The Assembly Rooms are hosting a free event to celebrate World Heritage Day on Sunday 17th April, organised by Bath & North East Somerset Council in association with Bath Preservation Trust and the National Trust.
Every year, Bath celebrates World Heritage Day with an event focusing on one of the six reasons why the city was designated as a World Heritage Site.
This year’s theme is the 18th-century social setting, exploring how Bath’s fashionable residents and visitors lived, dressed, behaved and socialised in the spa resort.
Cllr Patrick Anketell-Jones (Conservative, Lansdown), Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “World Heritage Day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Bath’s status as a World Heritage City.
“There will be an array of free activities for all ages, set against the historic backdrop of the Assembly Rooms, which were designed by John Wood the Younger in 1769, and purpose-built for music, dancing and socialising.”
During the day, visitors will be invited to:
- Dance like the Georgians with the Jane Austen Dancers;
- Meet Captain Wade, the first Master of Ceremonies at the Assembly Rooms, and other colourful characters from Bath’s past;
- Play historic card games;
- Listen to music from the 1770s and 1780s played by renowned harpsichordist David Ponsford and flautist Helen Crown;
- Hear songs that would have been heard in 18th-century Bath performed by Bath Spa Choral Society;
- Take a walking tour round the ‘upper town’ with the Mayor’s Honorary Guides;
- Find out what people wore 250 years ago with a ‘Georgian Highlights’ tour of the Fashion Museum’s brand new exhibition (ticket required);
- Dress up in replica costumes and try out some Georgian make-up;
- Find out about major heritage projects in the city and meet the teams from the Archway Centre project, Bath Abbey Footprint, the Cleveland Pools Trust and Bathscape;
- Sample Georgian-themed refreshments in the café (charges apply).
Bath and North East Somerset residents should bring along a Discovery Card to gain free admission to the Fashion Museum and to receive a 10% discount in the Assembly Rooms Café.
For full details visit: www.bathworldheritage.org.uk/events.
