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Somerset House, London, UK. London’s Best Places To Visit in Bridgerton and Jane Austen years. #Bridgerton #JaneAusten #London #RegencyEra #BritishHistory

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Somerset House, London, UK.  London’s Best Places to Visit. Home to Royal Academy and The Great Institutions.

Demolition of the old house, between the Strand and the River Thames, began in 1775 and continued in stages as the new Somerset House was constructed around it. When the new building rose from the rubble, the Royal Academy, which had been one of the last occupants of the old Somerset House, became one of the first occupants of the apartments which fronted the Strand, providing tangible continuity between the old and the new.

1828 Map of London By Philip Horatio. Showing the English Opera House, Covent Garden, Lincolns Inn Fields, Drury Lane Theatre, The Strand, and Somerset House.
  • Timeline
  • 1547 Edward Seymour, Lord Protector and Duke of Somerset, starts building a palace for himself on the banks of the Thames
  • 1552 Seymour is executed at the Tower of London; ownership of his palace, nearly complete, passes to the Crown
  • 1553 Aged 20, Princess Elizabeth moves to Somerset House; she lives there until 1558, when she’s crowned Queen Elizabeth I
  • 1603 Anne of Denmark, wife of James I of England (James VI of Scotland), moves to Somerset House, which is renamed Denmark House in her honour
  • 1604 The Treaty of London, ending the 19-year Anglo-Spanish War, is negotiated and signed at Denmark House
  • 1609 Anne of Denmark invites Inigo Jones and other architects to redesign and rebuild parts of the palace; work continues until her death in 1619
  • 1625 Charles I is crowned king; his wife, Henrietta Maria of France, commissions Jones and others to undertake more construction and renovation work, including a lavish new Roman Catholic chapel completed in in 1636
  • 1642 The English Civil War begins; soon afterwards, General Thomas Fairfax takes over the palace as the headquarters for the Parliamentary Army
  • 1649 The Civil War ends and Charles I is executed; Parliament tries and fails to sell Denmark House, but successfully sells its contents for the then-huge sum of £118,000
  • 1652 Inigo Jones dies at Denmark House
  • 1660 After Charles II, her son, is crowned king at the start of the Restoration, Henrietta Maria returns to Denmark House; more new construction follows
  • 1665 The Plague sweeps London; Henrietta Maria moves back to France, where she dies in 1669
  • 1666 The Great Fire of London destroys much of the City of London, but stops just short of Denmark House
  • 1685 Charles II dies and his wife, Catherine of Braganza, moves into Denmark House; Sir Christopher Wren oversees yet more construction and renovation work
  • 1693 Catherine of Braganza leaves Denmark House, the last royal to live in the palace
  • early 1700s Denmark House is used as grace-and-favour apartments, offices, storage and stables
  • c.1750 Canaletto paints two views from the terrace
  • 1775 After decades of neglect, the original Somerset House is demolished; architect William Chambers immediately starts work on its replacement
  • 1779 The Royal Academy of Arts becomes the first resident of new Somerset House in what’s now known as the North Wing
  • 1780 The Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries take up residence in the North Wing; Somerset House hosts the first Royal Academy Exhibition
  • 1786 The Embankment Building, known today as the South Wing, is completed; the East and West Wings are completed two years later
  • 1789 The Navy Board completes its move to Somerset House and eventually occupies one-third of the site; the Stamp Office, responsible for taxing newspapers and other documents, joins the board in the South Wing
  • 1795 William Chambers, then aged 72, retires; James Wyatt replaces him as the building’s architect
  • 1801 The new Somerset House is deemed complete, its construction having cost a mammoth £462,323
  • 1829 Sir Robert Smirke starts work on King’s College, which opens in 1831 and is finally completed in 1835
  • 1836 The General Register Office, responsible for births, deaths and marriages, is established here
  • 1837 One year after the final Royal Academy Exhibition at Somerset House, the academy moves to Burlington House on Piccadilly
  • 1849 Having merged in 1834, the Stamp Office and the Board of Taxes join with the Board of Excise to form the Inland Revenue, which remains in residence for more than 150 years
  • 1856 Seven years after James Pennethorne started work on its design, the New Wing is completed
  • 1857 The Royal Society moves out of Somerset House to join the Royal Academy of Arts at Burlington House; the Society of Antiquaries follows 17 years later
  • 1864 Work begins on the Victoria Embankment, designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette; the embankment is completed in 1870
  • 1873 The Admiralty leaves Somerset House; its offices are taken over by the Inland Revenue
  • 1940s Near the start of World War II, the Inland Revenue temporarily moves out of Somerset House; the Ministry of Supply takes its place
  • 1950 Sir Alfred Richardson starts a two-year project to rebuild the Navy Staircase, known today as the Nelson Stair, which had suffered terrible bomb damage in 1940
  • 1970 After 134 years at Somerset House, the General Register Office moves out
  • 1989 The Courtauld Institute of Art moves into the North Wing
  • 1997 The Somerset House Trust is established to preserve and develop Somerset House for public use
  • 2000 The River Terrace opens to the public for the first time in more than a century; the Hermitage Rooms and the Gilbert Collection both open; then, in December, Somerset House installs a temporary ice rink for the first time
  • 2001 American band Lambchop plays the first gig in the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court; a full programme of shows follows in 2002 and continues today as the Summer Series
  • 2009 London Fashion Week takes place at Somerset House for the first time
  • 2011 The HMRC (formerly the Inland Revenue) closes its offices at Somerset House
somerset_1819_Somerset House Terrace from Waterloo Bridge by John Constable ca. 1819 Oil on Panel ( @YaleBritishArt )
somerset_1788_Somerset House from the Thames by Edward Dayes 1788 (The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London)_Lge_Sml
somerset_1750_The Thames from the Terrace of Somerset House, looking towards Westminster by Canaletto c. 1750 Oil on Canvas ( @YaleBritishArt )
somerset_1750_The Thames from the Terrace of Somerset House, looking towards Westminster by Canaletto c. 1750 Oil on Canvas ( @YaleBritishArt )_Lge_Sml
somerset_1745 Old Somerset House From the River Thames._By Canaletto_Oil on Canvas In A Private Collection_Lge_Sml
somerset_1813 Somerset House, London. From- 1813 Picture of London. via Google Books (PD-180)

The Royal Academy of Arts

George III, described as an “enthusiastic if undiscriminating collector and patron of the arts”, provided invaluable patronage for the three learned societies. When old Somerset House was relinquished by the Crown, the King reserved to himself the right to appropriate sufficient space in the new building for the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Society, and the Society of Antiquaries.

The Great Exhibition Room

somerset_1808_The Exhibition Room atSomerset House_Plate 2_Exhibition at Somerset House.
1808 The Exhibition Room at Somerset House.

The most important part of the building for the Royal Academy was its Exhibition Room. Situated at the top of the steep, winding staircase, it was roughly 53 x 43 feet and 32 feet high including the lantern, and was described by Joseph Baretti as, “undoubtedly at that date the finest gallery for displaying pictures so far built.” It was here that George III was given a preview of the first Royal Academy Exhibition held at his command in 1780. 

 Year by year, the exhibits increased. There were 547 in 1781, 1,037 in 1801, and 1,165 in 1821, so that the pictures had to be hung almost from floor to ceiling and with the frames touching one another. From 1832 onwards there was talk of the Royal Academy moving to more spacious rooms in what is now the National Gallery, which was being built at the north end of Trafalgar Square. Accordingly, the last exhibition at Somerset House was held in 1836.

 When the Academy moved, the most valuable decorations were taken down and reused in their new quarters. Later they were moved to Burlington House, the Royal Academy’s present home, where the ceiling paintings by Benjamin West and Angelica Kauffmann can now be seen in the entrance hall. The Academy’s old rooms at Somerset House were occupied by the Department of Practical Art, or Government School of Design.

The Royal Society

In 1776, they discovered they were to share the building to the east of the Strand entrance with the Society of Antiquaries, and complained to William Chambers that the accommodation would be inadequate; that the library would be too small and that there would be no room for the Society’s museum.

One of the first discoveries announced to the Society in its new quarters was that of a new planet, first observed by William Herschel in 1781. He wished to call the new planet Georgium Sidus in honour of the King, but other astronomers disagreed and today we know the planet as Uranus. Fellows of the Royal Society were keen to prevent war and politics interfering with the advancement of scientific discovery.

During the Napoleonic Wars of 1796-1815, the President of the Royal Society, Sir Joseph Banks, used his influence both in England and France to ensure that explorers of the two nations were not obstructed by the conflicting armed forces, and that French scientists should continue to be elected Fellows of the Society. When Sir Humphry Davy became president in 1820, the Society became oriented more towards pure scientific enquiry, to which ends, George IV founded two Gold Medals.

After the Royal Academy left Somerset House in 1837, the Royal Society remained there until 1857 when it joined the Academy at Burlington House.

The Society of Antiquaries

In 1776, the Antiquaries heard about the proposed new building at Somerset House, they decided to apply to George III, their Patron, for rooms there. After some intense lobbying by the President, the Reverend Dr Milles, the Society’s request for accommodation was favourably considered, and the King was, “most graciously pleased to order that the Society be accommodated with apartments in the new buildings at Somerset House.”

The resident Secretary of the Society was accommodated in the attic with three rooms “with deal dadoes, and Sienna marble and Sicilian jasper chimney-pieces”. The basement was hotly contested between the Royal Society and the Antiquaries, who were eventually allowed a kitchen, cellar, two vaults, and a privy. However, the lobby, originally intended for the footman in waiting, had to accommodate the Antiquaries’ porter as the Royal Society had taken possession of the Porter’s Lodge!

In the 1850s there was a proposal to move the Royal Society and the Antiquaries from Somerset House but, when the Royal Society moved out in 1857, the Antiquaries decided to remain, taking the opportunity to secure sole use of the disputed rooms, until they joined the other two learned societies at Burlington House in 1874.

The Navy Board

When the Admiralty moved into new premises in Whitehall in 1725, it was decided that the Navy Board, over whom the Admiralty had responsibility, should move to a site much closer; from Seething Lane behind the Tower of London to new offices at Somerset House. Chambers proposed to house the Navy Board on the west side of the south wing of the new building, in the part facing the river, with the Seamen’s Waiting Hall in the centre of the building providing an imposing entrance.

The related Sick and Hurt, Navy Pay, and Victualling Offices were to occupy the range of buildings on the west side of the courtyard. By 1789 the move was completed and, for nearly a century, more than a third of Somerset House was home to the various branches of the Navy Board.

 General Register Office

In 1836 the General Register Office was created to set up a comprehensive system for the registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths and appoint the first Registrar General based at Somerset House. It was not until 1970, after slightly less than a century and a half at Somerset House, that the General Register Office moved out.

Principal Probate Registry

 The Inland Revenue Stamp duty on documents, including newspapers, was only one of many revenue-raising methods administered by the Stamp Office, one of the government departments which moved to the new Somerset House in 1789. In 1834 the Stamp Office united with the Affairs of Taxes and in 1849 Stamps and Taxes joined the Excise to form a new Board of Inland Revenue. The Board of Inland Revenue today still occupies the east and west wings of Somerset House.

Somerset House, London, UK. London’s Best Places To Visit in Bridgerton and Jane Austen years. #Bridgerton #JaneAusten #London #RegencyEra #BritishHistory https://books2read.com/ROver
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1825 Custom House, London. From 1825 Views Of London. #London #BritishHistory #England

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Custom House, London. From 1825 Views Of London. The Custom-House of London appears to much advantage in the accompanying view. Flanked by the little  navy of Billingsgate, with a glimpse of the dome of St. Paul’s, the Monument, and London-Bridge in the distance, it stands forward in majestic composure on the edge of the Thames.

The first stone of this building was laid on the Twenty-fifth of October, 1813, the fifty-third Anniversary of his late Majesty’s Accession, and it was opened for business on the twelfth of May, 1817; the old Custom-House in the interim (February, 1814) having been consumed by fire. It is built after a plan by David Laing, Esq. and cost in the erection 167,000 pound besides 29,300 pound paid for the property on which it stands, after deducting 12,440 pounds received for old materials. The length of the front here presented, which is executed in Portland stone, is 484 feet, 101 inches.

The architectural beauties of the Custom House consist in an appropriate simplicity of style, combined with a classical adherence, throughout, to the rules of just proportion. As the Official Registry of the exports and imports of the State, where the complicated concerns of the mercantile interests of this vast Empire are reduced under a few general heads, it imparts a profound moral attraction to the scene.

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Custom House, London. From 1825 Views Of London. The Custom-House of London appears to much advantage in the accompanying view. Flanked by the little  navy of Billingsgate, with a glimpse of the dome of St. Paul’s, the Monument, and London-Bridge in the distance, it stands forward in majestic composure on the edge of the Thames.
1825 Custom House, London. From 1825 Views Of London. #London #BritishHistory #England https://books2read.com/ROver
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1800s Almack’s Assembly Rooms, London, and Regency Vouchers in JaneAusten and Bridgerton years. #JaneAusten #Bridgerton #regencyera #almacks #london

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Almack’s Assembly Rooms often appear in Regency Era romances as they were a well known gathering place for those in the Ton looking for wives or husbands.  1770-1840 . Almack’s or Willis’s Rooms, King Street, St James, London, UK. Almack’s Assembly Rooms, founded by William Almack at No. 26-28, were on the site of the present Almack House. The club was originally a gaming establishment but moved from Pall Mall. The Assembly rooms were on the South side of King Street in St James’s and were opened on February 12, 1765. At the time the subscription was ten guineas for which there was a ball and supper each week for the twelve weeks of the season.

Assemblies were held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but only four or five times a season. Dates were listed in the paper along with the names of the Patronesses. When Lady Jersey took over Almack’s around 1815, assemblies were changed to Wednesdays. Many aristocrats were reportedly offended by something that happened at Almack’s but Lord Jersey is reported to have refused to duel over any inferred slights because it would have meant he was forever involved in a duel. The other well-known Patronesses were Lady Bathurst and Lady Downshire.

1826 Almack's Revisited by Charles White.: 'It was what most correct persons called 'horrid bad Almack's'. #RegencyEra #London #BritishHistory
1826 Almack’s Revisited by Charles White.: ‘It was what most correct persons called ‘horrid bad Almack’s’. #RegencyEra #London #BritishHistory
almacks_1817 April Ladies' Voucher for all the Wednesday balls at Almack's in April 1817. via Suzi Love suzilove.com & The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, U.S.A.
1817 April Ladies’ Voucher for all the Wednesday balls at Almack’s in April 1817. via The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, U.S.A.
1815 The First Quadrille at Almack’s Assembly Rooms, London. Left to Right: Marquis of Worcester, Lady Jersey, Clanronald MacDonald and Lady Worcester. “It was not until 1815 that Lady Jersey introduced from Paris the favourite quadrille, which has so long remained popular. I recollect the persons who formed the very first quadrille that was ever danced at Almack’s: they were Lady Jersey, Lady Harriett Butler, Lady Susan Ryde, and Miss Montgomery; the men being the Count St Aldegonde, Mr Montgomery, Mr Montague, and Charles Standish.” From The Reminiscences of Captain Gronow 1810-1860.
1815 The First Quadrille at Almack’s Assembly Rooms, London. Left to Right: Marquis of Worcester, Lady Jersey, Clanronald MacDonald and Lady Worcester. “It was not until 1815 that Lady Jersey introduced from Paris the favourite quadrille, which has so long remained popular. I recollect the persons who formed the very first quadrille that was ever danced at Almack’s: they were Lady Jersey, Lady Harriett Butler, Lady Susan Ryde, and Miss Montgomery; the men being the Count St Aldegonde, Mr Montgomery, Mr Montague, and Charles Standish.” From The Reminiscences of Captain Gronow 1810-1860.
1765-1840 ca. Almack's, or Willis's, Assembly Rooms, South Side Of King Street, St James, London. commons.wikimedia.org

1765-1840 ca. Almack’s, or Willis’s, Assembly Rooms, South Side Of King Street, St James, London. commons.wikimedia.org

1800s Early Exterior of Almack's Assembly Rooms, London, UK.

1800s Early Exterior of Almack’s Assembly Rooms, London, UK.

Captain Gronow, an army officer in London around 1814, wrote about the rules of Almack’s in Captain Gronow’s Recollections and Anecdotes, 1864 , but only gives his views on a few years of Almack’s history.

Almacks 1864 The Exclusive temple of the beau monde, the gates of which were guarded by the lady paronesses, the Ladies Castlereagh, Jersey, Cowper, Sefton, Willoughby, Princess Esterhazy, and Countess Lieven.
Almacks 1864 The fair ladies who ruled supreme over this little dancing and gossiping world, issued a solemn proclamation that no gentleman should appear at the assemblies without being dressed in knee-breeches, white cravat, and chapeau bras. From Captain Gronow's Recollections 1864.
Almacks 1864 On one occasion, the Duke of Wellington was about to ascend the staircase of the ball-room, dressed in black trousers, When the vigilant Mr Willis, the guardian of the establishment, stepped forward and said, "Your Grace cannot be admitted in trousers," Whereupon the Duke, Who had a great respect for Orders and regulations, quietly walked away _ From Captain Recollections
Almacks 1864 In 1814, the dances were Scotch reels and the old English country-dance; and the orchestra, being from Edinburgh, was conducted by the then celebrated Neil Gow. From Captain Gronow's Recollections 1864.
In 1814, the dances were Scotch reels and the old English country-dance; and the orchestra, being from Edinburgh, was conducted by the then celebrated Neil Gow. From Captain Gronow’s Recollections 1864.
Almacks 1864 Almack's In 1815, Lady Jerseyintroduced the Quadrille from Paris and the first dancers were Ladt Jersey, Lady Harriett Butler, Lady Susan Ryde, Miss Montgomomery, Count St. Aldegonde, Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Montague and Charles Standish. From 1864 Captain Gronow's Recollections.
Screenshot
Almacks 1864 Few ventured to waltz at first, but in course of time, the waltzing mania, having turned the heads of society generally, descended to their feet, and the waltz was practiced in the morning in certain noble mansions in London with unparalleled assiduity. From Captain Gronow's Recollections 1864
1800s Almack’s Assembly Rooms, London, and Regency Vouchers in Jane Austen and Bridgerton years. #JaneAusten #Bridgerton #regencyera #almacks #london books2read.com:suziloveYLD
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D2D_RL_4_YLD_Young Lady's Day Regency Life Series Book 4 by Suzi Love. A light-hearted look at the longer Regency years and an easy to read view of what a young lady did, wore, and lived. https://books2read.com/suziloveYLD

Jane Austen fan? Women’s dress styles around 1800. History Notes Book 12. #RegencyFashion #JaneAusten #nonfiction

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Fashion Women 1800 By Suzi Love History Notes Book 12 #Regency #Fashion Love gorgeous historical women’s fashions? Take a look at what women wore and carried in 1800 in Europe and around the world. books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1800

  • Women’s dress changed dramatically after 1785. The rich fabrics and complicated, formal shapes of the late 18th century gave way to simple, light fabrics that draped easily. These new gowns achieved something of the effect of the simple tunics shown on classical Greek and Roman statues and vases. Inspired in part by the statuary of ancient Greece and Rome, the new fashion was epitomised by light cotton gowns falling around the body in an unstructured way, held around the high waist with a simple sash and accompanied by a soft shawl draped around exposed shoulders. This style was ideal for the Indian imports like Kashmiri shawls and Bengali muslin, as used in this embroidered gown. Championed by such influential figures as Emma Hamilton in England and Madame Récamier in France, the so-called ‘Empire’ style catapulted Indian muslin into the forefront of fashion.
  • Empire Dress: Owes its name, physical emancipation, popularity, and even its sexiness to France. In this English example, French style is slavishly followed in the gown’s high waist and modish stripes.
  • Empire style, or early 1800s, high-waisted dresses made it impossible to either sewn in a pocket or to tie on a pocket. So women began carrying small, decorated bags called Reticules, or ridicules, which generally pulled close at the top with a drawstring.
  • Inspired in part by the statuary of ancient Greece and Rome, the new fashion was epitomised by light cotton gowns falling around the body in an unstructured way, held around the high waist with a simple sash and accompanied by a soft shawl draped around exposed shoulders. This style was ideal for the Indian imports like Kashmiri shawls and Bengali muslin, as used in this embroidered gown. Championed by such influential figures as Emma Hamilton in England and Madame Récamier in France, the so-called ‘Empire’ style catapulted Indian muslin into the forefront of fashion.
Jane Austen fan? Women’s dress styles around 1800. History Notes Book 12. #RegencyFashion #JaneAusten #nonfiction books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1800
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1807 London in Jane Austen’s era. From History and Description. #RegencyEra #London #BritishHistory #JaneAusten

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1807 London: being an accurate History and Description of the British Metropolis and its Neighborhood to Thirty Miles Extant. By David Hughson. via Google Books (PD-200)

1807-carlton-house-london.-from-london-history-and-description-via-google-books-pd-200
1807-bermondsey-priory-london.-from-london-history-and-description-via-google-books-pd-200
1807-bengeo-church-hartford-london.-from-london-history-and-description-via-google-books-pd-200
1807 Westminster Bridge, London. From- London History and Description via Google Books (PD-200)
1807 Saint Mary at Born, London. From- London History and Description via Google Books (PD-200)
1807 Christ Church, Spitalfields, London. From- London History and Description via Google Books (PD-200)
1807 Berkley House, London, UK. via suzilove.com and London History and Description.
1807 London in Jane Austen’s era. From History and Description. #RegencyEra #London #BritishHistory #JaneAusten books2read.com/suziloveROver
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1808 January Drawing from Life at the Royal Academy, Somerset House, London. #RegencyEra #Art #JaneAusten

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1808 January 1st Drawing from Life at the Royal Academy, Somerset House, London, U.K. The Royal Academy would have held art classes like this in London during Jane Austen’s time. Designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson. Via Wikimedia Commons. commons.wikimedia.org

1808 January 1st Drawing from Life at the Royal Academy, Somerset House, London, U.K. The Royal Academy would have held art classes like this in London during Jane Austen's time. Designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson. Via Wikimedia Commons. commons.wikimedia.org
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1800s Elephant and Castle Inn, Brighton Road, London, In Jane Austen’s times. #RegencyEra #Travel #JaneAusten #BritishHistory

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1800s Elephant and Castle Inn, Brighton Road, London, In Jane Austen’s times. By James Pollard.

mailcoach_Inn_1800s_The Elephant and Castle on the Brighton Road, by James Pollard_Sml
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1800s Early How Did Jane Austen and the Bridgertons Travel? The London To Louth Royal Mail. #RegencyEra #BritishHistory #JaneAusten #Bridgerton

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The London To Louth Royal Mail, England, U.K. Print by Charles Cooper Henderson. (1803-1877)

How did Jane Austen and her family? Did they go by stagecoach? The dreadful condition of British roads caused great apprehension to all classes of travelers. Making a journey anywhere in the country was a big undertaking and often a gentleman composed his last will and testament before his departure.  Traveling in vehicles was only possible during the day or on the nights with very bright moonlight with few vehicles attempting road travel in winter and any travel on a Sunday was frowned upon. books2read.com/SuziLoveTravel

Description of Stage Coach Travel in England.  via 1815 Journal Tour of Great Britain. “The gentlemen coachmen, with half-a dozen great coats about them, immense capes, a large nosegay at the button-hole, high mounted on an elevated seat, with squared elbows, a prodigious whip, beautiful horses, four in hand, drive in a file to Salthill, a place about twenty miles from London, and return, stopping in the way at the several public-houses and gin-shops where stage-coachmen are in the habit of stopping for a dram, and for parcels and passengers on the top of the others as many as seventeen persons. These carriages are not suspended, but rest on steel springs, of a flattened oval shape, less easy than the old mode of leathern braces on springs. Some of these stage coaches carry their baggage below the level of the axletree.”

The London To Louth Royal Mail, England, U.K. Print by Charles Cooper Henderson. (1803-1877)
The London To Louth Royal Mail, England, U.K. Print by Charles Cooper Henderson. (1803-1877)
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HN_10_D2D_RetailerBuyLink_Travel and Luggage By Suzi Love History Notes Book 10 #History #travel How did people travel in past centuries? What did they take with them to make their long journeys easier? books2read.com/SuziLoveTravel

18th-20th Centuries The Bath Assembly Rooms in Jane Austen and Bridgerton years. #bridgerton #JaneAusten #RegencyEra #Bath

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The Assembly Rooms in Bath, UK. One of my favorite places to visit.

Bath had two assembly rooms in the lower part of the town but they weren’t large enough for the rapidly increasing population so on the 30th September, 1771, New Rooms were opened on the north east of the Circus, between Bennett and Alfred Streets. These Upper Rooms were designed by the architect, John Wood, and were in a better part of town so they became much more fashionable. They were called the New, or Upper Rooms, to distinguish them from the older Assembly Rooms in the lower part of the town.

They were a set of public rooms purpose-built for the 18th century form of entertainment called an ‘assembly‘, where a large number of people came together to dance, drink tea, play cards, listen to music, or parade around the rooms and talk and flirt. The four rooms are the Ball Room, the Tea Room or Concert Room, the Octagon Room, and a Card Room. The Upper Rooms held two balls a week, a dress ball on Monday evenings and a fancy ball on Thursdays during the Bath season which was from October to early June. These balls were so popular they attracted between 800 and 1,200 guests at a time.

John Wood raised the money for the New Rooms by a “tontine” subscription, which was like a lottery. By April 1769,  £14,000 was raised amongst 53 people. When a subscriber died, their shares were added to the holdings of the other subscribers, which meant that the last surviving subscriber inherited everything.

The exterior of the Upper Assembly Room looks typically Georgian, but the interior is very grand and the high ceilings gave good ventilation on crowded ball nights and windows set at a high level prevented outsiders from looking in. Two long rectangular rooms flank the entrance hall and are linked by an octagonal room at the far end to form a U-shape.

1798 Fancy Dress Ball at the Bath Assembly Rooms.' By Thomas Rowlandson.
1798 Fancy Dress Ball at the Bath Assembly Rooms.’ By Thomas Rowlandson.
Bath-Interior of Assembly Rooms, Bath.
Interior of Assembly Rooms, Bath.
Entrance to Assembly Rooms, Now Fashion Museum. Bath, U.K.
Entrance to Assembly Rooms, Now Fashion Museum. Bath, U.K.
Bath_Entrance to Assembly Rooms, Now Fashion Museum. Bath, U.K.
Entrance to Assembly Rooms, Now Fashion Museum. Bath, U.K.
Bath_1805 Interior of Concert Room, Bath. By John Claude Nattes 'Bath Illustrated by a Series of Views.' Via Suzi Love - suzilove.com & Wikimedia Commons commons.wikimedia.org
1805 Interior of Concert Room, Bath. By John Claude Nattes ‘Bath Illustrated by a Series of Views.’ Via Suzi Love – suzilove.com & Wikimedia Commons commons.wikimedia.org
Bath_1799 Richard Nash Esq. Master of Ceremonies, Assembly Rooms, Bath From- 1799 The New Bath Guide Printed by R. Cruttwell.
1799 Richard Nash Esq. Master of Ceremonies, Assembly Rooms, Bath From- 1799 The New Bath Guide Printed by R. Cruttwell.
Bath_1771 The New Assembly Rooms Opened, Between Bennet and Alfred streets, Bath, U.K. via Suzi Love - suzilove.com & 1835 The Historical and Local New Bath Guide Published By C. Duffield.
1771 The New Assembly Rooms Opened, Between Bennet and Alfred streets, Bath, U.K. via Suzi Love – suzilove.com & 1835 The Historical and Local New Bath Guide Published By C. Duffield.

The Assembly Rooms are lit by a set of nine chandeliers, made for the building in 1771. Jonathan Collett of London originally provided a set of five chandeliers for the Ball Room when it opened in September 1771. Shortly afterwards the arm of one of the chandeliers fell off – narrowly missing the artist, Thomas Gainsborough, who lived nearby at the time. The Ball Room chandeliers were taken down and a new set was ordered from William Parker of London. Parker had already supplied three chandeliers for the Tea Room. It was agreed that Jonathan Collett should salvage the rejected set of Ball Room chandeliers and make one large chandelier to hang in the Octagon Room. The chandeliers in the three rooms had an average height of eight feet and they were made of Whitefriars crystal from the Whitefriars Glassworks in London and were originally lit by candles. The Ball Room and Tea Room chandeliers each had 40 lights and the Octagon chandelier had 48 lights.

During the 19th century, they were fitted for gas and were later converted to electric light. At the start of the Second World War, the chandeliers were put into storage and escaped destruction when the Assembly Rooms were bombed in 1942. During the extensive refurbishment of the building in 1988-1991, the chandeliers were restored by R. Wilkinson & Sons of London. The Bath Season ran from October to June. As the Season spanned the winter months and many activities took place in the evening it was essential to provide good artificial lighting.

The ball room is the largest of the three main rooms and is over 105 feet long and 42 feet wide and 42 feet high. It runs the whole length of the north side of the building and covers two storeys. The paint is called Ballroom Blue and was first created by David Mlinaric in the 1970s from an original colour swatch. “It is a stroke of luck that the colour sample of blue paint is still attached to the 1770s minute book of the Assembly Rooms Furnishing Committee.” said Lucy Powell, Assistant Archivist at Bath Record Office, “The building was bombed in 1942 so traces of the paint would never have survived otherwise.”  From: Fashion Museum, Bath.

On the other side, the tea room is 70 feet long and 27 feet wide and all the rooms had huge chandeliers to give light. In 1777, a card room was added to the Octagonal Room. Before the Card Room was added, the Octagon Room became famous for card playing, the favorite leisure activity from the Georgian Era through to the Regency, as the Upper Rooms were open for card games every day except Sunday. The Octagon Room is dominated by Gainsborough’s portrait of the first Master of Ceremonies at the Upper Rooms, Captain William Wade. Bath’s most famous Master of Ceremonies, Richard “Beau” Nash, never knew this building as he died in 1761.

Bath_The Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K. Chandeliers.
Bath_Octagon Room, The Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K. Chandeliers.
Bath_The Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K. Chandeliers.
The Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K. Ball Room Chandeliers.
Bath_The Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K. Chandeliers.
The Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K. Chandeliers.
Bath_The Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K. Chandeliers.
The Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K. Chandeliers.
Bath_The Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K. Chandeliers.
The Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K. Chandeliers.
Bath_The Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K. Chandeliers.
The Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K. Chandeliers.
Bath_The Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K. Chandeliers.
The Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K. Chandeliers.
Bath_Regency Era Paintings, Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K.
Regency Era Paintings, Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K.
Bath_Regency Era Paintings, Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K.
Regency Era Paintings, Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K.
Bath_Regency Era Paintings, Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K.
Regency Era Paintings, Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K.
Bath_Regency Era Paintings, Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K.
Regency Era Paintings, Assembly Rooms, Bath, U.K.

The tea room was used for refreshments, with tea generally served weak and black or perhaps with arrack and lemon, and on Wednesday nights during the Season concerts were held there. Fashionable visitors to Bath could also hold breakfasts there for their friends.

Many famous people visited the Assembly Rooms in the 18th and 19th centuries. Jane Austen and Charles Dickens both mention the Assembly Rooms in their novels and the diarist, Francis Kilvert, described a reception there in 1873. Subscription concerts were popular and many well-known musicians also visited, the most distinguished being Joseph Haydn, Johann Strauss the Elder, and Franz Liszt.

Today, the Octagon Room, the Tea Room, and the Cloak room Landings all showcase beautiful paintings and prints as the Upper Rooms were given to the National Trust in 1931. You can see paintings by Thomas Gainsborough and John Simmons as well as an Original ticket to the Thirteenth Dress Ball at the Assembly Rooms, 24 January 1803.

 Since 1963, the Upper Assembly Rooms have also housed the amazing Fashion Museum. The building is owned by the National Trust and is leased by Bath & North East Somerset Council.

RL_1_D2D_Regency Overview RetailerLinks https://books2read.com/suziloveROver
RL_1_D2D_Regency Overview RetailerLinks https://books2read.com/suziloveROver