Friday, May 17, 2013

Day 11 - Bath - Bath Assembly Rooms on Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

In 1769, where would one go to flirt?  Where did you go to find someone new?  To the Bath Assembly Rooms!  Built by John Wood the Younger, they were a popular gathering place of both sexes of the upper classes.  Back then, there were few places to meet potential spouses.  The rooms consisted of a large ball room or two, a tea room, a card room and a supper room.

Jane Austin lived in Bath and mentioned the Assembly Rooms in her novels "Northanger Abbey"  and "Persuasion" published in 1818.  Charles Dickens visited Bath and the Assembly Rooms.  He mentioned them in "Pickwick Papers".

In April 1942, the Germans bombed Bath completely destroying the interior of the Assembly Rooms.  They were restored after the war.  Check out these images of the Assembly rooms after the "Bath Blitz": http://www.bathintime.co.uk/collection/2251/bath-blitz-assembly-rooms-and-st-andrews/page/1/view/12

Pam and I found the rooms to be majestic, both in size and appearance.  The rooms are available venues for private functions today.  Learn more about the Assembly Rooms here:
Bath Venues: http://www.bathvenues.co.uk/assembly_rooms.aspx
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_Assembly_Rooms

Click on the images to view them in Flickr.


The Octagon Room

Chandelier

Tea Room

Ball Room

Bath Chair

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