Bath Attractions

The American Museum in Bath has 18 rooms that provide an authentic recreation of American lifestyles from Colonial times to the mid-19th centuries.

The manor was designed in 1820 by Sir Jeffrey Wyatville. The grounds feature an American Arboretum, ornamental stone work and formal gardens. There is an exhibition hall with a map collection and library. The highlight of the Textile Room are the American quilts that are rotated throughout the year.

ATTRACTION IS CLOSED.

The Book Museum in Bath contains the early editions of authors who lived in Bath, including Jane Austin and Charles Dickens.

One of two fine 18th century residential streets found on the outskirts of Bath, Camden Crescent was built by John Eveleigh between 1786 and 1792, remaining uncompleted because of structural problems.

Claverton Manor (2.5mi/4km southeast of Bath), built by Sir Jeffry Wyatville in 1820, now houses an American Museum with evocative period reconstructions of interiors from American homes (17th-19th century). There are special sections on the American West and the American Indians.

Galleries also include pewter, glass, textiles (over 50 quilts), maps and folk art.

The Georgian architecture for which Bath is famous is found chiefly in the northwest of the city in street such as Gay Street, a popular place for taking the air, was designed by John Wood the Elder (1704-54).

Gay Street links Queen's Square to the Royal Circus.

The Georgian Garden in Bath has been restored to a plan typical of the 1760s and includes specimens popular during that era.

Now a museum, it was in this house that the musician and astronomer William Herschel lived. His discovery of the planet Uranus was made from the garden in 1781.

The music room contains some of Herschel's original pieces of music and instruments. The basement has been restored as a mirror/telescope making workshop. The upper floor offers a telescope display including a model of Herschel's most famous telescope. The museum is also the home of the William Herschel Society.

The Holburne Museum's fine collection originally belonged to Sir Thomas Holburne, who died in 1874. It includes paintings by Gainsborough, Reynolds and Stubbs, miniatures, 18th century silver, Wedgewood porcelain, Renaissance bronzes and medallions and early period furniture.

One of two fine 18th century residential streets found on the outskirts of Bath, the Baroque sweep of John Palmer's Landsdown Crescent (1794), several hundred meters long, represented quite an innovation in urban architecture, twisting in serpentine conformity to the contours of the site.

The elegant Assembly Rooms (built 1769-71, restored 1991) where visitors would gather for the evening's entertainment, are by John Wood the Younger. Today they house a delightful collection of costumes.

Special displays include period settings, jewelry and clothes of the Royalty. These are the very same Assembly Rooms populated by the characters in Jane Austin's novels.

The founder of this collection was Doris Langley Moore, one of the foremost costume collectors of the 20th century.

The collection at the Museum of East Asian Art in Bath spans 5,000 years of Oriental Art. You will find pieces from: China, Mongolia, Japan, Korea,Thailand, Tibet and Indo-China.

The Museum is housed in a restored Georgian house and has been open since 1993.

The Royal Photographic Society photographic museum possesses a comprehensive collection on the history of photography. The Center also regularly mounts special exhibitions of photographic art.

The museum is housed in an 18th century chapel in the heart of Bath's main shopping area.

The Museum of English Naïve Art opened in this 19th century schoolhouse in 1987. On display are primitive English paintings from between 1750 and 1900.

Prior Park (2mi/3km southeast of Bath) was built between 1735 and 1750 for Ralph Allen, to plans by John Wood. It is a fine example of a Palladian mansion, with a magnificent colonnaded portico. There is also a lovely Palladian bridge in the landscaped grounds.

The charming Pulteney Bridge spanning the River Avon was built by Robert Adam for Sir William Pulteney in about 1770, prior to Pulteney's development of the east bank. The bridge, with three arches and lined on either side with little shops, opens onto the dignified rows of neo-Classical houses in Great Pulteney Street.

The bridge's historical significance is that it led to further development across the river.

The Georgian architecture for which Bath is famous is found chiefly in the northwest of the city in streets such as Queen Square with its beautifully symmetrical facades (1729-36) which were designed by John Wood the Elder (1704-54).

The north side of Queen Square is one of the earliest examples of a row of houses composed as a unified classical facade.

ATTRACTION CLOSED IN 2001.

The Rode Bird Gardens, near Bath, are home to exotic birds from all over the world. Many of the species fly freely around the 17 acres of woodlands, lakes and gardens.

This medieval house, the oldest in Bath, is now a museum and tea room, serving delicious "Sally Lunn's buns" made from ancient recipes. An old fashioned kitchen can be seen in the basement.

Sir Bevil Grenville's Monument is a monument in honor of a Royalist commander at the Battle of Lansdown.

Stoney Littleton Long Barrow is a neolithic burial mound about 100 feet long featuring multiple axial chambers where human remains once lay.

The Victoria Art Gallery and Guildhall is Bath's city art gallery. Collections include works by Gainsborough, Turner and Sickert. In addition there are exhibitions of pottery, porcelain, glass, watches and Royal portraits (in the adjacent Guildhall).