Museum of Bath Architecture

The Museum of Bath Architecture sits in the Countess of Huntingdon’s Chapel, a Grade II* listed building from 1765. Owned by the Bath Preservation Trust, the museum explains how Bath grew during the 18th century. The Trust once worked from Number One Royal Crescent before moving part of its staff into the chapel. Some offices remain at Number One, while others are at the Old School House next door. The chapel’s interior now hosts displays about Georgian building methods and city life. Visitors find models, maps and reconstructions of typical Georgian houses. A 1:500 scale model shows Bath as it looked in the early 19th century. Displays cover stone mining, furniture making, painting and upholstery. The study gallery holds books such as the Bath Buildings Record and Coard Collection. Two panoramas by Hullmandel and Allen show Bath before the railway changed the city. The collection includes works bought with support from the Art Fund. One painting shows Bath from Beechen Cliff in 1824, before Victorian expansion. Another view from Lyncombe Hill in 1833 captures the city’s smaller scale. The chapel’s former church space now guides visitors through Bath’s architectural past.