No.1 Royal Crescent

Think of ‘typical’ Bath architecture, and Royal Crescent – or something very like it – is probably what comes to mind.

Distinctive, recognisable and quintessentially Bath, No. 1 Royal Crescent is an immersive experience, an invitation to see what life might have been like (above and below stairs) beneath that familiar and very stylish Georgian façade of Ionic and double columns, and Palladian embellishments.

The Crescent itself was built between 1767 and 1774, and No.1 is furnished and decorated to recreate as closely as possible the period 1776-1796, right down to the rooms’ furniture, paintings, textiles and carpets.

Similarly, the servants’ experiences are also brought to life. Coal-holes, corridors, the kitchen and scullery, the Housekeeper’s Room and Servants’ Hall: it’s no mere matter of décor and floor-plans though, No.1 is about the people who lived and worked there, and what their stories say about Regency Bath, with guides in each room bringing those stories to life.

And if you’re looking to stay at luxury hotel near No. 1 Royal Crescent, The Queensberry Hotel offers impeccable service, fine dining in a Michelin star restaurant and architecture which, while maybe not on Royal Crescent’s lavishly monumental scale, is distinctively Georgian and beautifully Bath.