Museum of Bath at Work
About
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, Museum of Bath at Work is currently closed. Please check directly on their website and/or social media channels for the latest updates and booking information.
Housed in a former Real Tennis court dating from 1777, the Museum of Bath at Work celebrates 2,000 years of Bath's working heritage; from Roman tourism to eighteenth-century building, and from Victorian engineering to modern technology.
The centrepiece of the Museum of Bath at Work, covering an entire floor, is a reconstructed Victorian soft drinks factory, complete with office, workshop and bottling plant. Other exhibits exploring Bath’s industrial and commercial heritage include a reconstructed Bath Stone mine, ironmonger's shop and cabinet maker's workshop.
The museum is also home to a 1914 Horstmann car, a Bath Chair which was displayed at the Crystal Palace exhibition of 1851, a Pitman Shorthand version of The Hound of the Baskervilles and a unique self-winding clock built in the city in 1866.
There is also a large archive of film, photography, artefacts and sound recordings relating to the commercial development of the city. Highlights include 40,000 glass plate negatives from the local engineering firm Stothert & Pitt and over 400 taped interviews with local workers.
The museum has a self-service café, shop, temporary exhibition space and children's play area, and audio guides are available.
TripAdvisor Ranking
#19 of 188 things to do in Bath
Most Recent Traveller Reviews
- 4 Jun 2021: Great museum, hidden away so easily missed. Has a great array of original machinery and tools. The bath stone reconstruction in the ground floor was particularly insightful.
- 21 Oct 2020: Realistically people spend a majority of their time at work so seeing old workplace practices certainly is of historical significance. It's a very good collection and some of the machinery can still...
- 17 Oct 2020: Not the most interesting museum I have visited, but by far not the worst. It is what it says on the door, if this does not appeal to you from that, then stay away.
