No. 1 Royal Crescent
Re-working a working Georgian house
No 1 Royal Crescent is a museum that recreates a working Georgian house, in keeping with its late 18th Century construction. Mann Williams was engaged by the Bath Preservation Trust to work on the most significant period of restoration and updating of the building since it was acquired and restored as a Grade I Georgian house museum in 1968.
Project Lead
- Location Bath
- Client Bath Preservation Trust / Brownsword Charitable Foundation
- Completion 2013
- Value £2m
Phase 1
The project was undertaken in two phases, with the initial phase concentrating on works to reunify the original service wing (No 1a) with the main house of No 1.
Phase 2
The second phase of works principally focussed on repairing and updating No 1. Reunification of the original service wing facilitated improvements to both the visitor route and museum interpretation, and enabled the introduction of a flexible exhibition space.
A new staircase
Mann Williams also designed and detailed structural alterations and repairs to both the interior and exterior of the building. Within No 1a these involved stripping away 20th Century infill and the introduction of a new staircase and lift shaft to serve the main house and new visitor route.
Capturing the courtyard
The earlier courtyard is interpreted in the central core of No 1a with the introduction of a structural glass roof. Some remodelling of the external elevations of No 1a was also undertaken with reinstatement of the original Venetian windows.
