Museums

The Bath Preservation Trust runs four Museums:

No. 1 Royal Crescent

No.1 was the first house to be built in John Wood’s masterpiece of Palladian design. The magnificently restored town-house creates a wonderfully vital picture of fashionable life in 18th C Bath. Each room shows an example of Georgian interior design with authentic furniture, carpets and textiles.

 

The  Museum of Bath Architecture

Based in the Countess of Huntingdon’s Chapel, this fascinating museum features a display about the life of Selena, Lady Huntingdon, in addition to the permanent collection which includes the vast Bath Model. The rich architectural history of Bath and it’s transformation from a provincial town into a world famous Georgian city is prtrayed in a viariety of ways, for all to enjoy.

 

Beckford’s Tower and Museum

Beckford’s Tower was designed by Henry Edmund Goodridge in 1825 and completed in 1827 for William Beckford (1760-1844), one of the nation’s most accomplished and interesting characters. The 120-foot neo-classical Tower, which enjoys uninterrupted views of the countryside, was constructed as a study retreat and to house Beckford’s precious collection of art and rare books.

The Tower is now home to a museum collection displaying furniture originally made for the Tower, alongside paintings, prints and objects illustrating William Beckford’s life as a writer, collector and patron of the arts.

 

Herschel Museum of Astronomy

The museum was inaugurated as a museum in 1981 exactly 200 years after the historic discovery of Uranus. It is now an accredited museum governed by the Herschel House Trust and has Sir Patrick Moore as its patron. The building was purchased with help from Dr Leslie and Elizabeth Hilliard and was restored in 1981 and again in 2000 and has a Grade II starred listing.