Currently closed for renovation

The Assembly Rooms are closed until 2027, and the Fashion Museum that was in the basement left in 2022 — there is nothing to visit on this site.

Bath Assembly Rooms

John Wood the Younger's Assembly Rooms opened in 1771 and immediately became the social engine of Bath's fashionable season. For a century, the public balls, concerts, and card evenings held here were the reason wealthy visitors came to Bath at all. Jane Austen attended; Dickens visited. Netflix filmed Bridgerton's ballroom sequences here. The rooms are currently closed for a major restoration programme and are expected to reopen in 2027 — the 250th anniversary of the complex.

What's open now

Fashion Museum (closed): The Fashion Museum has been closed to the public since 2022, when the National Trust took back the Assembly Rooms after nearly 60 years. There is no venue where you can see the collection. B&NES approved a new home in the old post office on New Bond Street in May 2026; construction is expected to start in 2027 and the museum to open around Autumn 2030. Do not travel to Bennett Street expecting to see it.

Exterior (open): The Assembly Rooms facade on Bennett Street is publicly accessible. The building's exterior is unaltered. A good base photograph for the Bridgerton filming location context.

Assembly Rooms interior (closed until 2027): Ball Room, Octagon Room, Tea Room, and Card Room are closed during the renovation. Reopening is expected in 2027.

The rooms — what to expect in 2027

When the Assembly Rooms reopen, these are the spaces visitors will access.

The Ball Room

The largest room in the complex at 100 feet long — the main space for Georgian public balls. Five Venetian windows, three Waterford crystal chandeliers (originals, restored after wartime damage). The room's proportions are precise: John Wood the Younger designed it to accommodate 800 dancers. In Bridgerton, this is the primary filming location for ball sequences involving all the Bridgerton family. The ballroom's acoustics and scale still function: the room is still used for events and concerts.

The Octagon Room

The connecting room between the Ball Room and the Tea Room, with a lantern ceiling and card tables around the perimeter. In Bath's Georgian season, card playing and tea were the activities that filled the hours between dances. The Octagon's proportions — a perfect octagon — made it the architectural showpiece of the suite. Used in Bridgerton for smaller society scenes and conversations.

The Tea Room

The refreshment room: 90 feet long, with four fireplaces and windows onto the street. In the Georgian period this room served tea, coffee, and lemonade during balls — alcohol was not served in the Assembly Rooms. Now used as a concert and event venue. The large windows give good natural light during daytime events.

The Card Room

A quieter room for card playing and conversation, positioned to allow those who didn't wish to dance to participate in the social evening. Georgian card games — loo, whist, quadrille — were the gambling entertainment of the period. In Austen's Bath novels, the card rooms are where characters overhear conversations and conduct quieter social manoeuvres.

The Assembly Rooms in Bridgerton

The Assembly Rooms are the principal interior filming location for Bridgerton's ball sequences across all four seasons. The Ball Room — with its Waterford crystal chandeliers, Venetian windows, and 100-foot proportions — provides the series' defining interior space. The Octagon Room features in smaller drawing-room scenes. The scale and authenticity of the rooms are the reason the production chose Bath over recreated studio interiors.

When the Assembly Rooms reopen in 2027, they will be the only Bridgerton interior filming location in Bath fully accessible to the public — making them the most significant single addition to Bath's Bridgerton tourism infrastructure since the series began.

All Bridgerton filming locations → Book a Bridgerton tour →

Getting there

Address: Bennett Street, Bath BA1 2QH

From Bath Spa station: 18-minute walk. Via Milsom Street north, then George Street and Gay Street uphill, or via The Circus and Brock Street.

Combined walk: The Assembly Rooms sit between The Circus and Royal Crescent (both 5 minutes' walk). Gay Street and Queen Square are 8 minutes' downhill walk.

Parking: No parking directly adjacent. Charlotte Street car park is 10 minutes' walk.

The Weekend Five

This weekend's top 5 events, in your inbox Friday

Picked from the live feed. One email a week, no filler.

Frequently asked questions

Are the Assembly Rooms in Bath open?
The Assembly Rooms are closed for major renovation and are expected to reopen in 2027. The Fashion Museum that occupied the basement is also gone — it left in 2022 when the National Trust took the building back, and has had no public venue since. The Assembly Rooms themselves — Ball Room, Octagon, Tea Room, and Card Room — are expected to reopen in 2027 following the completion of the restoration programme. Check the National Trust website for current status and reopening dates.
When are the Bath Assembly Rooms reopening?
The Bath Assembly Rooms are scheduled to reopen in 2027 following a major renovation programme. The National Trust, which manages the building, has been carrying out structural and decorative restoration work. The reopening is expected to coincide with the Assembly Rooms' 250th anniversary. Check assemblyroomsbath.co.uk or the National Trust website for confirmed dates as they are announced.
What are the Bath Assembly Rooms?
The Bath Assembly Rooms are a suite of Georgian public rooms on Bennett Street, designed by John Wood the Younger and opened in 1771. They served as the social hub of Bath's fashionable season for over a century: public balls, concerts, card games, and tea gatherings took place here. The rooms include the Ball Room (one of the finest surviving Georgian ballrooms in Britain), the Octagon Room, the Tea Room, and the Card Room. Jane Austen attended events here during her Bath years; the rooms feature in Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. They are also a primary Bridgerton filming location.
Is the Fashion Museum at the Assembly Rooms open?
No. The Fashion Museum has been closed to the public since 2022, when the National Trust took back the Assembly Rooms after nearly 60 years as its home. The collection — around 100,000 items spanning 1600 to the present — is in storage, and there is currently no venue where you can see it. In May 2026 Bath and North East Somerset Council approved plans to convert the grade II listed old post office on New Bond Street into a new home, with construction expected to begin in 2027 and opening expected around Autumn 2030. If the historic dress collection is your reason for visiting Bath, plan accordingly.
Did Jane Austen go to the Bath Assembly Rooms?
Yes. Jane Austen attended events at the Bath Assembly Rooms during her years in Bath (1801–1806). The Assembly Rooms feature prominently in both Northanger Abbey and Persuasion — the Ball Room provides the setting for several key scenes in both novels. Austen wrote about the Assembly Rooms in her letters, describing specific balls and concerts she attended. In Northanger Abbey, Catherine Morland's social Bath life is structured around the Assembly Rooms' programme of events.
Are the Assembly Rooms a Bridgerton filming location?
Yes. The Bath Assembly Rooms are one of the principal Bridgerton filming locations. The Ball Room is used for the series' ball sequences across multiple seasons. The Octagon Room features in smaller interior scenes. The Assembly Rooms exterior on Bennett Street also appears in street sequences. When the rooms reopen in 2027, visitors will be able to see the same spaces used in the Netflix series — combined with Bridgerton's active Bath connection, this will be a major visitor draw.

Advertisement