use our National Trust membership card and book a guided tour of the Assembly Rooms. You might think this place might not be top of the list of the kids but the tour only lasted 45 minutes and was a great way to learn more about Georgian Bath.

The Assembly Rooms are made up of a series of interconnecting rooms and our guide took us through each room, telling us about each one, and giving us plenty of time to take photos and ask questions.

Although the building was bombed during the Second World War and re-built, the rooms were largely unchanged since built. The rooms were large with high ceilings and decorated simply. We were able to visit the Tea Room, the Great Octagon and the Ball Room, unfortunately the Card Room was closed due to a meeting taking place. Somehow we spent 45 minutes in just three rooms but there was a lot to learn about!

The Tea Room

This beautiful room was used for taking tea and refreshments and it would have been filled with seating. It has recently been used for filming period dramas such as Bridgerton. This room leads on to the Great Octagon which was used for playing cards until a larger room was added to the building at a later date.

The Great Octagon

The final room on our tour was the Ball Room with its sprung floor for dancing. This room was the largest and would once have had benches around the outside for those not invited to dance. There was a small balcony above for the orchestra.

The Ball Room

The rooms were large but quite simply decorated, I suppose people were going for the gossip and to meet people, rather than look at the decoration. The Ball Room was used for dances and recitals and were visited by a host of well known people including Jane Austen.

I love that the Bath Assembly Rooms continued to be used. During the Victorian years the rooms were used for more serious pursuits such as lectures and exhibitions. In the 20th century the rooms incorporated a cinema and were even occupied by the Royal Flying Corps. It clearly has had a long history and been used by the people of Bath for many years.